Bulldogs, Vols Meet With Postseason Implications On The Line
STARKVILLE, Miss. - With the regular season winding down, Mississippi State travels to Knoxville on Wednesday looking to get back on the winning track and keep its post-season aspirations alive.
Tipoff at Thompson-Boling Arena is slated for 8 p.m. CT, and the game will be televised by Raycom, with Tom Hammond handling play-by-play duties and Larry Conley serving as the analyst. The Bulldogs, who have lost four straight in this series and seven of the last 10, are 7-6 this year in televised affairs.
MSU also owns a perfect 4-0 mark against Eastern Division foes, with wins against Vanderbilt, Kentucky, Georgia and South Carolina. Last year, the Bulldogs were 4-2 against the East.
Both MSU (17-10, 7-5) and UT (16-10, 7-5) are coming off losses this past Saturday. While the Bulldogs dropped an 87-85 decision at Alabama in double-overtime, the Volunteers took it on the chin at Kentucky, 77-58.
Wednesday's outing is a homecoming of sorts for two Bulldog players - Jarvis Varnado (Brownsville, Tenn.) and Barry Stewart (Shelbyville, Tenn.).
Varnado, who leads the nation with 134 blocked shots this year, needs just two more to tie former Auburn standout Kyle Davis for the second-most in SEC history with 360. LSU's Shaquille O'Neal holds the record with 412.
After Wednesday, MSU returns to Humphrey Coliseum at 5 p.m. on Saturday against Auburn. On March 4, the Bulldogs wrap up play at home against Florida at 7 p.m. before concluding the regular season at rival Ole Miss on March 7, which is tentatively set for 4 p.m.