NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE - MARCH 15: Ben Howland the head coach of the Mississippi State Bulldogs gives instructions to Quinndary Weatherspoon #11 against the Tennessee Volunteers during the Quarterfinals of the SEC Basketball Tournament at Bridgestone Arena on March 15, 2019 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)
The No. 5 seed Mississippi State Bulldogs (23-10; SEC at-large) prepare for the No. 12 seed Liberty (28-6; Atlantic Sun conference tournament champion) in an East Region Round of 16 matchup at SAP Center in San Jose, California as NCAA Tournament action continues on Friday afternoon.
The game is scheduled to start at 7:27 p.m. ET and will be televised on TruTV. But if you don’t have cable, you can sign up for one of the following cable-free, live-TV streaming services that allow you to watch TruTV on your computer, phone or streaming device:
FuboTV
FuboTV
TruTV is one of 85-plus live TV channels included in the main FuboTV bundle, which is largely tailored towards sports. Also included are TNT, TBS and CBS (live in select markets), allowing you to watch every NCAA tournament game.
You can start a free 7-day trial of FuboTV right here, and you can then watch a live stream of the game on your computer via the FuboTV website, or on your phone (Android and iPhone supported), tablet, Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, Chromecast or other supported device via the FuboTV app.
If you can’t watch live, FuboTV comes with 30 hours of cloud DVR space, as well as a 72-hour look-back feature, which allows you to watch the game (and other programs) on-demand within three days of its conclusion, even if you don’t record it.
PlayStation Vue
PlayStation Vue
PS Vue–which doesn’t require an actual PlayStation console to sign up or watch–offers four different live-TV channel packages: All four include TruTV. Also included are TNT, TBS and CBS (live in select markets), allowing you to watch every March Madness game.
You can start a free 5-day trial of PS Vue right here, and you can then watch a live stream of the game on your computer via the PS Vue website, or on your phone (Android and iPhone supported), tablet, Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, Chromecast, PlayStation (3 or 4), or other supported device via the PS Vue app.
If you can’t watch live, PS Vue comes with cloud DVR.
Hulu With Live TV
Hulu
In addition to a Netflix-like on-demand streaming library, Hulu also offers a bundle of 60-plus live TV channels, including TruTV. Also included are TNT, TBS and CBS (live in select markets), meaning you can watch every other NCAA tournament game.
You can sign up for “Hulu with Live TV” right here, and you can then watch a live stream of the game on your computer via the Hulu website, or on your phone (Android and iPhone supported), tablet, Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, Chromecast, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, Echo Show, or other streaming device via the Hulu app.
If you can’t watch live, Hulu With Live TV comes with 50 hours of cloud DVR space, as well as the option to upgrade to “Enhanced Cloud DVR,” which gives you 200 hours of space and the ability to fast-forward through commercials.
Mississippi State vs Liberty Preview
Mississippi State head coach Ben Howland has the Bulldogs playing in their first NCAA Tournament game since 2009. Since being fired from his former UCLA job, Howland has done a great job in resurrecting the Bulldogs program and turning them into one of the top landing recruiting spots in the SEC. They get a strong test against Liberty in the classic 5-12 game, a game that has seen more true upsets than any other combination. Howland told reporters during the week:
“Liberty is going to be really tough. They’re going to be really, really sound on both ends of the floor.”
That is an understatement, though. The Flames play at a pace and style that kills during the NCAA Tournament, and routinely produces upsets in this very same 5-12 spot. According to Kenpom, Liberty plays at the fourth slowest pace in the country, and one of the only teams that plays even slower, ACC regular season champion and No. 1 seed Virginia, who are led by slow-down coach extraordinaire Tony Bennett.
The Bulldogs boast the best player in the game by far, senior guard Quinndary Weatherspoon. Weatherspoon can do a bit of everything for the Bulldogs, and he is Howland’s best and most steady hand. He led the Bulldogs in scoring this season, averaging 18.2 points per game, while shooting an efficient 39% from three-point range.
The Flames advanced to the NCAA Tournament by beating top-seeded Lipscomb in the Atlantic Sun Tournament Championship Game. The Flames are led by a trio of players who averaged double-figures in scoring this season, forward Scottie James (13.1 PPG, 8.7 rebounds; leads team in both categories), guard Caleb Homesley (12 PPG) and guard Lovell Cabill Jr. (11.5 PPG). James was named the conference tournament MVP.
Liberty junior point guard Georgie Pacheco-Ortiz is excited for the opportunity to go against a quality SEC team. Pacheco-Ortiz told the News & Advance:
“This is a great opportunity for us to don’t do that again and do what we do every day.”
The winner of Mississippi State-Liberty takes on the winner of Virginia Tech-Saint Louis in the Round of 32 on Sunday.