Mississippi State men’s basketball visits Vanderbilt for Saturday contest

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The Mississippi State men’s basketball team will battle with the Vanderbilt Commodores at Memorial Gymnasium on Saturday at noon CT. The game will be televised on SEC Network.

Mississippi State (7-4, 2-1 SEC) looks to ride the momentum of Tuesday’s 78-63 win over No. 13 Missouri.

In that game, the Bulldogs erased a 12-point halftime deficit to match their largest second-half comeback under sixth-year coach Ben Howland. MSU outscored Missouri 51-24 in the second half.

Redshirt sophomore guard D.J. Stewart Jr. and sophomore guard Iverson Molinar scored 24 and 20 points, respectively. Redshirt sophomore forward Tolu Smith finished with 15 points and nine rebounds.

Stewart leads the Bulldogs with 18.8 points per game, while Molinar is right behind him with 18.6. Smith is averaging 12.7 points and a team-high 8.9 rebounds.

Vanderbilt (4-4, 0-2 SEC) started the season 4-2 before starting conference play with losses to Florida (91-72) and Kentucky (77-74).

Sophomore guard Scotty Pippen Jr. and sophomore forward Dylan Disu have led the way offensively for the Commodores, averaging 22.0 and 12.3 points per game. Pippen is averaging 23.0 points and 5.6 assists over the last five games. Disu heads into Saturday’s action as the Southeastern Conference’s leading rebounder with 9.0 per game.

Freshman forward Myles Stute is averaging 11.5 points and 4.3 rebounds per game. He has scored in double figures in his last three outings. The trio of Pippen, Disu and Stute has combined to make 41 of the team’s 75 3-pointers this season.

Saturday’s game is the 131st meeting between the two programs on the hardwood. Vanderbilt holds a 79-51 series advantage and owns a 48-10 home record against the Bulldogs. MSU has won the last two meetings and three of the last four, including an 80-70 home win over the Commodores last season.