Halftime Report
Only one more half stands between Miss. State and the win they were favored to collect coming into this evening. They have a bit of a cushion as they currently lead UNLV 45-32.
Miss. State entered the matchup having won five straight and they’re just one half away from another. Will they make it six, or will UNLV step up and spoil it? We’ll know soon.
Who’s Playing
UNLV Rebels @ Miss. State Bulldogs
Current Records: UNLV 4-1, Miss. State 5-0
How To Watch
- When: Thursday, November 28, 2024 at 9:30 p.m. ET
- Where: Mullett Arena — Tempe, Arizona
- TV: CBS Sports Network
- Follow: CBS Sports App
- Watch on Connected TV: CBS Sports App on Roku and Fire TV
- Live Stream: CBSSports.com or fuboTV (Try for free. Regional restrictions may apply.)
What to Know
UNLV has played every game this season on their home court, but they’ll have to hit the road on Thursday. They will face off against the Miss. State Bulldogs at 9:30 p.m. ET at Mullett Arena. The Rebels are strutting in with some offensive muscle as they’ve averaged 79.8 points per game this season.
Last Saturday, UNLV earned a 72-65 victory over N. Mex. State. The 72-point effort marked the Rebels’ lowest-scoring game of the season, but in the end it didn’t matter.
UNLV’s win was a true team effort, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Dedan Thomas Jr., who scored 22 points in addition to five rebounds. The team also got some help courtesy of Jalen Hill, who almost dropped a double-double on 16 points and nine rebounds.
Meanwhile, Miss. State entered their tilt with SMU on Friday with four consecutive wins but they’ll enter their next game with five. They walked away with an 84-79 victory over the Mustangs. That’s two games straight that the Bulldogs have won by exactly five points.
Multiple players turned in solid performances to lead Miss. State to victory, but perhaps none more so than Riley Kugel, who earned 13 points in addition to six rebounds. Another player making a difference was RJ Melendez, who earned 15 points in addition to five rebounds.
Miss. State smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 16 offensive rebounds. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they’ve now pulled down at least 12 offensive rebounds in four consecutive contests.
UNLV pushed their record up to 4-1 with the win, which was their third straight at home. As for Miss. State, their victory bumped their record up to 5-0.
Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: UNLV hasn’t given up the ball easily this season, having only averaged 10 turnovers per game. However, it’s not like Miss. State struggles in that department as they’ve been averaging only 8.6. Given these competing strengths, it’ll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
UNLV is hoping to beat the odds on Thursday, as the experts think they’re headed for a loss. This will be their first time playing as the underdogs this season.
Odds
Miss. State is a big 7.5-point favorite against UNLV, according to the latest college basketball odds.
The oddsmakers were right in line with the betting community on this one, as the game opened as a 7.5-point spread, and stayed right there.
The over/under is 146.5 points.
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