Mississippi State and Baylor play in opening round of NCAA Tournament

Baylor Bears (19-14, 11-11 Big 12) vs. Mississippi State Bulldogs (21-12, 9-11 SEC)

Raleigh, North Carolina; Friday, 12:15 p.m. EDT

BETMGM SPORTSBOOK LINE: Bulldogs -1.5; over/under is 144.5

BOTTOM LINE: Mississippi State and Baylor square off in the NCAA Tournament opening round.

The Bulldogs have gone 9-11 against SEC opponents, with a 12-1 record in non-conference play. Mississippi State ranks sixth in the SEC with 15.3 assists per game led by Cameron Matthews averaging 3.6.

The Bears are 11-11 against Big 12 opponents. Baylor ranks seventh in the Big 12 shooting 35.1% from 3-point range.

Mississippi State’s average of 8.4 made 3-pointers per game this season is only 0.5 more made shots on average than the 7.9 per game Baylor allows. Baylor has shot at a 44.8% clip from the field this season, 0.9 percentage points above the 43.9% shooting opponents of Mississippi State have averaged.

TOP PERFORMERS: Josh Hubbard is scoring 18.6 points per game and averaging 2.2 rebounds for the Bulldogs. Claudell Harris Jr. is averaging 1.7 made 3-pointers over the last 10 games.

Norchad Omier is scoring 15.9 points per game with 10.9 rebounds and 1.6 assists for the Bears. VJ Edgecombe is averaging 15 points, 6.7 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 1.9 steals over the last 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Bulldogs: 4-6, averaging 79.8 points, 35.4 rebounds, 14.4 assists, 8.6 steals and 4.7 blocks per game while shooting 43.1% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 80.6 points per game.

Bears: 4-6, averaging 68.4 points, 30.5 rebounds, 12.4 assists, 6.6 steals and 2.2 blocks per game while shooting 42.0% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 68.2 points.

___

The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.