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What Happened Last Night
- Georgia 86, Morehouse 72: This seems unnervingly close for a game against a Division 2 squad... but eyeballing the box score, it’s pretty obvious Mark Fox wasn’t taking this game all that seriously. J.J. Frazier and Yante Maten played 24 and 22 minutes, respectively; Juwan Parker was held out for precautionary reasons (something that probably doesn’t happen if it’s not Morehouse); and Georgia’s bench scored 52 points. That last point is a positive sign; on the other hand, Frazier scoring 6 points on 3-of-12 shooting is a little unnerving.
- Middle Tennessee 77, Ole Miss 62: Ole Miss has struggled defensively all season, and when the offense goes bye-bye... well, you get this. The Rebels were down 29 at the half and MTSU put things on cruise control in the second half; Ole Miss got it to single digits at one point but this never really seemed in doubt. When the Rebels are shooting 40 percent and commit 16 turnovers, though, they don’t have much of a defense to fall back on.
Today’s Schedule
| Game | Time (ET) | TV/Streaming |
|---|---|---|
| Vermont at South Carolina | 6:30 PM | SEC Network+/WatchESPN |
| Florida at North Florida | 7:00 PM | ESPN3/WatchESPN |
| Stephen F. Austin at Arkansas | 9:00 PM | SEC Network/WatchESPN |
| Oregon State at Mississippi State | 9:00 PM | ESPNU/WatchESPN |
There’s some mild intrigue in tonight’s slate: South Carolina and Florida, both newly-minted top 25 teams, are on upset alert as the Gamecocks host Vermont (#99 in KenPom) and Florida travels to North Florida in what’s technically a road game, although it’s probably going to be a pro-Gator crowd. North Florida is 1-5 against Division 1 competition but, well, it’s a road game.
As for the nightcap... well, Stephen F. Austin has fallen off considerably from last year, and the Lumberjacks rank 351st in the country in turnover percentage. That’s, uh, not good when you’re heading to Bud Walton Arena. And there’s a considerable amount of shine off the Mississippi State-Oregon State matchup with both Quinndary Weatherspoon and Oregon State’s Tres Tinkle out of action; this looks like a battle of the SEC and Pac-12’s bottom-feeders.
Odds and Picks
Yesterday: 1-0 ATS; Season to Date: 24-32-1 ATS
- Stephen F. Austin at Arkansas (-18): See above. Arkansas is facing the country’s most turnover-prone team. This... does not sound like it will end well.
- Oregon State (+7.5) at Mississippi State: This line looks pretty insane given how poorly Mississippi State is playing right now, and then you look at how poorly Oregon State is playing right now and... ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ I don’t know, the rules I’ve self-imposed for this column require me to pick someone but if they didn’t, I would tell you to pick no one. But the rules of basketball state that one of these teams must win, so take Oregon State and the points and know that this game will probably end up with a score in the 50s.