Mississippi State men’s basketball takes on South Carolina Tuesday night

STARKVILLE, Miss. — The Mississippi State men’s basketball team will renew its annual home-and-home series against South Carolina on Tuesday night at 6 p.m. CT inside Humphrey Coliseum. The game will air on ESPNU.

The Bulldogs (13-7, 4-3 SEC) are coming off a 76-50 loss to then-No. 13 Texas Tech on Saturday in the Big 12/SEC Challenge. The Bulldogs turned the ball over a season-high 22 times and were held to 39.6% shooting. Junior guard Iverson Molinar, who averages 18.1 points a game, was held to 12 points. Junior forward D.J. Jeffries and junior guard Rocket Watts added 11 and 10 points, respectively.

Molinar is the only Southeastern Conference player to score in double figures in every game his team has played this season. Graduate forward Garrison Brooks adds 11 points a game, while sophomore guard Shakeel Moore is putting up 10.6 points.

MSU has one of the best rebounding margins in the country at plus-7.5, which is second in the SEC and 18th in the nation.

The Gamecocks (13-7, 4-4 SEC) have won three consecutive games and are coming off a 74-63 win at Texas A&M on Saturday, led by graduate guard James Reese V with 20 points.

South Carolina is third in the SEC in rebounds (39.6), blocks (5.25), offensive rebounding percentage (36.2%) and field-goal percentage defense (39.5%). Senior guard Erik Stevenson leads the team with 11.5 points a game, while Reese adds 10.7 and redshirt junior guard Jermaine Couisnard is putting up 10.3.

Tuesday’s game will mark the 42nd meeting between MSU and South Carolina on the hardwood. The Bulldogs own a 25-16 lead in the series and have won 14 of 18 games at Humphrey Coliseum.