South Carolina vs. Mississippi State SEC Network

The roles have reversed for South Carolina and Mississippi State heading into their Southeastern Conference matchup on Tuesday. The 22nd-ranked Gamecocks are coming off a loss for only the second time all season, while the Bulldogs look to build on their first conference victory when they aim for their first road win of the campaign.

South Carolina split a pair of games on the road last week, falling 78-69 at Tennessee on Saturday, and coach Frank Martin wants his team focused on getting back on track with home contests this week against Mississippi State and Alabama. “I think too many people worry about the finish line. … We can’t even see it yet,” Martin told reporters. “We’ve got to be concerned with who we are and just worry about running the next stride of the race. … We’ll worry about running through that line when the time comes.” After a series of close calls – four of their five losses to begin SEC play were by six points or fewer – the Bulldogs broke through with an 83-77 home win over Ole Miss on Saturday. Mississippi State is 0-5 on the road but was close to pulling out big wins in its last two trips, falling 80-74 at Kentucky and 81-78 at Florida.

TV: 6:00 p.m. CT, SEC Network

ABOUT MISSISSIPPI STATE (8-10, 1-5 SEC): The Bulldogs can put up some points, as all five starters average at least 9.9 - with Gavin Ware (16.2 points, 7.5 rebounds) leading the way. Freshman guard Malik Newman (13.4 points) gives the Bulldogs a major threat from the outside as he hit seven 3-pointers en route to a season-best 25 points against Ole Miss. Senior guard Craig Sword (12.7 points) has averaged 20.8 points in four career meetings with South Carolina, including a 26-point effort in the most recent matchup.

ABOUT SOUTH CAROLINA (17-2, 4-2): The Gamecocks have gone cold from the perimeter of late, hitting 17-of-80 from 3-point range over their last five games. The slump has hurt Sindarius Thornwell (11.6 points), who has been held to five points or fewer in three of the last four contests and is 2-of-23 from the field over the past two. South Carolina should have a big edge inside against an undersized Mississippi State team, so look for big nights from forwards Michael Carrera (12.6 points, 6.6 rebounds), Mindaugas Kacinas (10.9, 5.4) and Laimonas Chatkevicius (10.7, 4.9).



Mississippi State has lost 12 straight against ranked opponents.

South Carolina was tied for second nationally through Sunday in free-throw attempts (29.3 per game), while Mississippi State leads the SEC and ranks 29th in free-throw percentage (74.5).

The Gamecocks have outscored opponents in the paint in 18 of their 19 games – they tied Clemson 24-24 – and have totaled at least 40 points in the lane in three straight contests.



PREDICTION: Mississippi State 75, South Carolina 73