Mississippi State Bulldogs vs Pittsburgh Panthers Prediction: Can their tough defense rescue Bulldogs?

The NCAA March Madness is a 100+ years old celebration of basketball in what is the oldest home of basketball. This is an arresting period because the young hoopers in USA depict their talent at a high level and the fanbase for different colleges turn the noise up when the tournament arrives. In another intriguing match-up of the NCAA setting, Mississippi State Bulldogs are going to take on Pittsburgh Panthers.

The defense has been the calling card for Mississippi State. They were tenth out of 300+ teams in the nation when it came to restricting opponents’ points, allowing just around 61 a game. They allowed less than 40% Field Goals, which also put them in top ten among 363 squads. They had a top-quality defensive rating but it was the other side of the floor where they found the going tough. They averaged just around 65 points and had the worst three-point percentage among 363 college squads, shooting below 27% from deep. Except for their leading scorer and rebounder, Tolu Smith, who averaged almost 16 points and eight and a half rebounds, no other player had a double-digit scoring average.

The Panthers are a much better offensive squad than the Bulldogs. They had an average of around 76 points which put them in the top 25% squads in the points per game. Unlike Bulldogs, the Panthers have four double-digit scorers. Jamarius Burton and Blake Hinson each averaged 15 and a half points whereas Nelly Cummings and Greg Elliot both averaged 11 and 10 points respectively. However, unlike Bulldogs, Panthers have allowed around 70 points per game and that ranks them around 190 in the nation, which puts them out of the top 50% squad in points allowed per game. It will be interesting to see how their defense responds during the tourney. 

• QUESTIONABLE: Fede Federiko(Pittsburgh).

The Bulldogs have played some superb defense whereas the Panthers have a much better offense than the Mississippi outfit. This is going to be an interesting battle because both teams have had their fair share of upsets throughout the tournament. I expect a low-scoring game and slightly favor Pittsburgh here.