Ole Miss vs. Mississippi State: How to watch, start time, TV channel

Ole Miss and Mississippi State will make history on Saturday. 

The in-state rivals will meet as ranked teams for the first time ever. Tipoff in Starkville is 5 p.m. CT. Ole Miss is ranked No. 21 in the AP Top 25. The Bulldogs are No. 15.

The Rebels (15-2, 4-0 SEC) are perfect through four games in conference play for the first time since 2012-13. 

“We’ve talked about just winning the next game on the schedule,” Ole Miss assistant Al Pinkins said on RebTalk Thursday night. “We really don’t mention road games. Home or road, we talk about the next opponent and our game plan and our process. I think that helps the kids. We know we’re going to Mississippi State or Alabama, but the process we go through, our scouting report and details, stay the same. Makes it simple.”

Bracket Watch: Ole Miss men’s basketball gets boost in latest ‘Bracketology’ projections

Ole Miss will continue to ride junior forward Malik Dia, who’s averaging 17.5 points and an SEC-leading 10.3 rebounds in SEC games. 

He’s the only player in the concerned in the Top 10 in both points and rebounds per game. 

Dia was signed in an off-season transfer class ranked No. 16 nationally by On3. He played previously at Belmont and Vanderbilt and seriously considered entering the NBA Draft back in the spring.

He’s led all Rebels in points in each of the last three games while committing no turnovers and collecting five blocks. Dia had 23 points and a career-high 19 rebounds in the 74-64 win at No. 4 Alabama on Tuesday. 

He fell just one rebound shy of becoming the first 20/20 Rebel since Walter Actwood in 1972.

“Malik can shoot the ball very well,” all-time Ole Miss great Murphy Holloway said this week on the Ole Miss Spirit’s ‘Talk of Champions’ podcast. “Guys have to come out and go guard him. He can beat you off the bounce. Great jump shooter; you can’t sag off him at all, because he’ll make the 3 and he can post you up. 

“He’s been playing bully-ball also. Great jump shooter with some bully-ball and he’s got that will to win.”

HOW TO WATCH

Television/Online: ESPN2
Play-by-Play: Brian Custer
Color: Joe Crispin

HOW TO LISTEN

Radio: Ole Miss Radio Network
Play-by-Play: David Kellum
Color: Marc Dukes

SERIES HISTORY

Ole Miss-Mississippi State is the 12th most-played series in all of college basketball. 

Saturday will mark the 271st meeting between the teams dating back to 1914. Mississippi State holds an all-time advantage of 150-120, including a 98-26 record in Starkville.

The teams split two games last season. Ole Miss came out with an 86-82 win in Oxford. However, the Bulldogs handled the Rebels, 83-71, on their home court a few weeks later. Ole Miss led at halftime, 44-40, but Mississippi State scored 43 second-half points to just 27 for the Rebels. 

Matthew Murrell, one of 10 seniors rostered by the Rebels this season, had 23 points, eight rebounds, two assists and a steal.

SCOUTING MISSISSIPPI STATE

The Bulldogs welcome the Rebels with a season record of 14-3 (2-2). They’re 7-1 at home. 

Mississippi State picked up notable non-conference wins over Utah, SMU, No. 18 Pittsburgh and No. 21 Memphis. The Bulldogs opened their SEC slate with wins over South Carolina and Vanderbilt. However, they’ve suffered back-to-back losses to No. 6 Kentucky and No. 1 Auburn. 

State is No. 18 in the NET rankings. Ole Miss is No. 16, the highest in program history.

Sophomore guard Josh Hubbard is averaging a State-high 17.0 points per game. Hubbard is a one-time Ole Miss commitment and signee. However, he was released of his NLI after Kermit Davis was let go as Ole Miss head coach. Second-year head coach Chris Beard and staff attempted to re-recruit Hubbard, but he instead went with familiarity and an already-built relationship with the Bulldogs. 

Hubbard is second in the SEC in made 3s per game (3.06).

He’s averaging 3.9 assists, and his 3.92 assist-to-turnover ratio leads the SEC. He’s fourth in the NCAA. KeShawn Murphy is State’s leading rebounder (7.5 per game). Cameron Matthews is averaging an SEC-best 2.59 steals.

Mississippi State is No. 13 nationally in turnovers per game (9.8), No. 14 in steals (9.9) and No. 17 in both turnover margin (+4.5) and assist-to-turnover ratio (1.67).

Chris Jans is in his third season as head coach of the Bulldogs. Jans is one of the winningest coaches in college basketball. He has a career percentage of 72.9 — 14th best among active coaches. 

Jans won 21 games or more in each of his first two seasons. He came to Mississippi State from New Mexico State, where Jans compiled 122 wins to just 32 losses over five seasons. He got his first Division I head coaching position at Bowling Green during the 2014-15 season, after years of success at the junior college level.