By Canadian Press on February 13, 2025.
Mississippi State Bulldogs (17-8, 4-7 SEC) at Vanderbilt Commodores (18-6, 5-5 SEC) Nashville, Tennessee; Thursday, 9 p.m. EST BOTTOM LINE: Vanderbilt takes on Mississippi State after Khamil Pierre scored 26 points in Vanderbilt’s 87-66 loss to the Texas Longhorns. The Commodores have gone 12-2 at home. Vanderbilt is eighth in the SEC with 37.3 points per game in the paint led by Mikayla Blakes averaging 11.8. The Bulldogs are 4-7 in conference games. Mississippi State ranks eighth in the SEC shooting 33.1% from 3-point range. Vanderbilt makes 45.9% of its shots from the field this season, which is 8.4 percentage points higher than Mississippi State has allowed to its opponents (37.5%). Mississippi State averages 11.2 more points per game (76.6) than Vanderbilt allows (65.4). The Commodores and Bulldogs square off Thursday for the first time in SEC play this season. TOP PERFORMERS: Jordyn Oliver is averaging 3.7 points, 3.8 assists and 1.5 steals for the Commodores. Blakes is averaging 26.2 points over the last 10 games. Jerkaila Jordan is scoring 16.2 points per game and averaging 6.1 rebounds for the Bulldogs. Eniya Russell is averaging 11.3 points and 4.5 rebounds over the last 10 games. LAST 10 GAMES: Commodores: 5-5, averaging 78.6 points, 30.0 rebounds, 14.2 assists, 9.5 steals and 2.5 blocks per game while shooting 44.1% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 79.1 points per game. Bulldogs: 4-6, averaging 74.2 points, 34.7 rebounds, 13.6 assists, 8.5 steals and 3.6 blocks per game while shooting 44.8% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 74.7 points. ___ The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar. The Associated Press 16