Mississippi State and Tennessee Battle For Seeding in SEC Matchup

SEC basketball rolls on Wednesday night as Mississippi State is set to play Tennessee tonight. The Bulldogs come in with a record of 14-8 (5-4), while the Volunteers rank No. 19 in the nation with a record of 16-6 (7-3).

Mississippi State

With a half-game lead on the Florida Gators for fifth in the SEC, Mississippi State fell to Arkansas 63-55 in its last game. The 55 points are the lowest it has scored in any SEC game this season and only recorded less one time this year against Texas Tech.

Iverson Molinar continues to lead the Bulldogs. He scored 19 points in his last game and has registered at least 11 in every game this season. He currently averages 18.2, while both Tolu Smith and Brooks Garrison are scoring in double digits per game.

Opportunity awaits. Take advantage. pic.twitter.com/9OYdVySTFp

— Mississippi State Men's Basketball (@HailStateMBK) February 8, 2022

Both Smith and Harrison are recording nearly seven rebounds per game. However, the Bulldogs are only shooting 32% from their point line and 73% from the free-throw line.

Tennessee

After a rough start to conference play, Tennessee has currently won six of its past eight conference games. It also has had six of its seven wins in conference come against unranked opponents, as its lone ranked win came against LSU. The Volunteers, though, also have wins over UNC and Arizona in non-conference games. 

They beat South Carolina 81-57. In their last game, Josiah-Jordan James as he scored 20, which was his season-high. The Volunteers have received balanced scoring throughout the season, with no players averaging over 14 points per game. Santiago Vescovi is the leading scorer at 13.9, while Kennedy Chandler is averaging 13.2.

20 points. 6 boards. 4 threes.

Jo went off in his home state. pic.twitter.com/iuFYQGaNko

— Tennessee Basketball (@Vol_Hoops) February 8, 2022

This will be the first matchup of the season between these two teams. Tip-off is set for 9 p.m. EST on ESPN 2. Following the game, Mississippi State will head on the road to Baton Rouge to face LSU on Saturday. Tennessee will return home to play Vanderbilt as the SEC Championship approaches.