Its an SEC battle as the 21st ranked Mississippi State Bulldogs travel to Tennessee to take on the 7th ranked Volunteers. Mississippi State is 11-2 overall and 0-1 in the SEC while Tennessee is 11-2 overall and 1-0 in the SEC. Tennessee beat Mississippi State both times they played last year, covering in both games. Tipoff is at 7:00 p.m. EST at the T-B Arena in Knoxville.
The Mississippi State Bulldogs have moved into the national top 25 but that tenure may be ending as the Bulldogs have lost their last two games. They fell to Drake 58-52 as a 4.5 point favorite and then lost their SEC opener 78-67 at home against No. 8 Alabama last Wednesday. They are now 11-2 and the road does not get easier as they head into the teeth of the SEC schedule.
?? ยป No. 21 MSU Falls to No. 8 Alabama#HailState??https://t.co/YSdJCp2b6I
— Mississippi State Men's Basketball (@HailStateMBK) December 29, 2022
Against Alabama, they shot a bad 36% from the floor. The leading scorer was DJ Jeffries with 11 points and 15 rebounds while KeShawn Murphy added 11 points. Will McNair chipped in with 10 points and 7 rebounds. The Bulldogs best player, Tolu Smith, only had 5 points and 6 rebounds. Smith leads the team with 14.8 points and 8.5 rebounds per game. Mississippi State is 4th in the nation allowing just 54.5 points per game and they are top 10 in field goal percentage against. They are 6th in defensive efficiency, nationally.