Auburn Tigers vs Mississippi State Bulldogs Prediction, 2/18/2026 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Auburn Tigers vs Mississippi State Bulldogs

Date: Wednesday, February 18, 2026

Location: Humphrey Coliseum in Starkville, MS

TV: ESPN2

The Auburn Tigers (14-11) are headed to Humphrey Coliseum on Wednesday where they will attempt to beat the Mississippi State Bulldogs (12-13).

The Auburn Tigers played Arkansas and went home with a loss by a final score of 88-75 in their last contest. Auburn walked away from the game having earned a 40.9% field goal percentage (27 of 66) and made 6 of their 19 3-point shots. At the charity stripe, the Tigers buried 15 of their 20 shots for a percentage of 75.0%. Regarding rebounding, they collected 31 with 13 of them being of the offensive variety. They also doled out 10 dimes for the matchup while forcing 5 turnovers and earning 2 steals. In relation to defending, Auburn allowed the other team to go 57.4% from the floor on 35 of 61 shooting. Arkansas totaled 19 dimes and had 6 steals for this contest. Additionally, Arkansas snagged 27 rebounds (5 offensive, 22 defensive), but didn't have a block. Arkansas shot 66.7% from the charity stripe by burying 10 of 15 attempts. They converted 8 out of their 21 attempts from 3-point range. When discussing fouls, the Tigers ended up walking away with 15 and Arkansas accumulated 16 fouls.

Tahaad Pettiford is a player who played a role in the game. He totaled 29 points on 11 of 18 shooting. He saw the court for 38 minutes played and pulled down 3 rebounds. He finished shooting 61.1% from the field and totaled 7 assists.

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Auburn enters this matchup with a record of 14-11 for the season. They currently have an average of 84.0 pts per contest (34th in the country) while hitting 46.0% from the floor. The Tigers are connecting on 33.0% on shots from downtown (193 of 585) and 74.2% from the charity stripe. As a team, Auburn is pulling down 36.9 boards per game and has tallied 326 dimes so far this year, which is 279th in college in terms of passing. They are turning it over 10.0 times per game and as a team they are committing 17.6 fouls every game.

On the defensive end of the court, the Tigers are forcing their opponents into 11.8 turnovers on a nightly basis and they draw 20.3 personal fouls. They rank 212th in D-1 in giving up assists to their opponents with 354 surrendered for the campaign. The Tigers defense is allowing a field goal percentage of 45.7% (682 of 1,491) and they surrender 32.8 boards per contest as a unit. They are giving up 35.6% on shots from beyond the perimeter and they are ranked 316th in college in points per game allowed (79.0).

When they last stepped on the court, the Mississippi State Bulldogs got the victory with a final of 90-78 when they played Ole Miss. The Bulldogs were able to collect 32 defensive boards and 5 offensive boards totaling 37 for this contest. They also coughed it up 9 times, while earning 3 steals for this game. Ole Miss committed 16 fouls for the contest which got the Bulldogs to the free throw line for a total of 22 shots. They were able to make 13 of the free throw attempts for a clip of 59.1%. In the matter of three-point attempts, Mississippi State made 11 out of their 24 tries (45.8%). At the conclusion of this game, the Bulldogs shot 33 for 57 from the field which had them shooting 57.9%. The Bulldogs permitted Ole Miss to make 27 of their 65 tries from the field which gave them a shooting percentage of 41.5% for the game. They finished 30.8% from three-point range by going 8 out of 26 and finished the game at 16 out of 21 at the free throw line (76.2%). In relation to rebounds, Mississippi State allowed Ole Miss to snag 28 overall (7 offensive).

Josh Hubbard ended up having an impact for the Bulldogs for the contest. He had 32 points in his 36 mins of playing time and added 6 dimes in this matchup. He knocked down 12 of 16 in this contest giving him a rate of 75.0%, and had 2 rebounds.

Mississippi State has a record of 12-13 on the season. When it comes to executing on offense, the Bulldogs are shooting 44.7% from the floor, which ranks them 219th in college hoops. Mississippi State has scored 1,934 pts for the season (77.4 per game) and they pull in 39.8 rebounds per game. Their rate of assisting teammates is at 12.6 times per game (287th in college) and they are turning it over 11.6 times per contest. The Bulldogs are committing 15.9 fouls per game and they go 67.7% from the free throw line.

The Bulldogs are ranked 298th in the nation in PPG allowed with 78.4. They are forcing their opponents into 9.3 TO's per game and have let teams shoot 43.0% from the field (118th in Division 1). The Mississippi State defense allows 30.4% on 3-point shots (188 of 618) and opponents are connecting on 74.3% of their shots from the free throw line. They allow 14.1 dimes and 38.0 total rebounds per game, which is ranked 246th and 339th in college.

Who will win tonight's NCAA game against the spread?

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Auburn

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