Mississippi State men’s basketball hosts No. 13 Missouri

STARKVILLE, Miss. — The Mississippi State men’s basketball team will host the No. 13 Missouri Tigers at Humphrey Coliseum on Tuesday at 8 p.m. CT. The contest will be televised on SEC Network.

Mississippi State (6-4, 1-1 SEC) comes in after a 78-73 double-overtime loss to the Kentucky Wildcats on Saturday.

Redshirt sophomore guard D.J. Stewart Jr. scored 19 points in that game and tallied five rebounds. Sophomore guard Iverson Molinar scored 17 points and also tallied five rebounds. Redshirt senior forward Jalen Johnson put up 14 points and made three of the team’s five 3-pointers, while redshirt sophomore forward Tolu Smith added seven points and 12 rebounds.

Molinar leads the Bulldogs with 18.4 points per game, while Stewart is second with 18.3. Smith is averaging 12.5 points and a team-high 8.9 rebounds.

As a team, MSU is rated first among Southeastern Conference teams with an offensive rebound percentage of 39.3%. The Bulldogs have averaged 14.5 offensive boards per game.

The Bulldogs have won 12 of their last 14 SEC home outings and own a 5-1 record when four players or more reach double figures.

Missouri (7-1, 1-1 SEC) opened conference play with a 73-53 loss to then-No. 7 Tennessee before bouncing back with an 81-68 road win over an undefeated Arkansas team. The Tigers are one of three teams nationally with a pair of ranked wins.

Junior guard Xavier Pinson leads Missouri with 15.0 points per game, while senior guard Mark Smith and redshirt senior guard Dru Smith average 12.5 and 11.4 points, respectively, to headline a talented backcourt that has made a combined 34 triples in Missouri’s first eight games.

Senior forward Jeremiah Tilmon is averaging 10.4 points and a team-high 7.8 boards.

The Tigers rank 16th nationally and first in the SEC in 3-point field goal percentage defense, holding opponents to 26.1% shooting from beyond the arc.

Tuesday’s game is the 15th meeting between the two programs on the hardwood. The Bulldogs hold a 9-5 series advantage and have won eight of the last nine games against Missouri, sweeping the season series a year ago.