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USATSI

The No. 24 Mississippi State Bulldogs hope to add another signature win to their resume when they visit the No. 6 Alabama Crimson Tide Tuesday in another heavyweight SEC clash. This is the second meeting between the Bulldogs and Tide this season, with Alabama winning 88-84 in the first encounter. Mississippi State looked out of sorts with three losses in four games, but bounced back nicely with ranked wins over Ole Miss and Texas A&M before faltering against Oklahoma. Alabama had back-to-back losses to Auburn and Missouri before turning things around in its last game against Kentucky.

Mississippi State at Alabama odds

  • Spread: Alabama -8.5
  • Total: 170.5
  • Money line: Mississippi State +291, Alabama -372

Alabama opened as a consensus 8.5-point favorite and the spread has not changed. The total opened at 171.5 but has moved to 170.5. Alabama is a -372 favorite (wager $372 to win $100) on the money line, while Mississippi State is a +291 (wager $100 to win $291) underdog. 

The SportsLine Projection Model model leans to the Under in this matchup and projects one side of the spread hits well over 50% of the time. You can see the model's latest projections, along with expert picks for Mississippi State-Alabama, on SportsLine.

Mississippi State opened the season 14-1 but appeared to be heading towards the NCAA Tournament bubble after being roughed up in conference play. The loss to Alabama opened a stretch of three losses in four games, putting the Bulldogs on edge before ranked wins over Ole Miss and Texas A&M. Josh Hubbard, who exploded for 38 points in the first meeting against the Crimson Tide, needs to rediscover his efficiency. Hubbard has shot 33.3% or worse in three of Mississippi State's last four games. Forward RJ Melendez, who scored just three points in the first matchup between these teams, is averaging 12.0 points and 6.7 rebounds per game over the last three games. He should be a bigger factor in Tuesday's clash. At the moment, this is the last ranked opponent on Mississippi State's schedule. The Bulldogs are a No. 5 seed in CBS Sports analyst Jerry Palm's latest bracketology update.

Alabama is still projected to be a No. 1 seed despite losing two of its last three games. The Crimson Tide were on the losing end of the No. 1 vs. No. 2 matchup with Auburn before getting blitzed by Missouri on the road. Veteran guard Mark Sears, who dropped 35 points in the loss to Missouri, logged 30 points in a key win over Kentucky to get the Crimson Tide back on track. Alabama is closing the season with seven ranked opponents in a row, so every game is an opportunity to further cement a top seed in the NCAA Tournament. Chris Youngblood went 7-of-10 from behind the arc in the first meeting against Mississippi State to finish with 23 points. He went 2-10 on 3-pointers in Alabama's most recent losses before hitting three 3-pointers in five attempts against Kentucky. When he shoots the ball well, Alabama is hard to beat.