How do you reduce home-court advantage? Easy, schedule a Sunday morning tip time in the Bible Belt when most folks are preoccupied. Mississippi State has adjusted to the absence of guard Nick Weatherspoon, who's out with a neck injury, while Baylor might be down to seven scholarship players if two contributing reserves, forward Tristan Clark (foot) and guard Jake Lindsey (hip), are unable to play. The Bulldogs have covered in five of their last six road outings and the unusual starting time enables them to continue the trend.

Baylor was one of the few NIT teams seemingly unaffected by the longer 3-point line implemented for this tournament. The Bears made 10 of 20 from long distance in their 80-59 first-round rout of Wagner. But their 52.6 percent shooting from the field disguised shortcomings that included 19 turnovers and eight missed free throws. Mississippi State grinded out a 66-59 win over Nebraska by holding the Cornhuskers to 35 percent shooting and winning the rebounding battle 47-30. The Bears tend to struggle with physical opponents, and the Bulldogs are likely to draw this into a moderate-tempo contest. Both clubs are solid defensively, holding opponents to fewer than 70 points per game. All of these factors favor the underdog with the points.