Tuesday, January 8

8:00 PM CST

Memorial Gymnasium - BE THERE

*I’m looking at the ‘when the boogeyman is fired, I will be back’ crowd*

**Yes, that includes you who haven’t been this year yet**

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94.9 FM Locally

SiriusXM 382 for Vandy Broadcast

Mississippi State comes in ranked 14th, while Vandy received 1 vote for the Top 25.

Vanderbilt comes in ranked 46th and State comes in at 16 in the Kenpom rankings.

The all-valuable NET to the NCAA has Vanderbilt ranked at 31st, while Mississippi State comes in at 14

Vanderbilt -1.5 (-120)

Vanderbilt ML (-134)

Over/Under 156.5

Mississippi State comes into the game coming off a dominant victory at home against South Carolina 85-50, improving their record to 13-1 on the season. Their biggest victories this year have come in a 90-57 drumming of Pitt and a 79-66 victory on the road against Memphis (while declaring this a road game for either Mississippi school is laughable since 35% of the school comes from Collierville High School). Their sole loss this season comes to Butler 87-77.

Vanderbilt comes into this game off the lone SEC road win of the Saturday slate, an 80-72 victory against LSU. The win improved Vandy’s record to 13-1 on the season, continuing Byington’s hot start as the leader of the Commodores.

If you have watched a Mississippi State game since Chris Jans took over as the coach in 2022 you know somewhat what to expect from his teams, super athletic get after you defense. Jon Rothstein after every Mississippi State wins will tweet out “Chris Jans. The Dentist” because of how these teams have played, and playing against them is equivalent to a trip to the dentist. This years iteration of the Mississippi State Bulldogs has decided to include an explosive offense as well, ranking 31st in the nation in points scored. The Bulldogs also boast the nation’s 7th best assist to turnover ratio, which is something Vanderbilt will need to disrupt if they want a chance to win this game late. Where State also has excelled this season is on the offensive boards, having the 20th ranked team in the nation in that category. The leading scorer for State is Josh Hubbard, averaging 17.7 points per game; followed by Claudell Harris Jr, KeShawn Murphy, and Riley Keugel all averaging 10 points per game. A successful night for Mississippi State starts on the defensive end, forcing turnovers from a Vanderbilt team that doesn’t normally commit many. On the offensive end look for State to crash the boards and dominate the 2nd chance points, especially if they can get Carey or McGlockton in foul trouble early.

For Vandy, the keys to this game are going to lay in getting defensive boards and pushing the ball down the court. It was evident on Saturday that this team thrives in transition and struggles some in the half court, especially when Jason Edwards was out for a little after the collision around half court. Mississippi State is not a team the fighting Mark Byington’s will want to let dictate pace, as we will get choked out by that defense very promptly. For Vandy to win, it will take transition offense and hitting the open 3 point shots when they are there.

82-65 Mississippi St