Mississippi State Bulldogs at Vanderbilt Commodores
· NCAA Men's Basketball
Wright scores 19, Vanderbilt beats Mississippi State 77-72
Vanderbilt (18-13, 11-7 SEC), which has won eight of its last nine games following a 101-44 loss at No. 2 Alabama on Jan. 31., earned a first-round bye and the No. 6 seed in the Southeastern Conference Tournament, which begins Wednesday in Nashville.
Tyrin Lawrence and Wright sandwiched 3-pointers around back-to-back baskets by Emmanuel Ansong to make it 10-3 and the Commodores never trailed. Colin Smith hit a 3 before Manjon made a layup less than a minute into the second half that stretched the lead to 42-27 — Vanderbilt's biggest of the game. Tolu Smith scored nine straight points to pull the Bulldogs within six about two minutes later, and Mississippi State twice trimmed its deficit to two points — the latter coming when D.J. Jeffries made a jumper with eight seconds to play — but got no closer.
Lawrence finished with 16 points and Myles Stute scored 12 on 4-of-8 shooting, all from 3-point range, for Vanderbilt.
Smith led Mississippi State (20-11, 8-10) with a career-high tying 27 points and 11 rebounds. Jeffries added 17 points and 11 rebounds and Shakeel Moore scored 13 points.
Liam Robbins — Vanderbilt's leader in scoring (15.0 per game) and rebounding (6.8) and the conference's leader in blocks (3.2) — did not play. The former Drake and Minnesota player suffered a season-ending leg injury in a win at No. 23 Kentucky on Wednesday. The 7-footer averaged 22 points, 10.1 rebounds and 4.6 blocks in February as the Commodores went 6-1, their best February since 2008.
UP NEXT
Mississippi State takes on No. 11 seed Georgia or 14th-seeded LSU in the second round of the SEC Tournament on Thursday.
Vanderbilt, the No. 9 seed in the conference tourney, plays No. 8 seed Florida in the second round Friday.
How can I watch Mississippi State vs. Vanderbilt?
Recent Plays
| 2nd 0:00 | End of Game | 72 - 77 |
| 2nd 0:00 | End of 2nd half | 72 - 77 |
| 2nd 0:02 | Jordan Wright made Free Throw. | 72 - 77 |
| 2nd 0:02 | Jordan Wright made Free Throw. | 72 - 76 |
| 2nd 0:02 | Foul on Shawn Jones Jr.. | 72 - 75 |
Statistics
 MSST |
 VAN |
|
|---|---|---|
| 28-61 | FG | 26-53 |
| 46 | Field Goal % | 49 |
| 4-17 | 3PT | 12-25 |
| 24 | Three Point % | 48 |
| 12-21 | FT | 13-18 |
| 57 | Free Throw % | 72 |
| 45 | Rebounds | 24 |
| 23 | Offensive Rebounds | 8 |
| 22 | Defensive Rebounds | 16 |
| 10 | Assists | 12 |
| 4 | Steals | 7 |
| 2 | Blocks | 2 |
| 14 | Turnovers | 9 |
| 1 | Team Turnovers | 2 |
| 14 | Total Turnovers | 9 |
| 0 | Technical Fouls | 0 |
| 0 | Total Technical Fouls | 0 |
| 0 | Flagrant Fouls | 0 |
| 16 | Points Off Turnovers | 16 |
| 4 | Fast Break Points | 9 |
| 36 | Points in Paint | 22 |
| 17 | Fouls | 15 |
| 0 | Largest Lead | 12 |
Game Information
Location: Nashville, TN
Attendance: 10,544 | Capacity:
2025-26 Southeastern Conference Standings
| TEAM | CONF | GB | OVER |
|---|---|---|---|
| Florida | 16-2 | - | 27-8 |
| Arkansas | 13-5 | 3 | 28-9 |
| Alabama | 13-5 | 3 | 25-10 |
| Vanderbilt | 11-7 | 5 | 27-9 |
| Tennessee | 11-7 | 5 | 25-12 |
| Texas A&M | 11-7 | 5 | 22-12 |
| Georgia | 10-8 | 6 | 22-11 |
| Kentucky | 10-8 | 6 | 22-14 |
| Missouri | 10-8 | 6 | 20-13 |
| Texas | 9-9 | 7 | 21-15 |
| Oklahoma | 7-11 | 9 | 19-15 |
| Auburn | 7-11 | 9 | 20-16 |
| Mississippi State | 5-13 | 11 | 13-19 |
| Ole Miss | 4-14 | 12 | 15-20 |
| South Carolina | 4-14 | 12 | 13-19 |
| LSU | 3-15 | 13 | 15-17 |