Mississippi State Bulldogs (17-14, 8-10 SEC) vs. South Carolina Gamecocks (18-12, 9-9 SEC)
Tampa, Florida; Thursday, 6 p.m. EST
BOTTOM LINE: The South Carolina Gamecocks and Mississippi State Bulldogs square off in the SEC Tournament.
The Gamecocks are 12-4 on their home court. South Carolina scores 71.6 points and has outscored opponents by 1.4 points per game.
The Bulldogs have gone 8-10 against SEC opponents. Mississippi State is fifth in the SEC allowing 66.7 points while holding opponents to 43.1% shooting.
The teams play each other for the third time this season. South Carolina won the last meeting 66-56 on Feb. 23. Jermaine Couisnard scored 22 to help lead South Carolina to the win, and Tolu Smith scored 21 points for Mississippi State.
TOP PERFORMERS: Erik Stevenson is shooting 32.9% from beyond the arc with 1.9 made 3-pointers per game for the Gamecocks, while averaging 11.4 points. Couisnard is shooting 40.8% and averaging 9.6 points over the last 10 games for South Carolina.
Iverson Molinar is scoring 17.8 points per game and averaging 3.1 rebounds for the Bulldogs. Shakeel Moore is averaging 0.4 made 3-pointers over the last 10 games for Mississippi State.
LAST 10 GAMES: Gamecocks: 5-5, averaging 71.1 points, 32.5 rebounds, 15.8 assists, 7.2 steals and 6.1 blocks per game while shooting 41.2% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 77.9 points per game.
Bulldogs: 3-7, averaging 68.6 points, 37.0 rebounds, 14.3 assists, 9.3 steals and 3.7 blocks per game while shooting 44.4% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 73.2 points.
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