Having been among the SEC’s defensive leaders for much of the season, Mississippi State has been let down recently by its lack of offense.
The Bulldogs (11-7, 1-4) look to rediscover their shooting touch Wednesday and snap a four-game losing streak against the Tennessee Volunteers (12-3, 3-1).
Despite ranking third in the SEC in field goal percentage defense and three-point field goal defense, as well as second in rebounding, Mississippi State has failed to crack the 70-point barrier in its last six games and is averaging 58.5 points per game during its four-game skid.
Injuries and youth at the point guard position have contributed to the Bulldogs’ SEC-high 330 turnovers coming into the contest. In losses to LSU and Vanderbilt in the past week, Mississippi State has turned the ball over 39 times, compared to only 14 assists.
In Saturday’s 80-52 road loss to Vanderbilt, Charles Rhodes scored 19 points for the Bulldogs, who shot only 35 percent from the floor and 14 percent from beyond the arc in the lopsided loss that was over at halftime.
Tennessee is coming off a court-storming 80-76 victory over No. 2-ranked Florida on Saturday. The Volunteers rebounded from recent losses to LSU and a nail biter to No. 4 Memphis to knock off the Gators, tying them for first-place in the SEC East standings.
Chris Lofton scored 29 points on 10-19 shooting in the win over Florida, who was the only unbeaten Division I school left following losses by No. 1 Duke and No. 9 Pittsburgh earlier Saturday. Andre Patterson had a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds. JaJuan Smith had 10 points.
The Volunteers now have two wins over top 10-ranked opponents under first-year head coach Bruce Pearl, who has resurrected the program after four middling seasons under former coach Buzz Peterson. Tennessee beat then-No. 6 ranked Texas earlier in the season.
Mississippi State lost its previous meeting with Tennessee last January, 64-63, at Thompson-Boling Arena in Knoxville, Tenn.