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Charlie Grant
Oklahoma vs. Mississippi Bracket Prediction: March Madness Odds
Before conference schedules started, many would have expected this matchup would be saved for the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament. But rough goes in the Big 12 and SEC have both Oklahoma and Mississippi feeling lucky to be in the Big Dance. The Sooners hope to improve on their NCAAB-best 11-1-1 against the spread (ATS) mark against non-conference foes this season.
Oklahoma (9) vs. Mississippi (8) NCAA Tournament Point Spread and Betting
The Sooners lost outright as 6.5-point favourites against West Virginia in the first round of the Big 12 tournament. The setback was the team’s eighth in its last 12 games. Oklahoma tied for seventh in the conference during the regular season at 7-11.
The squad still went 19-10-3 against the spread but only eight of those ATS wins came against Big 12 opponents. The Sooners became a defence-first side and the under was a profitable play as a result. The under cashed in 20 of Oklahoma’s 32 games.
Ole Miss stumbled to the finish line as well. The Rebels lost outright in five of their last seven games, but they closed on a 7-3 ATS run. The under is the better option for total bettors with this team as well. The Rebels played below the over/under line in 19 of 32 games.
Oklahoma Sooners
Life changed in a big way for Lon Kruger’s team after the departure of Trae Young. The Sooners transformed from the second-highest scoring team in the nation last season to the 198th one this year.
Without Young running the point and pulling up from the parking lot, Oklahoma saw its scoring average drop from 84.9 points per game to 71.2. The strength of the team is now at the defensive side of the floor where Oklahoma ranks 23rd in defensive efficiency.
Senior guard Christian James is the Sooners’ leading at 14.4 points per game while forwards Brady Manek and Kristian Doolittle are the other two players averaging better than 10 points per game.
Mississippi Rebels
Ole Miss is a bit ahead of schedule in terms of the rebuild the program had in mind. In Kermit Davis’ first year as head coach, the Rebels went from a 12-20 side to 20-12. Many SEC experts projected Mississippi to finish last in the conference. Sixth place in the SEC sounds a lot better with that in mind.
The Runnin’ Rebels are a guard-heavy squad with 6-2 junior Breein Tyree leading the way. Tyree is averaging 18.2 points per game and scored over 30 points in games against Vanderbilt and Georgia earlier this season.
