How to Watch Mississippi State Men's Basketball vs. Tennessee

Mississippi State faces a pivotal opportunity at home against Tennessee as the Bulldogs try to keep their faint NCAA hopes alive.

Mississippi State Bulldogs guard King Grace (23) drives to the basket as Arkansas Razorbacks forward Trevon Brazile (7) defends during the second half at Humphrey Coliseum. | Petre Thomas-Imagn Images

Like coach Chris Jans said on Monday, Mississippi State men’s basketball team is far from where it expected to be at this point in the season.

““We’re not where we thought we’d be,” Mississippi State coach Chris Jans said at his Monday press conference. “Not just in the SEC, but overall. We didn’t have a stellar non-conference portion of the season…we put ourselves in a hole going into SEC play.”

The bright side is that there’s still time for the Bulldogs to get back where they want to be, in contention for an invitation to the NCAA Tournament.

It’s not a crazy or unrealistic as one might think either, even in the gauntlet that is the SEC. As of Wednesday, the Bulldogs have just one game against a ranked opponent (No. 14 Florida). Several of those opponents are hovering around the top 25, but most of the Bulldogs upcoming opponents reside in the bottom half of the SEC standings.

Tennessee, Mississippi State’s opponent Wednesday night, sits right in the middle of the SEC standings. Here’s a quick look at the Volunteers.

The Opponent: Tennessee

Tennessee comes in playing some of its best basketball of the season, winning four of its last five to climb into a three‑way tie for fifth in the SEC.

The Vols lean heavily on their backcourt‑forward pairing of Ja’Kobi Gillespie and freshman standout Nate Ament, who combine for more than 36 points per game. Ament, in particular, has been on a tear — averaging 23 points over his last eight outings and posting one of the most impressive freshman performances Rupp Arena has seen in decades with 29 points at Kentucky.

The Vols’ youth shows up on the glass, too. Freshmen DeWayne Brown II and Bishop Boswell have emerged as reliable rebounders, with Brown grabbing 12 boards at Kentucky and Boswell averaging nearly seven per game in SEC playThe Vols are tracking toward one of the best offensive rebounding percentages of the past 25 years, a staple of their physical, possession‑heavy style.

Here’s everything else to know about Wednesday night’s game from Humphrey Coliseum.

How to Watch: Tennessee at Mississippi State

• Who: Tennessee Volunteers (16-7, 6-4 SEC) at Mississippi State Bulldogs (11-12, 3-7 SEC)
• When: 8 p.m., Wednesday
• Where: Humphrey Coliseum, Starkville, Miss.
• TV: ESPN2
• Radio: Live Radio
• Stats: Live Stats
• Series History: Tennessee leads the all-time series 91-46
• Last Meeting: Tennessee 68, Mississippi State 56
• Last time out, Bulldogs: lost to No. 21 Arkansas, 88-68
• Last time out, Volunteers: lost to Kentucky, 74-71

Mississippi State Top Performers

• Points: Josh Hubbard, 20.6 ppg
• Rebounds: Achor Achor, 6.7 rpg
• Assists: Josh Hubbard, 82 (3.6 avg.)
• Steals: Shawn Jones Jr., 32 (1.4 avg.)
• Blocks: Jamarion Davis-Fleming, 33 (1.4 avag.)

Tennessee Top Performers

• Points: Ja’kobi Gillespie, 18.5 ppg
• Rebounds: Nate Ament, 6.5 rpg
• Assists: Ja’kobi Gillespie, 123 (5.3 avg.)
• Steals: Ja’kobi Gillespie, 38 1.7 avg.)
• Blocks: Felix Okpara, 31 (1.5 avg.)

Student-Athlete Availability Report

Tennessee

Out

• #4 Clarence Massamba
• #12 Cade Phillips

Mississippi State

• All available.

Odds, Spread, Totals

Odds via FanDuel Sportsbook

Spread

Tennessee: -7.5 (-102)
Mississippi State: +7.5 (-120)

Moneyline

Tennessee: -335
Mississippi State: +265

Total

Over: 147.5 (-110)
Under: 147.5 (-110)