I think I’ve been doing this so long now that I’ve probably repeated myself 100 times on any given subject. One of them is my indifference with Mississippi State. I don’t understand why the SEC keeps making these two teams play so often?
Really both Mississippi schools. But at least the Rebels were considered a ‘permament rival’ there for a few years.
Before joining the SEC the two schools had played three times. Once in 1974, and then in back to back years with a home and home series in the 06-07
and 07-08 seasons. In six seasons since joining the SEC, the Tigers and Bulldogs have played multiple games, that doesn’t include this seventh season when they’ll play again.
What stinks is Missouri has only beaten six times since entering the SEC. They started 2-0 (the Rick Ray era), and then lost the next 5 (the Kim Anderson era). But Cuonzo Martin had his struggled against Ben Howland, and after a 4 point OT win in 2018 (you might remember that game as the Kevin Puryear saves the day in OT game). Zo would proceed to lost the next six matchups against State, before Dennis Gates 2023 team stopped the run with an ugly 66-64 win in overtime in Columbia (after losing earlier in the year in Starkville.
But those last two games weren’t against Ben Howland, they were against Chris Jans. The king of the 8-10 record in the SEC. Which is why this year is interesting because this is clearly Jans’s worst roster, they’re 82nd in KenPom but are 3-5 in league play. They’re almost on pace for 8-10. If they could just upset the Tigers in Columbia maybe they’d be on their way? Ugh, I hope not.
They are 3-5, but they haven’t been very competitive in losses. They lost by 24 to Kentucky, 15 to Alabama, 1 to Ole Miss, 20 to Texas A&M, and 32 to Vanderbilt. Two of those games were on the road. Let’s hope we see the “get blown out on the road” version of the Bulldogs today.
For more, check out Matthew’s preview of the game, plus Matt Harris’ has a deep dive look ahead on RockM+.
Missouri-Mississippi State Basketball: How to Watch, Game Info:
TIME: 2:30 p.m. CT
DATE: Saturday, January 31, 2026
LOCATION: Mizzou Arena; Columbia, MO
TELEVISION: SEC Network
STREAM: WatchESPN
FORUMS: Rockm.Plus/Forums
College Basketball Games to watch, January 24th, 2026
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