Who's Playing
Miss. State Bulldogs @ Rutgers Scarlet Knights
Current Records: Miss. State 9-2, Rutgers 7-3
How To Watch
- When: Saturday, December 23, 2023 at 12 p.m. ET
- Where: Prudential Center -- Newark, New Jersey
- TV: Big Ten Network
- Follow: CBS Sports App
- Online Streaming: Catch select College Basketball matches on Fubo (Try for free. Regional restrictions may apply.)
What to Know
The Rutgers Scarlet Knights will take on the Miss. State Bulldogs in a holiday battle at 12:00 p.m. ET on Saturday at at Prudential Center. The two teams have allowed few points on average, (Rutgers: 60.9, Miss. State: 63) so any points scored will be well earned.
Rutgers has made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won four matches by 22 points or more this season. Everything went their way against the Sharks on Saturday as the Scarlet Knights made off with a 83-61 victory. The win made it back-to-back wins for Rutgers.
Clifford Omoruyi was the offensive standout of the match as he dropped a double-double on 25 points and 11 rebounds. Those 25 points set a new season-high mark for him. Aundre Hyatt was another key contributor, dropping a double-double on 12 points and 12 rebounds.
Meanwhile, Miss. State waltzed into their contest Sunday with two straight wins but they left with three. They took down the Mean Green 72-54. The over/under was set at 126 points, so nice work oddsmakers; you were right on the money.
Miss. State can attribute much of their success to Cameron Matthews, who scored nine points along with 12 rebounds and seven assists. That's the first time this season that Matthews pulled down ten or more rebounds. The team also got some help courtesy of KeShawn Murphy, who scored 18 points.
The Scarlet Knights' victory bumped their record up to 7-3. As for the Bulldogs, their victory bumped their record up to 9-2.
This contest is one where the number of possessions is likely to be a big factor: Rutgers have been smashing the glass this season, having averaged 37.6 rebounds per game. However, it's not like Miss. State struggles in that department as they've been averaging 40.4 rebounds per game. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
Rutgers is hoping to beat the odds on Saturday, as the experts think they're headed for a loss.
Odds
Rutgers is a slight 2.5-point favorite against Miss. State, according to the latest college basketball odds.
The oddsmakers had a good feel for the line for this one, as the game opened with the Scarlet Knights as a 2-point favorite.
The over/under is set at 130.5 points.
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