XAVI @ MISSISSIPPI ST BULLDOGS

An early résumé test for both unbeaten teams

Both teams enter 3-0 after strong starts, making this an early test of their opening-week form.

Hubbard is the Bulldogs’ focal point

Josh Hubbard is averaging 18 points and five assists through three games and reached 2,000 career points in Mississippi State’s win over Jackson State. Xavier’s defense must account for his scoring and playmaking.

Xavier’s pressure has produced disruption

Xavier has recorded 43 steals and held opponents to 28.4% shooting through three games; that pressure will be tested by Mississippi State’s offense, which averages 95.3 points per game.

Xavier can attack inside

Xavier’s size and interior finishing are potential advantages: Michael Nwoko is shooting 73.9% from the field, and the Musketeers have scored 160 points in the paint over three games.

A neutral-site setting, not a true home game

The matchup is at Colonial Hall at The Greenbrier Resort in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia, with a listed capacity of 1,200, so neither team gets its usual campus setting.

Pick Ideas

Angles drawn from the matchup analysis above and refreshed as the news changes. They are a separate read from the LineCrush pick for this matchup, so the two can land on different sides.

Mississippi State +3.5

Lean to Mississippi State at +3.5 rather than a shorter number.

Under 164.5, if available

Consider the under at 164.5 or better; compare books because listed totals vary.