Michigan State vs Mississippi State picks, predictions, odds: Who wins March Madness game?

No. 9 seed Michigan State and No. 8 seed Mississippi State play Thursday, March 21 in an NCAA Tournament first-round game in Charlotte, North Carolina.

The West region game is scheduled for 9:15 a.m. PT and can be seenon CBS (stream with this free trialfrom FUBO).

Who will win the March Madness game and advance to the second round?

Check out these NCAA Tournament first-round picks and predictions for the men's college basketball matchup.

Michigan State is a 1.5-point favorite in the game in March Madness odds provided by BetMGM Sportsbook. The Spartans are -125 on the moneyline. The Bulldogs are +105. The over/under for the game is set at 129.5 points.

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Thursday's March Madness picks, predictions: Michigan State vs Mississippi State | Duquesne vs BYU | Akron vs Creighton | Long Beach State vs Arizona | Morehead State vs. Illinois | Oregon vs South Carolina | Nevada vs Dayton | Oakland vs Kentucky | McNeese vs Gonzaga | South Dakota State vs Iowa State | Saint Peter's vs Tennessee | NC State vs Texas Tech | Samford vs Kansas | Drake vs Washington State

Friday's March Madness picks, predictions: Northwestern vs Florida Atlantic | Colgate vs Baylor | UAB vs San Diego State | Western Kentucky vs Marquette | Stetson vs UConn | New Mexico vs Clemson | Yale vs Auburn | Texas A&M vs Nebraska | Vermont vs Duke | Charleston vs Alabama | Longwood vs Houston | James Madison vs Wisconsin | TCU vs Utah State | Grand Canyon vs Saint Mary's

Stefan Krajisnik writes: "The Bulldogs have a defense that most teams don't want to face in the NCAA tournament. Michigan State has a strong offense, ranking in the top 60 nationally in terms of adjusted efficiency, according to KenPom. However, Mississippi State should be able to slow that unit down."

Chris Solari writes: "In the battle of MSU's, it is the Spartans' veterans who harness lessons learned all winter and make the clutch plays down the stretch to advance to a showdown with 1-seed North Carolina."

David Fletcher writes: "The Spartans are slight favorites, and we find it hard to bet against them given how much the Bulldogs struggle from the charity line. It’s essential in a game like this where it’s hard to identify an edge between the two on paper."

Teddy Ricketson writes: "This game should be a good duel between two talented guards. Both Mississippi State’s Josh Hubbard and Michigan State’s Tyson Walker are used to having to do a little bit of everything to help their team win. For the Bulldogs, though, they have forward Tolu Smith to help Hubbard, but overall lack the depth that the Spartans have. Malik Hall, A.J. Hoggard and Jaden Akins are all solid players that can step up if Walker gets shut down. Plus, Michigan State’s overall defensive metrics are better, meaning Mississippi State would have to play above-average offense to pull off a win."

The site gives the Bulldogs a 41% shot at defeating the Spartans in Thursday's first-round March Madness NCAA Tournament game.

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Reach Jeremy Cluff at [email protected]. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter @Jeremy_Cluff.