Mississippi State Bulldogs vs Texas Longhorns Prediction, 1/3/2026 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Mississippi State Bulldogs vs Texas Longhorns

Date: Saturday, January 3, 2026

Location: Moody Center in Austin, TX

TV: SEC Network

The Mississippi State Bulldogs (8-5) are on their way to Moody Center on Saturday where they will meet the Texas Longhorns (9-4).

The Mississippi State Bulldogs played Alabama State and earned the victory with a final of 94-56 in their last contest. With respect to fouls, the Bulldogs walked away with 19 while Alabama State had 14 fouls. They also made 5 out of their 19 attempts from 3-point land. Alabama State ended up shooting 67.6% at the free throw line by making 23 of their 34 attempts. Furthermore, Alabama State grabbed 25 rebounds (8 offensive, 17 defensive), but wasn't able to record a block. Alabama State earned 3 dimes and had 7 steals for this contest. Pertaining to defense, Mississippi State allowed their opponent to shoot 28.0% from the field on 14 out of 50 shooting. They also distributed 19 assists for this game while forcing the other team into 12 turnovers and having 9 steals. Regarding grabbing boards, they collected 45 with 16 of them being of the offensive sort. At the charity stripe, the Bulldogs converted 10 of their 14 shots for a percentage of 71.4%. Mississippi State finished with a 53.6% FG percentage (37 out of 69) and knocked down 10 of 25 three-point attempts.

Josh Hubbard is one guy who had an impact in the matchup. He finished shooting 69.2% from the field and also recorded 4 assists. He was on the hardwood for 24 minutes but had no rebounds when the time ran out. He was able to score 22 points on 9 of 13 shooting.

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Mississippi State comes into this one with a win-loss record of 8-5 for the season. They have an average of 79.9 points per contest (129th in the country) while going 45.7% from the floor. The Bulldogs are hitting 33.1% on three-point attempts (110 of 332) and 68.3% from the free throw line. As a team, Mississippi State is grabbing 40.6 boards per game and has tallied 173 dimes so far this year, which has them ranked 291st in the nation in terms of passing. They are turning it over 11.7 times per game and as a squad they commit 15.2 personal fouls per contest.

Defensively, the Bulldogs are forcing 10.5 turnovers every game and they draw 17.2 personal fouls. They currently rank 150th in college in giving up assists to their opponents with 174 relinquished on the year. The Bulldogs defense is allowing a shooting percentage of 41.2% (350 of 849) and they surrender 38.4 rebounds per contest as a team. They are relinquishing 31.0% on three-point shots and they are ranked 247th in college hoops in PPG allowed (75.8).

When they last played, the Texas Longhorns got the win with a final of 94-71 against Maryland Eastern Shore. The Longhorns collected 25 defensive rebounds and 12 offensive rebounds for a total of 37 for this contest. They turned it over 9 times, while recording 9 steals in the matchup. Maryland Eastern Shore earned 29 personal fouls in this matchup which got the Longhorns to the charity stripe for 42 attempts. They were able to convert 31 of them for a rate of 73.8%. In regard to three-point attempts, Texas knocked down 7 of their 22 tries (31.8%). At the conclusion of this game, the Longhorns ended up shooting 28 out of 53 from the floor which gave them a shooting percentage of 52.8%. The Longhorns permitted Maryland Eastern Shore to make 25 out of their 54 tries from the floor which left them shooting 46.3% in the game. They finished 40.0% from beyond the arc by shooting 6 out of 15 and walked away from this one shooting 15 out of 21 at the free throw line (71.4%). In reference to how they cleaned up the glass, Texas allowed Maryland Eastern Shore to get 22 in all (6 on the offensive glass).

Matas Vokietaitis pitched in for the Longhorns in this game. He buried 4 of 5 for the matchup for a rate of 80.0%, and accumulated 8 rebounds. He had 22 points in his 30 minutes on the hardwood, but went home with no dimes.

Texas has a win-loss record of 9-4 on the campaign. When it comes to executing on offense, the Longhorns are connecting on 49.8% from the field, which ranks them 31st in the nation. Texas has accounted for 1,143 points this season (87.9 per contest) and they collect 41.9 rebounds per contest. Their rate of dishing out assists is at 13.8 times per contest (231st in the nation) and they are giving up possession 11.5 times per game. The Longhorns are responsible for committing 19.4 personal fouls every game and they hit 72.0% from the charity stripe.

The Texas defense concedes 34.8% on shots from 3-point land (87 of 250) and their opponents are connecting on 70.8% of their free throw shots. They have conceded 11.2 assists and 29.4 rebounds on a nightly basis, which ranks them 47th and 13th in those categories on the defensive end. The Longhorns on the defensive side of the court are 139th in the country in points given up per game with 71.3. They are able to force 11.3 TO's per game and have allowed teams to shoot 41.6% from the floor (93rd in college).

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

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Mississippi State

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