Ole Miss hosts Mississippi State after Smith's 22-point performance

Mississippi State Bulldogs (17-9, 5-8 SEC) at Ole Miss Rebels (10-16, 2-11 SEC)

Oxford, Mississippi; Saturday, 3:30 p.m. EST

BOTTOM LINE: Mississippi State takes on the Ole Miss Rebels after Tolu Smith scored 22 points in Mississippi State's 71-68 loss to the Kentucky Wildcats.

The Rebels are 6-8 on their home court. Ole Miss ranks eighth in the SEC in team defense, giving up 68.5 points while holding opponents to 43.2% shooting.

The Bulldogs are 5-8 in conference play. Mississippi State scores 65.7 points and has outscored opponents by 6.5 points per game.

TOP PERFORMERS: Matthew Murrell is averaging 14.3 points for the Rebels. Jaemyn Brakefield is averaging 9.9 points and 5.5 rebounds while shooting 50.3% over the past 10 games for Ole Miss.

Smith is averaging 14.8 points and 8.2 rebounds for the Bulldogs. Shakeel Moore is averaging 9.3 points over the last 10 games for Mississippi State.

LAST 10 GAMES: Rebels: 2-8, averaging 66.2 points, 31.4 rebounds, 13.6 assists, 5.7 steals and 3.4 blocks per game while shooting 41.1% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 72.6 points per game.

Bulldogs: 5-5, averaging 65.6 points, 31.9 rebounds, 14.0 assists, 7.7 steals and 3.5 blocks per game while shooting 44.9% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 63.1 points.

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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.