It figures to be a low-scoring affair when the Mississippi State Bulldogs (12-4, 1-3 SEC) host the No. 5 Tennessee Volunteers (14-3, 4-1 SEC) on Tuesday. Tennessee was beaten by the Kentucky Wildcats 63-56 at Thompson-Boling Arena on Saturday. Uros Plavsic was the key player in the loss with 19 points.
The Volunteers remain third in the Southeastern Conference. Mississippi State lost on Wednesday at Stegeman Coliseum, falling to the Georgia Bulldogs 58-50. Shakeel Moore had 15 points in the losing effort, leading the team. The Bulldogs slipped to 11th in the Southeastern Conference.
The teams are meeting for the final time this season. Tennessee will be pursuing a season sweep against Mississippi State after winning the only earlier matchup 87-53 at Thompson-Boling Arena on January 3, their fourth straight head-to-head victory. Santiago Vescovi led the Volunteers with 14 points, while Zakai Zeigler added 11 points and 10 assists.
Tyler Stevenson had 15 points in the loss. Vescovi (11.4 ppg), Olivier Nkamhoua (11.1), and Julian Phillips (9.8) are leading the Volunteers in scoring this season. Phillips also has grabbed 5.3 rebounds per game. Meanwhile, Zeigler is dishing 4.5 assists per game.
Tolu Smith’s 13.6 points per game have powered the Bulldogs on offense. Smith also has posted 7.6 rebounds per game. Dashawn Davis has tallied 2.5 assists per game. The Volunteers and the Bulldogs are two of the top defenses in the country, ranking first and sixth in defensive efficiency, respectively.
Tennessee is 8-2 in the last 10 games with an average margin of +21.2 (75.8-54.6). Mississippi State has gone 6-4 over the last 10, scoring 64.8 points per game on average while allowing 61.7 (+3.1 margin). The Bulldogs are averaging 65.8 ppg for the full season while allowing 56.8.
VOLUNTEERS HOT/COLD
(Last Five | Season Average | Differential)
Points + Rebounds + Assists:
Jahmai Mashack: 4.2 | 8.5 | -4.3
Points per game:
Santiago Vescovi: 15.2 | 11.4 | +3.8
Tyreke Key: 5.4 | 9.1 | -3.7
Assists per game:
Zakai Zeigler: 7.4 | 4.5 | +2.9
BULLDOGS HOT/COLD
(Last Five | Season Average | Differential)
Points + Rebounds + Assists:
Tolu Smith: 14.0 | 22.9 | -8.9
Points per game:
Tolu Smith: 8.0 | 13.6 | -5.6
Rebounds per game:
D.J. Jeffries: 8.0 | 6.2 | +1.8
Tolu Smith: 4.8 | 7.6 | -2.8
Assists per game:
Dashawn Davis: 3.6 | 2.5 | +1.1
Cameron Matthews: 1.2 | 2.2 | -1.0
SportsTips’ College Basketball Pick:
Tennessee -6.5 (-105)
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*Odds correct at time of publication, courtesy of BetMGM.
