Key player for Mississippi State ruled out for tonight's game against Missouri

Mississippi State’s Rocket Watts has been ruled out for tonight’s game against Missouri due to an elbow injury, per Jon Rothstein. Bulldogs head coach Ben Howland relayed the news to Rothstein, per his Twitter account. Watts transferred to Mississippi State from Michigan State. The Detroit native is averaging 4.4 points per game and shooting just over 40 percent from the field this season for the Bulldogs. The game is slated to be played tonight at 8:00 PM EST on the SEC Network. The Bulldogs come into the game sitting at 15-11 overall, and the Missouri Tigers are currently 10-16 overall on the season. The two teams just squared off in Starkville on Friday and Missouri won in blowout fashion, 68-49.

The straw that stirs the drink for the Mississippi State Bulldogs is unquestionably their star guard, Iverson Molinar. He is currently averaging over 18 points per game, 3.2 rebounds per game, and 3.9 assists per game. Garrison Brooks is another top player for the Bulldogs. He transferred to Mississippi State from North Carolina this off-season. He’s averaging 11.3 points per game and 6.8 rebounds per game during the 2021-2022 season.

One of Mississippi State’s biggest wins of the season came on Dec. 29 against Arkansas. They won that game 81-68. Molinar scored 15 points and dished out five assists in that one, but he also had four turnovers. Garrison Brooks only had two points in that game but corralled 10 rebounds.

Tolu Smith scored 18 points in the big win, connecting on 5-of-8 shots from the floor. He also had five steals and six rebounds. The 6-foot-11 junior is averaging 12.2 points per game and 5.8 rebounds per game this season for Mississippi State. A few weeks ago, he suffered a subluxation of the patella–otherwise known as a partially dislocated kneecap. Smith has had to battle through a number of injuries this season. He transferred to the Bulldogs from Western Kentucky in 2019.