The Mississippi State Bulldogs proved even nationally-ranked teams can fall in Saturday’s double-digit victory over the No. 17 Ole Miss Rebels amid a raucous Humphrey Coliseum crowd of 10,421. The Dawgs’ 88-68 win over their in-state rival marks their ninth straight victory.The Bulldogs (14-5, 5-0 Southeastern Conference) pulled ahead of the Rebels (15-3, 2-3 SEC) midway through the first half and maintained that lead throughout the rest of the contest. Senior forward Charles Rhodes scored a game-high 26 points, but it was the Dawgs’ defense that helped secure the victory, with MSU holding Ole Miss (ranked No. 8 in scoring) to just under 37 percent shooting.
Rhodes assisted front courtmate Jarvis “Swat” Varnado in harassing the Rebels early on in the game, with Varnado finishing with four blocks, eight rebounds and 12 points. The nation’s leading shot blocker also helped bench Kenny Williams and Dwayne Curtis for much of the first half with foul trouble.
With Ole Miss’ top two rebounders out of the picture, Mississippi State responded with a 38-31 halftime lead and carried the entire second half, complete with fans chanting “overrated” to the nationally-ranked Rebels.
A complete recap of Mississippi State’s victory over Ole Miss will be featured in Tuesday’s edition of The Reflector.