Magnolia State Rivalry Showdown

Ole Miss and Mississippi State get ready to square off in the Hump.

By: Adam Brown, Sports Editor of HottyToddy.com

adam.brown@hottytoddy.com

Photo By Seph Anderson

The Ole Miss basketball team is preparing to make a strong case for themselves as NCAA Tournament worthy in traveling to Starkville to take on the Mississippi State Bulldogs in the Humphrey Coliseum on Saturday afternoon.

Ole Miss (21-7, 10-5 SEC) just defeated Texas A&M at the Tad Pad on Wednesday night by a score of 82-73. Senior Murphy Holloway became the only Rebel to have collected more than 1000 points and 1000 rebounds in his career in the win over the Aggies.

Junior Marshall Henderson is currently tied with former Ole Miss great Chris Warren for three-pointers made in a season with 111. He also ranks third in SEC history for attempts in one season and is currently tied for 10th on the SEC season single list for 3-point field goals. Henderson has hit at least one three-pointer in ever game this season.

Mississippi State (7-20, 2-13 SEC) dropped an 85-55 game decision on the road to Kentucky on Wednesday night, which has the team –– having lost their last 13 straight games –– in a tailspin.  The Bulldogs are having their worst season since 1986-87, where Mississippi State finished with an 7-21 overall record.

Freshman Craig Sword leads Mississippi State in scoring, averaging 9.8 points per game, while junior Jalen Steel is right behind him, averaging 9.7 a game.

Ole Miss and Mississippi State are meeting for the 247th time on Saturday, with the Bulldogs holding a 139-107 advantage on the series.  The Rebels are looking for a season sweep in the game tomorrow,  the first one since the 1998 season,  as a follow up to their 93-75 win over the Bulldogs back on February 6th in Oxford.

Fans not making the trip down to Starkville  for the game can catch the action between the Rebels and the Bulldogs on FSN .

Tip off is set for 4 p.m.