Hoops Preview: Mississippi State vs McNeese St

When and Where to Watch: Dec 30th at 7 PM CST, SEC Network+

In their last outing Mississippi State (6-5) throttled the Dolphins of Jacksonville, 70-47. Now the Bulldogs look to continue their hot shooting against the Cowboys of McNeese St (5-5), who themselves have lost their last two contests in blowouts to MAC teams. This will be the eighth meeting all time between the Cowboys and the Bulldogs, with the last meeting between the teams coming in 2007, a 89-63 win for MSU in Starkville.

Despite Jacksonville being one of the worst teams on State's schedule, the fact that the Bulldogs were able to gather some mojo on offense had to be encouraging not only for the fans, but for the players and coaches as well. After shooting below 40% in the losing streak, State came out hot against Jacksonville and never cooled off shooting for nearly 57% from the floor for the game. Despite struggles from behind the arc this season the Bulldogs' hot shooting made its way to the outside, as the team shot a season high 54% from three point land.

MSU's opponent, McNeese St, has struggled to remain competitive against Division I competition this season, losing by 41, 18 and 29 points to teams like Baylor, TCU and Central Michigan. MSU and McNeese actually have a few common opponents this season, LSU and TCU, the later of which both teams lost to by double digits.

While no game is a give me for this Mississippi State squad, the hope is this game will be an easy victory, preparing the team for their final non-conference game against the Seminoles. Both McNeese and MSU shoot just above 40% from the floor and usually have trouble finding their outside shot. With their size advantage on the inside and the ability to count on multiple to people to score, whether it be Roquez Johnson or Fred Thomas, Mississippi State should be able to come away with the victory.

Pick: Mississippi State 72-61