Mississippi State Bulldogs vs Florida Gators Prediction, 3/3/2026 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Mississippi State Bulldogs vs Florida Gators

Date: Tuesday, March 3, 2026

Location: Stephen C. O'Connell Center in Gainesville, FL

TV: SEC Network

The Mississippi State Bulldogs (13-15) are hitting the road to Stephen C. O'Connell Center on Tuesday where they will go up against the Florida Gators (22-6).

The Mississippi State Bulldogs stepped onto the hardwood against Missouri and took a loss by a final of 88-64 in their last game. Mississippi State finished having earned a 49.1% field goal percentage (26 of 53) and buried 5 out of their 19 3-point shots. When they shot from the charity stripe, the Bulldogs made 7 of 13 shots for a rate of 53.8%. Regarding rebounding, they earned 22 with 6 of them being offensive. They also distributed 9 dimes in this matchup while forcing 12 turnovers and earning 9 steals. Concerning the defense, Mississippi State allowed their opponent to shoot 50.8% from the field on 30 of 59 shooting. Missouri dished out 12 dimes and had 9 steals for the contest. Furthermore, Missouri snagged 34 rebounds (11 offensive, 23 defensive), but wasn't able to record a block. Missouri went 83.3% when shooting free throws by converting 20 of 24 attempts. They made 8 of 20 attempts from downtown. Concerning personal fouls, the Bulldogs left the arena with 14 while Missouri had 13 personal fouls.

Josh Hubbard is a guy who was a factor for the matchup. He ended up walking away with 16 points on 6 of 14 shooting. He played 34 minutes and also snagged 2 rebounds. He finished shooting 42.9% from the field and also distributed 2 assists.

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Mississippi State enters this contest with a mark of 13-15 so far this season. They average 78.2 pts per contest (132nd in college hoops) while connecting on 44.6% from the field. The Bulldogs are connecting on 32.5% on shots beyond the perimeter (233 of 718) and 67.0% from the free throw line. As a team, Mississippi State is collecting 39.3 rebounds per game and is sitting with 361 dimes for the year, which is 283rd in college in terms of passing. They are losing possession via turnover 11.2 times per contest and as a squad they are committing 16.3 fouls on a nightly basis.

On defense, the Bulldogs have forced 9.3 turnovers per contest and they draw 17.0 personal fouls. They are 245th in college in giving up assists to their opponents with 407 relinquished this year. The Bulldogs are giving up and opponent field goal percentage of 43.4% (785 of 1,807) and they relinquish 38.3 rebounds per contest as a squad. They give up 32.6% from 3-point land while they are 329th in the nation in points per game allowed (80.0).

When they last played, the Florida Gators walked away with a victory by a final of 111-77 against Arkansas. The Gators were able to pull down 33 defensive rebounds and 15 offensive boards for a total of 48 in this matchup. They coughed up the ball 12 times, while getting 3 steals for the game. Arkansas earned 24 personal fouls in this matchup which took the Gators to the free throw line for a total of 32 attempts. They were able to knock down 25 of those for a percentage of 78.1%. Pertaining to shooting from distance, Florida knocked down 8 out of their 19 attempts (42.1%). When all was said and done, the Gators went 39 out of 69 from the field which had them sitting at 56.5%. The Gators allowed Arkansas to convert 30 of 75 attempts from the field which left them with a shooting percentage of 40.0% for the contest. They went 30.8% from behind the 3-point line by going 4 of 13 and walked away from this one shooting 13 of 24 at the charity stripe (54.2%). Concerning cleaning the glass, Florida allowed Arkansas to get 27 overall (11 on the offensive side).

Thomas Haugh was important for the Gators in this matchup. He totaled 22 points in his 29 minutes on the court and totaled 2 dimes for the game. He made 7 out of 12 in the matchup giving him a rate of 58.3%, and totaled 5 rebounds.

Florida has a mark of 22-6 so far this year. The Gators have committed 17.7 fouls per game and they shoot 71.1% from the free throw line. They are getting an assist 16.5 times per contest (45th in Division 1) and they are losing possession via turnover 12.0 times per contest. Florida has 2,416 pts this season (86.3 per contest) and they snag 45.2 boards per game. When it comes to offensive execution, the Gators are shooting 47.6% from the field, which is 49th in college.

The Gators on the defensive side of the court are 105th in college in PPG given up with 71.2. They are forcing their opponents into 11.3 turnovers per game and have allowed teams to shoot 40.5% from the floor (27th in college hoops). The Florida defense gives up 32.1% on 3-pointers (185 of 577) and their opposition knocks down 72.7% of their free throw attempts. They have relinquished 10.6 dimes and 31.1 boards on a nightly basis, which is 11th and 24th in college hoops.

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

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Mississippi State

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