Mississippi State hosts No. 19 Tennessee after James' 20-point showing

Tennessee Volunteers (16-6, 7-3 SEC) at Mississippi State Bulldogs (14-8, 5-4 SEC)

Starkville, Mississippi; Wednesday, 9 p.m. EST

BOTTOM LINE: No. 19 Tennessee visits the Mississippi State Bulldogs after Josiah-Jordan James scored 20 points in Tennessee's 81-57 victory against the South Carolina Gamecocks.

The Bulldogs are 12-1 in home games. Mississippi State has a 2-1 record in games decided by 3 points or fewer.

The Volunteers are 7-3 in conference games. Tennessee is fifth in the SEC scoring 74.5 points per game and is shooting 43.7%.

The matchup Wednesday is the first meeting of the season between the two teams in conference play.

TOP PERFORMERS: Garrison Brooks is averaging 11.4 points and 6.6 rebounds for the Bulldogs. Iverson Molinar is averaging 12.7 points over the last 10 games for Mississippi State.

Olivier Nkamhoua is averaging 8.6 points and 5.6 rebounds for the Volunteers. Santiago Vescovi is averaging 2.1 made 3-pointers over the last 10 games for Tennessee.

LAST 10 GAMES: Bulldogs: 5-5, averaging 72.6 points, 31.6 rebounds, 13.0 assists, 8.4 steals and 3.0 blocks per game while shooting 46.4% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 72.3 points per game.

Volunteers: 7-3, averaging 71.0 points, 32.0 rebounds, 15.9 assists, 9.5 steals and 3.6 blocks per game while shooting 42.8% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 66.2 points.

___

The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by