Bulldogs, Vols Set To Battle For SEC Tournament Crown Sunday Afternoon
TAMPA, Fla. - Today, Mississippi State finds itself playing for another Southeastern Conference championship with Rick Stansbury at the helm. This time, though, far more is at stake than just another addition to the trophy case. The bigger prize, you might say, is the Big Dance.
The winner of today's Mississippi State-Tennessee showdown at the St. Times Pete Forum not only offers bragging rights for a year as the best team in the SEC, it garners the automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament, which begins on Thursday.
Tipoff is set for 12:05 p.m., with CBS broadcasting the title bout nationally. Longtime veteran announcers Bill Raftery and Verne Lundquist will be handling the on-air responsibilities.
The implications of today's outcome are endless.
In addition to earning the right to play for a national championship, MSU is looking for its third tournament title since 1996 when it beat Kentucky. In 2002, the Bulldogs brought home their second title with a win against Alabama.
State (22-12) also returned to the finals in 2003, but dropped a hard-fought decision to Kentucky in New Orleans. The same two schools battled it out in the league's first tournament in 1933, with the Wildcats prevailing in Atlanta, 46-27.
Mississippi State, which is 24-46 in this annual event, has advanced to Sunday with convincing double-digit wins against Georgia (79-70), South Carolina (82-68) and regular-season champion No. 20 LSU (667-57). The Volunteers (21-11) punched their ticket with wins against Alabama (99-62) and Auburn (94-85).
It's the second meeting of the year against MSU and UT, as the Vols posted a come-from-behind win in Knoxville, 81-76. Barry Stewart paced MSU with 20 points, while Ravern Johnson and Dee Bost added 18 and 17, respectively. Tennessee freshman Scotty Hopson led all scorers with 21 points.
The win for the Vols that night was their fifth-straight against MSU. Tennessee is also 6-2 against the Bulldogs in the SEC Tournament.
However, Mississippi State currently owns a 7-1 ledger this season against foes from the Eastern Division.