WHERE: United Supermarkets Arena | Lubbock, TX

WHEN: 5:00 PM, Saturday | Jan. 29th

WATCH IT ON: ESPN 2

SERIES HISTORY: Texas Tech is 2-0 all-time against Mississippi State. The Red Raiders beat the Bulldogs at the Puerto Rico Tipoff in 2015 and the Legends Classic in 2008.

Mississippi State has a 13-6 record this season, and they’re 4-3 in SEC play. The Bulldogs are unranked, and they have only one win over a team in the AP Top 25 (Alabama). MSU was picked to finish eighth in the 2021 SEC Preseason Media Poll.

Bulldogs head coach Ben Howland is on his seventh season at the helm and has a 129-88 record at Mississippi State. He’s led MSU to one NCAA Tournament appearance in 2019. Howland spent a decade at UCLA prior to taking over for the Bulldogs and has a career record of 528-296 as a head coach.

Mississippi State went 18-15 last year and were 8-10 in SEC play. The 18 wins a season ago was the third lowest win total of the Ben Howland era and the fewest since the 2016-17 season when they won only 16 games.

The Bulldogs have been better on the offensive end this season, and they’re efficient when it comes to scoring the basketball. They have the 88th ranked scoring offense in the country, and they’re 30th in field goal percentage. Mississippi State is ranked 100th in scoring defense, and 167th in field goal percentage defense. They’re 162nd in turnovers forced but 41st in steals per game.

MSU is ranked 38th out of 358 schools in the KenPom college basketball ratings for adjusted efficiency margin. They’re 23rd in offensive efficiency and 85th in defensive efficiency. The Bulldogs have two wins over teams in the KenPom top 50 (Arkansas, Alabama).

Molinar was named to the preseason All-SEC First Team. He has 50 double digit scoring games in his career, and he's tied for second in the SEC and leads Mississippi State with 18.4 points per game. He’s fourth in the conference in field goal percentage amongst guards and is shooting 49.8 percent from the field. Molinar leads the Bulldogs and is seventh in the SEC with 4.3 assists per game. He’s solid on the glass for a guard his size and is averaging 3.5 rebounds. Molinar is a good on-ball defender and is third on the team with 1.3 steals per game.

Brooks transferred to Mississippi State after spending the last four years at North Carolina. He scored 1,276 points and recorded 798 rebounds during his UNC career under legendary coach Roy Williams. Brooks received preseason ACC Player of the Year honors a season ago and was the No. 6 ranked transfer in the country. He wasted little time fitting into this Bulldogs roster and is currently second on the team in scoring with 11.2 points. Brooks leads the team with 6.2 rebounds per game.

Moore transferred to Mississippi State after spending his freshman season at NC State. He had 11 games with multiple steals a year ago, and he’s brought that brand of defense with him to Starkville. Moore is seventh in the SEC and leads the Bulldogs with 1.9 steals per game. He recorded a career high 5 steals against Morehead State back in November. Moore is the third on the team with 11.1 points per game and is second in assists with 2.4 per game. He’s second in three-point percentage, shooting 37.8 percent from deep.

The Big 12/SEC Challenge is finally upon us with the Bulldogs heading to Lubbock for a Saturday evening matchup. Both teams are looking right the ship following overtime losses in Lawrence and Lexington, arguably two of the toughest road environments in college basketball. On paper this a matchup between the Texas Tech defense and the Mississippi State offense, but the team that can play the more well-rounded basketball game should walk away with the win.

The Bulldogs are a KenPom top 25 offensive team (23rd), and they’ve averaged 77.6 points per game in seven SEC contests. They’ve struggled on the defensive end in conference play and are allowing 74.3 points per game. The Red Raiders are 12-1 this season when they score 75 points or more, with their only loss coming against the Jayhawks. When Texas Tech’s offense is clicking, they’re one of the toughest teams in the country to defeat. Four of Tech’s five losses have come against teams ranked inside the KenPom top 50 for defensive efficiency. Mississippi State will have to play a great defensive basketball game to put a halt on Texas Tech’s 15 game home winning streak.

The Red Raiders are known for their defense, and they’ll have to be up to the challenge of keeping Iverson Molinar in check. Molinar has scored 50 points in the Bulldogs last two games and much like Ochai Agbaji of Kansas, he’s fully capable of taking over a game on the offensive end. Mississippi State is 10-0 this season when they score 77 points or more. The Jayhawks are the only team to score more than 77 points on Texas Tech, and it took an additional ten minutes of overtime for them to reach that mark. If the Red Raiders can continue to play great defensive basketball, then the task of knocking them off gets that much more difficult.