A "Great Opportunity" Lies Ahead For Mississippi State

The Bulldogs will take on the Tennessee Volunteers at 6 p.m. at Humphrey Coliseum.

MSU is preparing to take on the toughest test of their season thus far. The Bulldogs will welcome the number-five-ranked Tennessee Volunteers to Humphrey Coliseum for their SEC home opener.

MSU will be looking for their first conference win after a tough 68-62 loss on the road at South Carolina. It would be detrimental for the Bulldogs to hang onto Saturday's tough loss in Columbia. MSU head coach Chris Jans is not worried that his team will go into today's matchup with the wrong mentality.

"We lost one game. It's a long season. We're not thinking like that at all. I don't think they will be either," Jans said.

The Volunteers will look for their eighth straight win after dismantling Ole Miss 90-64 in their SEC opener. The challenge is tall for the Bulldogs, and Jans understands the challenge and knows the Bulldogs do not have time to dwell on the loss in Columbia.

"There is just not a lot of time to feel sorry for yourself. You've got to turn the page quickly," Jans said.

Tennessee holds a record of 11-3 with impressive wins against Michigan State, Illinois, and North Carolina State. The Volunteer's losses to North Carolina, Purdue, and Kansas were only by a combined 21 points.

The Volunteers have a pair of veteran guards that Bulldog fans will be familiar with: Santiago Vescovi, who scored 14 points against the Bulldogs in Knoxville last year, and the shifty guard Zakai Zeigler, who scored 24 against the Bulldogs last year in Starkville. Jans knows the importance of Zeigler to this Volunteer squad and how versatile the 5-9 170 guard is.

"It starts out front with Ziegler….., he sets the tone, and he's as good an on-ball defender as you're going to see in college basketball, and he's relentless, and he's in big-time shape, and he can do it, for 35-40 minutes if need be," Jans said.

However, this year, Tennessee head coach Rick Barnes is leaning on Northern Colorado transfer guard Dalton Knecht, averaging 15 points a game. Knecht stands at 6-6 and will be a tough matchup because of his size at the guard position, and Bulldog forward D.J. Jeffries will likely be his defender.

Throughout the entire Jans era at MSU, the Bulldogs have always hung their hat on great defense and tremendous effort. MSU has no shortage of great on-ball defenders, and two of those guys, Cam Matthews and Shakeel Moore, will need to continue to play great defense against a Tennessee team averaging 78 points a game.

Last year, the Bulldogs' offensive woes were no secret. MSU has improved in that area this year, thanks to freshman Josh Hubbard. Hubbard is averaging 14 points a game while shooting 38% from three, and he will be critical for the Bulldogs not only with his three-point shooting, but Hubbard will need to hold his own defensively against the Volunteer guards if he wants to stay on the floor.

The key player for the Bulldogs is senior center Tolu Smith. Smith will see action in his third game of the season and has yet to start a game. He put up 13 points and four rebounds in the Bulldogs SEC opener.

Jans is pleased with the progression that Smith has shown.

"I think he looks pretty good, considering he was out of basketball for months. I think he's transitioned back pretty well," Jans said.

The 6-11 pre-season All-SEC big man is the lone Bulldog who can take over a game by himself, and he will need to do just that to give the Bulldogs a chance. Smith only put up 11 points in the Bulldogs matchup with Tennessee last season, and MSU will need more production from the big man this time.

The Bulldogs suffered a setback on Saturday, but the SEC will take no pity. Jans understands the challenge the Volunteers will present but is excited about the opportunity.

“Wednesday is an unbelievable challenge. But at the same time, you know what a great opportunity you have, a top-five team in the country on your home court with a chance to win a heck of a game,” Jans said.

How to Watch: Mississippi State Men's Basketball versus Tennessee