Mississippi State men’s basketball looks to protect home court against No. 19 Tennessee

STARKVILLE, Miss. — The Mississippi State men’s basketball team will host the No. 19 Tennessee Volunteers on Wednesday at 8 p.m. CT inside Humphrey Coliseum on ESPN2.

The Bulldogs (14-8, 5-4 SEC) are coming off a 63-55 loss at Arkansas on Saturday but are 12-1 at Humphrey Coliseum. In Saturday’s loss, MSU rallied to come within one point in the final minutes before surrendering 10 of the final 13 points to eventually fall 63-55.

Junior guard Iverson Molinar led the Bulldogs with a game-high 19 points, while graduate forward Garrison Brooks recorded a double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds. Redshirt junior forward Tolu Smith returned after a three-game absence and finished with 11 points, six rebounds, three assists and a block in 27 minutes of action.

Molinar averages 18.2 points a game and is the only Southeastern Conference player to score in double figures in every game his team has played in this season. Smith has put up 12.9 points and 6.6 rebounds in nine games, while Brooks averages 11.4 points and 6.6 rebounds.

The Volunteers (16-6. 7-3 SEC) have won five consecutive SEC games after an 81-57 win at South Carolina on Saturday. Tennessee’s stout defense has held opponents to 63.1 points per game and has averaged 10.0 steals per game.

Junior guard Santiago Vescovi leads the team with 13.9 points and has made 66 3-pointers on the year. Freshman guard Kennedy Chandler is putting up 13.2 points and five assists a game.

Wednesday’s meeting will be the 131st meeting between the Bulldogs and Volunteers on the hardwood. Tennessee leads the all-time series 86-44 and has won five of the last six meetings.