On a brisk Mississippi Saturday afternoon, Mississippi State welcomed Vanderbilt to the Hump for a bounce-back game. Before the tip, you could sense the Bulldogs of Mississippi State were ready to make an example of the visiting Commodores. Vanderbilt, on the other hand, came to the Hump looking to win their first Southeastern Conference game after a disappointing start for Coach Stackhouse and his program.

In warm-ups, Vanderbilt seemed distracted, losing the mental game to Mississippi State with poor body language and whimsical attitudes. On the other side of the court, it was business as usual for Coach Chris Jans and his Mississippi State Bulldogs as they turned the attention to getting back in the win column before playing a brutal stretch of Southeastern Conference games against NCAA Tournament caliber programs.

In the first half, Vanderbilt would hang around nipping at the heels of Mississippi State until the under-12 media timeout, where the Bulldogs would hold steady, separating from Vanderbilt with a 36-21 lead at the half. As the norm for Mississippi State goes during the 2023-2024 season, Tolu Smith led the Bulldogs in scoring at the break with ten points. Josh Hubbard was close behind Tolu Smith with seven points of his own, combing for 17 of the 36 Mississippi state first-half points.

As the second half opened, Mississippi State had the momentum with the Hump rocking behind the Bulldogs, giving the team the best home-court advantage possible. Vanderbilt would flirt around, yet it was Mississippi State keeping the lead no smaller than 11 points for the entirety of the second half. Despite questionable calls down the stretch of the game, Mississippi State managed to keep Vanderbilt from getting too close for comfort. At the under-8 media timeout, Mississippi State held a 54-41 lead over Vanderbilt with 6:44 to play. With 6:44 remaining, Tolu Smith had 18 points with seven rebounds. At the final media timeout of the second half with 3:25 on the clock, Mississippi State held on to a 58-46 lead over Vanderbilt. Tolu Smith had 20 points. Tolu Smith finished the night with 25 points.

Unlike what Mississippi State did in the Kentucky loss on Wednesday night, the Bulldogs made it a point to make the extra pass on Saturday to give endless scoring chances for the Bulldogs. Those extra passes didn’t always end in basketball, but at least Mississippi State improved on the offensive side of the ball against Vanderbilt. On the negative side, Mississippi State still struggled around the rim, finishing possessions with easy baskets. Far too many times would Mississippi State miss a wide-open layup, failing to rebound the missed shot and giving the Commodores a chance to score on the other end of the court.

Mississippi State will return to action on Wednesday night as they travel to Gainesville to take on the Florida Gators with a 7:30 tip-off on the SEC Network.