Arizona vs. Mississippi State in 2k Sports Classic final

It will be fun for either the Mississippi State Bulldogs or Arizona Wildcats tonight in New York in the finals of the 2K Sports Classic benefiting Coaches vs. Cancer.  The contest tips on ESPN2 around 6:30 PM (ET), or shortly after the conclusion of the consolation match between St. John's and Texas A&M. 

NCAA basketball odds are yet to be released, so check back as live odds will appear below. 

It was certainly fun for Mississippi State in the early part of a 69-60 victory Thursday night over A&M.  The Bulldogs came out of their warm-ups with deadly accuracy on the offensive end, sinking 10 of their first 13 shots that included five three's.  Rick Stansbury's squad zipped to a 31-9 lead, never trailing against the Aggies who never got closer than eight points after that. 

Mississippi State closed as a 5-point underdog to Texas A&M who was ranked 18th by the coaches entering Thursday's tussle. The final skipped across the 135-point mark, a number that started at 132. 

The fun lasted the entire 40 minutes on both sides in the nightcap when Arizona toppled St. John's, 81-72.  A back and forth affair was eventually decided by a late Wildcats spurt that saw them turn an 8-point deficit with seven minutes to play into a 6-point lead four minutes later.

The spread did a full reverse for the match, opening with St. John's favored by two only to close with Arizona laying the two.  Bettors playing over the 138 total had their cash with a little less than four minutes to play. 

Scoring sprees like those the Bulldogs and Wildcats went on Thursday evening are very often the difference between wins and losses on the college basketball court.  But there are little things that contribute to a team's ability to go on a big run...or inability to stop another team from doing so. 

In the case of the Aggies and Red Storm, turnovers proved their downfall.  St. John's committed four turnovers during Arizona's 16-2 run while the Aggies had five during a 15-0 span by Mississippi State. 

The Bulldogs forced 12 of A&M's 16 turnovers by themselves with steals, and could have enjoyed an even larger margin of victory if they had been able to convert free throws.  Mississippi State will need the defensive pressure again, plus a better night at the charity stripe, if the team is barely going to shoot 40% from the field vs. Arizona.

For Sean Miller and the Wildcats, winning the turnover battle 17-10 was key, but having a deeper bench and better outside shooters ultimately proved just as big.  Arizona's reserves outscored St. John's two spares by a 30-16 gap and the Wildcats made good on 14 of 29 attempts from beyond the arc compared to the Red Storm going 3 of 8. 

Both Arizona and Mississippi State caught their opposition shorthanded.  The Wildcats were taking on a very, very young and inexperienced Red Storm, with Gods'gift Achiuwa a nonfactor off the St. John's bench after he averaged nearly 18 points and over eight rebounds per game in the first three outings of the season.  Texas A&M was playing its second game without Khris Middleton, and it showed with the Aggies missing his scoring. 

One key matchup this evening is at guard between Arizona's Kyle Fogg and MSU's Dee Bost.  The Bulldogs are also going to need to get a little better effort offensively from Renardo Sidney and Arnett Moultrie inside.  Sidney was not 100% on Thursday, and playing back-to-back nights for the first time this season will be a test for the big guy. 

Taking a Chance: The back-to-back games angle is going to be interesting and give us an idea which teams really are in the best of shape this early in the season. Fatigue in the second half generally leads to more fouls and one team or the other getting to the free throw line more often.  Arizona has shown itself to be a very resilient team and has come through with excellent second-half play so far this season.  The Wildcats are my pick, 72-65.