Who holds the Mississippi State record for points in an SEC Tournament game?

The SEC Basketball Tournament arrives this week and there is plenty for Mississippi State to play for. That's why this could be one of the most important weeks in recent program history.

Speaking of history, there has been plenty made at the SEC Tournament by some notable bulldogs. That includes a few legendary individual scoring efforts. One in particular still stands out.

Back in 1983, the Bulldogs entered the conference tournament just 14-11 on the season. That meant they would need to get to the NCAA Tournament by winning the whole event.

That didn't happen, of course, but in round one, a Mississippi State legend put on a show. Senior guard Jeff Malone, who put up one of the best seasons in program history by averaging 26.8 points per game, would rack up 30 big points to help the Bulldogs take down Vanderbilt 76-61. Interestingly, that day, his MSU teammate, Terry Lewis, would also put up 27 points as that duo almost single-handedly outscored the Commodores.

That performance still stands as the top scoring game by a MSU Bulldog in the SEC Tournament. Unfortunately, though, Alabama would end MSU's 1983 SEC Tournament run with a 51-50 win the next day.

That put an end to one of the best careers a Bulldog basketball player has ever had. From 1979-83, the dynamic 6-foot-4 Malone would average 19.5 points per game.

He would go on to be the No. 10 overall pick in that year's NBA Draft by the Washington Bullets. Malone would have a nice 15-year NBA career that saw him average 19 points per game and make two all-star teams.

The top-10 individual scoring efforts in the SEC by a Mississippi State Bulldog