Mississippi State Basketball: Dawgs Set to Battle Vanderbilt

Mississippi State Basketball: Men’s Hoops at Vanderbilt Preview

The Mississippi State Men’s Basketball team (7-4, 2-1 SEC) is coming off its best win of the season so far, a 78-63 victory over the #13 Missouri Tigers. The Bulldogs will look to build some more momentum on Saturday when they head to Nashville to take on the Vanderbilt Commodores. The game is set for 12:00 PM CT and will be on the SEC Network.

The Bulldogs will again be without forward Javian Davis, who missed the Missouri game. Head coach Ben Howland said in the Mizzou postgame presser that “he’s out for the next 10 days.” As of right now, Davis will return to action next Saturday when Mississippi State hosts Florida.

Scouting Vanderbilt

Head coach Jerry Stackhouse enters his second season in Nashville with increased expectations after posting an 11-21 record and winning just 3 SEC games a year ago. Vanderbilt comes into Saturday’s contest with an overall record of 4-4, 0-2 in SEC play.

The Commodores started the season 4-2 before falling to SEC foes Florida, 91-72, and Kentucky, 77-74. Vandy’s wins have come against Valparaiso, Mississippi Valley State, Radford, and Alcorn State.

Much like Iverson Molinar and DJ Stewart, Vandy sophomore guard Scotty Pippen Jr. has made a significant jump from his freshman campaign. After averaging 12 points a game last year, he now leads the team in scoring at 22 points per game, which is good enough for second in the SEC.

Pippen Jr. also leads the team with 5 assists and 1.6 steals per game. Maxwell Evans, Jordan Wright, DJ Harvey, and Trey Thomas have contributed quality minutes in the Dores backcourt so far this season.

The Commodore frontcourt consists of Dylan Disu and Myles Stute. Disu has also increased his play level this year, coming into Saturday’s matchup averaging 12.3 points and 9 rebounds.

Stute is a true freshman who has inserted himself into the starting lineup recently. He has averaged 11.5 points in 4 games and has shot 52.2% from beyond the arc.

As a team, Vanderbilt is averaging 73.1 points a game. They have shot just over 43% from the field and 33.8% from three.

Keys to a Bulldog Win

Mississippi State will need to start fast. Winning games in the SEC is no easy task, especially on the opponent’s gym floor. This year, the Bulldogs could jump out to a big lead early against Georgia and cruise to a 10 point win in their first SEC road game this year. State will need to do that again to avoid a letdown loss on Saturday.

Myles Stute will likely play a deciding factor in whether Mississippi State comes out of Nashville with a win or not. I expect Pippen Jr. and Disu to play well as they will be Vandy’s go-to players on Saturday. Stute is the wild card.

If he can score, Vandy will have a chance to win the game. Stute has gotten off to a great start to his college career and has shown his ability to catch fire from three-point range. The Bulldogs will have to defend well against him from all spots on the floor.

Prediction

I expect the Bulldogs to come away with a double-digit point win on the road and improve to 3-1 in SEC play. The dynamic duo of Iverson Molinar and DJ Stewart combine for 40 points in the Bulldog win.