State Travels To Take On #15 Tennessee

Thursday, January 29

Knoxville, Tenn.

5:30 p.m.

Mississippi State

#17 Tennessee

State Travels To Take On #15 Tennessee

January 28, 2026 | Women's Basketball

MSU Notes UT Notes

STARKVILLE – Mississippi State women's basketball will play their second consecutive game away from Humphrey Coliseum on Thursday, as they travel to Knoxville to take on the 15th-ranked Tennessee Lady Volunteers. Tipoff for the contest is set for 5:30 p.m. on SECN+.

GAME INFORMATION
#15 Tennessee Lady Volunteers (14-3, 6-0 SEC) vs Mississippi State Bulldogs (15-6, 2-5 SEC)
Date: Thursday, January 29, 5:30 p.m. CT
Location: Knoxville, Tenn. (Food City Center)
Watch: SECN+
Listen: MSU Radio Network – Starkville 96.1

NOTES:

Mississippi State dropped their last contest to the #23 Alabama Crimson Tide, 78-85.
Favour Nwaedozi led the Bulldogs in scoring for the seventh time this year with 19 points. Nwaedozi hit a season-high seven shots from the charity stripe.
Madison Francis finished the contest with 16 points, eight rebounds and a career-high seven steals.
Jaylah Lampley added 14 points off the bench, an SEC-high. She shot 6-9 from the field and 2-4 from distance.
Trayanna Crisp scored 11 points, including making all six of her free throws.
This will be the second time Tennessee and State has faced off this season, as the Lady Vols won the previous contest in Starkville, 90-80.
Francis was recently named to the 2026 Naismith National Player of the Year Watchlist, one of four freshmen in the nation to be named.
Francis' is the only player in the nation to have recorded both seven blocks and seven steals in different games this year.
Francis remains the SEC's block leader as a true freshman at 3.0 blocks per game. She is the only SEC freshman to average than 1.0 blocks and one of five players in the SEC to average 2.0 or more.

SCOUTING THE OPPONENT

Tennessee is the only team in the SEC who is undefeated in conference play, as the Lady Vols are 6-0 against SEC opponents.
The Lady Vols are 8-0 in the Food City Center this season.
Four players are averaging 10+ for Tennessee - Talaysia Cooper (14.4), Janiah Barker (14.3), Mia Pauldo (12.1) and Zee Spearman (11.3).

SERIES HISTORY:

Tennessee leads the all-time series 42-8.
In Knoxville, Tennessee leads 19-3.
The last 10 meetings between the two programs are split, as each team has won five games apiece.

Visit HailState.com for the latest news and information on women's basketball. Fans can also follow the program on social media by searching 'HailStateWBK' on X, Facebook and Instagram.