No. 14 Mississippi State and unranked Vanderbilt hope to keep seven-game winning streaks alive when the teams meet Tuesday in Nashville, Tenn.
Both squads opened Southeastern Conference play with wins in different fashions.
For the Bulldogs (13-1, 1-0), that was an 85-50 demolition of South Carolina at home. That marked a season low in points allowed, leaving coach Chris Jans pleased afterwards.
“When we’re at our best, we’re very active on the ball, handsy, we’ve got frenetic activity off the ball and they’re all wired and bought in,” Jans said on Saturday. “And when we are lethargic and not in stances, which obviously we’ve done a ton this particular season, we’re just getting exposed.
“Hopefully this will make them feel good about what we’ve been trying to preach to them and get them to buy in even more, this group, so that we can play that style of basketball.”
When Mississippi State is on, the Bulldogs are tough to beat. They’ve registered some of the country’s most impressive wins, including a 90-57 beatdown of then-No. 18 Pitt on Dec. 4 and a 79-66 victory at then-No. 21 Memphis 17 days later.
The Bulldogs have also had spells of underwhelming play in wins over Prairie View A&M (91-84 on Dec. 8) and McNeese State (66-63).
Guard Josh Hubbard is the headliner on offense, leading the team in points (17.7), free-throw percentage (86.4 percent) and 3-pointers made (46) while topping 20 points six times this season. He and Claudell Harris (10.9 ppg) form a veteran backcourt that will be a key in this game.
Defensively, the 6-foot-10 KeShawn Murphy (10.4 points, 7.8 rebounds, 1.3 blocks per game) and 6-foot-7 Cameron Matthews (7.4 ppg, 7.1 rpg, 4.1 apg, 2.6 spg), one of the SEC’s most versatile players for the second consecutive year, are the guys who make the Bulldogs go.
Mississippi State’s veteran composure — they’re 6-1 away from home — could come in handy on Tuesday.
The Commodores (13-1, 1-0), who rank fourth nationally in steal rate (15 percent), have also had success being “handsy” on defense. Five players — Tyler Tanner (2.4 steals per game), Grant Huffman (1.7), Chris Manon (1.6), AJ Hoggard (1.5) and Jason Edwards (1.1) — average more than a steal per game.
Vanderbilt played much of Saturday’s 80-72 win at LSU without Edwards (18.3 ppg), who took a knee to the thigh that required a locker-room trip in the first half. He saw just 17 minutes due to that, and wasn’t the same take-over-the-game scorer the Commodores have relied on much of the season.
That instead was Hoggard, the Michigan State transfer who saved most of his 17 points for the game’s final minutes when the Commodores nursed a single-digit lead.
Vanderbilt also played much of the second half without its best inside player, Devin McGlockton (11.6 ppg, 8.4 rpg) due to foul trouble. That allowed Jaylen Carey to score a season-high 14 points, many of those also key down the stretch.
“Our strength is our numbers,” coach Mark Byington said Saturday. “It’s not an individual. … Right now, that’s the best thing we’ve got going with our team. One guy was injured and couldn’t play, the other guys just had a bigger opportunity.”
It’s the start of a brutal stretch of the schedule for Mississippi State, which will play No. 6 Kentucky and at No. 2 Auburn in the two games after this. A trip to No. 1 Tennessee looms Jan. 21.
The Commodores, in search of their first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2017, appeared in the “first four out” of ESPN’s bracket projection Jan. 3 — before that LSU win. They’re in the midst of the easiest four-game portion of their conference season, with games ahead at Missouri and then a home date with South Carolina.
