Mississippi vs. South Carolina - 12/31/17 College Basketball Pick, Odds, and Prediction

South Carolina Gamecocks (9-3) at Mississippi Rebels (7-5)

College Basketball: Sunday, December 31, 2017 at 6:00 pm (The Pavilion at Ole Miss)
The Line: Mississippi Rebels -2 1/2 -- Over/Under: 146 1/2
TV: ESPNU
The South Carolina Gamecocks pay a visit to the Ole Miss Rebels in SEC college basketball on Sunday.

The South Carolina Gamecocks tuned up for their conference opener with an easy 74-45 rout of the subdivision Limestone Saints. This was just a nine point game at the halfway point before South Carolina turned up the pressure with a 40-20 run over the final 20 minutes with a 38%-25% shooting edge being more then enough.

Frank Booker topped the Gamecocks offense with a game high 17 points with four pulls on 5-10 from the floor including a 5-9 effort from distance. David Beatty gave South Carolina 16 points and three assists on 6-11 shooting followed by a 13 point, four rebound effort from Maik Kotsar on 6-10 from the field. 

The Mississippi Rebels open their SEC schedule with wins in three of four following an 82-59 rout of the Bradley Braves as a 7.5 point home favorite. Mississippi ended this from a competitive stand point early with a 40-20 advantage heading to the locker room behind a 46%-32.3% difference in marksmanship. 

The Rebels were explosive and balanced on the attack with Terrence Davis leading all scorers with 25 points on 9-16 including 6-8 from distance. Markel Crawford gave Mississippi 16 points, four pulls and five assists while Deandre Burnett and Bruce Stevens combined for 21 points on 6-12 from the field.

South Carolina are 2-9 ATS in their last 11 vs. Southeastern and South Carolina are 7-2-1 ATS in their last 10 road games and over is 7-2 in South Carolina last 9 Sunday games. Mississippi are 2-8 ATS in their last 10 games overall and over is 6-2-1 in Mississippi last 9 vs. Southeastern and over is 9-4-1 in Mississippi last 14 home games. Underdog is 15-4 ATS in the last 19 meetings.

There is probably a good argument to back either team but the home squad laying small chalk looks like a good deal.