Mississippi
Michigan State basketball vs Miss. State in March Madness: Prediction for 2024 NCAA opener
Michigan State men’s basketball vs. Mississippi State
Breaking down Friday’s West Region first-round game between No. 9 Michigan State and No. 8 Mississippi State:
Records: No. 9 Michigan State (19-14, 10-10 Big Ten); No. 8 Mississippi State (21-13, 8-10 Southeastern Conference).
Fast facts: 12:15 p.m. Thursday; Spectrum Center, Charlotte, North Carolina.
TV: CBS.
TUNE IN: Watch NCAA tournament games on TNT, TBS and truTV
At stake: Winner faces winner of 1-seed North Carolina vs. 16-seed Howard or 16-seed Wagner on Saturday for spot in Sweet 16 in Los Angeles.
THE LINE: Michigan State basketball opens as slight gambling favorite over Mississippi State
PRINT YOUR BRACKET: March Madness schedule, how to watch the NCAA tournament
About MSU
Location: East Lansing.
Coach: Tom Izzo (29 seasons at MSU, 706-294 career).
School tournament record: 72-35 in 36 appearances.
Past 10 games: 5-5.
Scoring leaders: Tyson Walker, 18.2 points per game; Malik Hall, 12.6; A.J. Hoggard, 11.
Rebounding leaders: Hall, 5.6 rebounds per game; Mady Sissoko, 5.1; Carson Cooper, 4.6.
Assist leaders: Hoggard, 5.2 assists per game; Walker, 2.9; Tre Holloman, 2.5.
3-point leaders: Holloman, 41.8%; Walker, 37.3%; Akins, 36%.
The buzz: After losing to Kansas State in overtime of last year’s Sweet 16, MSU entered this season as a top-five pick and embraced national championship ambitions. Instead, it immediately suffered through an inconsistent, wild winter. The Spartans dropped their season-opener at home to James Madison, then lost their Big Ten opener at home to Wisconsin. Sophomore center Jaxon Kohler missed the first 14 games after October foot surgery, and freshman point guard Jeremy Fears Jr. was lost for the season after he was shot and suffered non-life threatening injuries Dec. 23. MSU was 9-7 overall and 1-4 in conference play after losing Jan. 11 at Illinois, then won eight of its next 10 games, including beating the top-10 Illini at Breslin Center on Feb. 14. But the Spartans then lost back-to-back home games to Iowa and Ohio State and closed the regular season losing four of five, then split two games at the Big Ten tournament. Walker’s scoring numbers have plummeted — since averaging 20 points per game over his first 17 games this season, the senior is averaging just 16.1 points and shooting 39.4% in the past 15 games. And junior Jaden Akins, since making 7 of 10 3-pointers against Michigan on Jan. 30, is shooting just 30.5% from deep in his past 12 games.
GOING TO CHARLOTTE? MSU basketball tickets in 2024 NCAA tournament: Prices, how to buy
About Mississippi State
Location: Starkville, Mississippi
Coach: Chris Jans (42-26 in two seasons at Mississippi State, 185-70 in eight seasons overall).
School tournament record: 11-12 in 12 appearances.
Past 10 games: 5-5.
Scoring leaders: Josh Hubbard, 17.1 points per game; Tolu Smith III, 15.2; Cameron Matthews, 9.5.
Rebounding leaders: Smith, 8.4 rebounds per game; Matthews, 6.9; D.J. Jeffries, 5.7.
Assist leaders: Matthews, 2.9 assists per game; Dashawn Davis, 2.6; Shakeel Moore, 1.8.
3-point leaders: Hubbard, 38.7%; Trey Fort, 34.9%; Moore, 34.8%.
The buzz: Much like the Spartans, the other MSU has battled inconsistent play throughout the season. The Bulldogs defeated No. 6 Tennessee, 73-56, in Friday’s SEC tournament quarterfinals before losing to eventual champion Auburn in Saturday’s semifinals, 73-66. Mississippi State also defeated the Vols, a No. 2 seed in the NCAAs, in January while also earning regular-season wins against the Big Ten’s Northwestern and Rutgers and NCAA qualifier Washington State. The Bulldogs had two non-SEC losses, against Georgia Tech and Southern, along with a 2-11 mark against the other seven NCAA qualifiers in their conference. With the Spartans already struggling to shoot beyond the arc, they run into one of the nation’s best at defending it from deep. The Bulldogs are seventh in Division I in allowing opponents to make just 29.4% of their 3-point attempts and are 52nd at 41.6% field-goal percentage defense. They also are one of the better offensive rebounding squads at 12.44 per game, which ranks 39th nationally, and 28th in rebounding margin at plus-5.9. Mississippi State scores 74.8 points a contest while giving up 69.1 to opponents. Hubbard, a 5-foot-10 freshman guard, is averaging 25.4 points a game over his past eight.
Prediction
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. The pick: Michigan State 69, Mississippi State 65.
Contact Chris Solari: csolari@freepress.com. Follow him @chrissolari.
Subscribe to the “Spartan Speak” podcast for new episodes weekly on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or anywhere you listen to podcasts. And catch all of our podcasts and daily voice briefing at freep.com/podcasts.
Mississippi
It’s 2,350 miles long, spans 31 US states and is home to a 100kg animal with a tongue that looks like a worm | Discover Wildlife
The Mississippi River flows for around 2,350 miles through the heart of the US. It drains an area of 1.2 million square miles – that’s roughly 40% of the country – and at certain points is 11 miles wide. It is North America’s second longest river, behind the Missouri River.
Rising from Lake Itasca in Minnesota, the Mississippi winds southwards through a range of environments, draining water from 31 US states before reaching its delta at the Gulf of Mexico in Louisiana.
The sheer size of the river and the diversity of habitats it passes through make it a refuge for a huge range of animal species, including more than 260 fish, 326 birds, 50 mammals and at least 145 amphibians and reptiles, according to the National Park Service.
There are many weird and wonderful animals living within the Mississippi’s vast waters, but surely one of the strangest is the alligator snapping turtle.
This prehistoric-looking reptile is massive. It can weigh up to 100kg and males can grow well over half a metre long, making it the largest freshwater turtle in North America.
And as if its size wasn’t enough, the alligator snapper has a host of other characteristics that make it one of the Mississippi’s most striking creatures, including a dark, spiky shell (known as carapace), a brick-like head and a sharp, hooked beak. With such a formidable appearance, it’s easy to see how the turtle got its ‘alligator’ name.
But perhaps the turtle’s most curious feature is a worm-like appendage found on its tongue, which it uses as a lure to catch prey, such as fish, amphibians and invertebrates. Alligator snappers are also quite happy scavenging for food.
More amazing wildlife stories from around the world
NIL money comes with a price. More specifically, a tax bill.
The Mississippi legislature is trying to reduce that burden for college athletes who play there.
Via Bea Anhuci of the Mississippi Clarion Ledger, the Mississippi House of Representatives has passed a bill that would exempt NIL earnings from state income tax.
It’s a recruiting tool for Ole Miss and Mississippi State, one that would put the Mississippi schools on equal footing with other states that host SEC universities. Florida, Tennessee, and Texas have no state income tax, and Arkansas carved out NIL earnings from the state’s income tax burden in 2025.
Mississippi currently charges a four-percent tax on anyone making more than $10,000 per year.
NIL earnings remain subject to federal income tax.
The bill will have to also pass the Mississippi Senate, and the governor would then be required to sign it into law.
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