Who's Playing

Mississippi State @ Akron

Current Records: Mississippi State 1-0; Akron 1-0

What to Know

The Mississippi State Bulldogs will take on the Akron Zips at 7 p.m. ET Friday at Wells Fargo Center. MSU is the favorite in this one, with an expected 6.5-point margin of victory.

The Bulldogs strolled past the Texas A&M-Corpus Christi Islanders with points to spare on Monday, taking the contest 63-44. Mississippi State's Tolu Smith was one of the most active players for the squad, posting a double-double on 19 points and 11 boards.

Meanwhile, Akron escaped with a win on Monday against the South Dakota State Jackrabbits by the margin of a single free throw, 81-80.

The wins brought MSU up to 1-0 and Akron to 1-0. Two last-season defensive stats to keep in the back of your head while watching: MSU enters the matchup with only 66.2 points allowed per game on average, good for 15th best in college basketball. Less enviably, the Zips have allowed their opponents to shoot 52.50% from the floor on average, which is the 16th highest shooting percentage allowed in college basketball. So the cards are definitely stacked against Akron.

How To Watch

  • When: Friday at 7 p.m. ET
  • Where: Wells Fargo Center -- Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
  • Follow: CBS Sports App

Odds

The Bulldogs are a solid 6.5-point favorite against the Zips, according to the latest college basketball odds.

The oddsmakers were right in line with the betting community on this one, as the game opened as a 6.5-point spread, and stayed right there.

Over/Under: -110

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Series History

This is the first time these teams have played each other within the last seven years.