Mississippi State men’s basketball set to take on struggling Georgia

STARKVILLE, Miss. — After falling 82-72 at Ole Miss on Saturday, the Mississippi State men’s basketball team aims to bounce back against a struggling Georgia Bulldogs team Wednesday at 6 p.m. CT inside Humphrey Coliseum on SEC Network.

In Saturday’s game, Mississippi State (10-4, 1-1 SEC) fell behind by 14 points during the first half. The Bulldogs came within seven points late in the contest, but Ole Miss came away with the 82-72 win.

Graduate forward Garrison Brooks started in place of redshirt junior forward Tolu Smith and finished with 16 points and eight rebounds, while junior guard Iverson Molinar also had 16. Junior forward D.J. Jefferies added 13 points and sophomore forward Cameron Matthews finished with nine points on 4-for-5 shooting and 10 rebounds.

MSU is led by Molinar with 16.8 points and 4.3 assists per game. Brooks averages 11.3 points per game to go with 6.9 rebounds, while Jeffries (11.0) and sophomore guard Shakeel Moore (10.7) also average double-digit scoring efforts.

Georgia (5-10, 0-2 SEC) has lost four consecutive games, including both its Southeastern Conference games. Most recently, the Bulldogs lost 92-77 to then-No. 16 Kentucky on Saturday. Georgia’s last SEC win was a 91-78 victory over the LSU Tigers on Feb. 23, 2021.

The black and red Bulldogs are led by a trio of players averaging double figures. Sophomore guard Kario Oquendo leads the team with 12.9 points, while redshirt senior guard Braelen Bridges and graduate guard Aaron Cook are averaging 12.6 and 10.7 points, respectively.

Wednesday’s meeting will be the 116th meeting between the two Bulldog programs on the hardwood. Georgia currently leads the all-time series 58-57, but MSU has won four straight and owns a 33-18 edge in games played in Starkville.