Ole Miss on roll heading into matchup with rival Mississippi State

Ole Miss will look to stay hot as it travels to rival Mississippi State for the first of two annual Southeastern Conference meetings on Saturday in Starkville, Miss.

Ole Miss (10-7, 2-2 SEC) dropped its first seven games against major-conference opponents prior to its current two-game winning streak. Head coach Chris Beard's team was in jeopardy of falling to 1-3 in conference play last time out before freshman Patton Pinkins' buzzer-beating putback layup propelled the Rebels to a 97-95 road victory in overtime over No. 21 Georgia.

Pinkins, who's averaging 13.3 points in four conference games, has been asked by Beard to play older than he is. So far, he's listened.

"I think the biggest thing is that he's just playing with a lot of confidence," Beard said of Pinkins. "We told him when we recruited him, you'll be a freshman in November and December, but by the time we get to January and February, you're not a freshman anymore. (On Wednesday) he played with a lot of courage and obviously made the play of the game when we needed it most."

The Rebels are led by Malik Dia's 14.6 points and 6.9 rebounds per game. Of the team's top seven scorers this season, Dia is the only returning player from last season's Ole Miss squad which reached the Sweet 16. AJ Storr adds 13.1 ppg, most recently pouring in 27 points off the bench against Georgia.

Mississippi State (10-7, 2-2) has won six of its last seven against Ole Miss, and is looking to avoid its first home loss to the Rebels since January 2021.

After a 4-5 start to the season, the Bulldogs won six straight but have since fallen in back-to-back games in conference play. Entering Saturday's tilt, Mississippi State has dropped games to Kentucky and to No. 18 Alabama by a combined 39 points.

In both setbacks, head coach Chris Jans' group held double-digit leads in the first half before trailing at halftime.

"We need guys on the court to help steady the ship a little bit," Jans said. "Like I've said many times, kids are much more resilient than the coaches. I'm sure they'll be ready to attack and get better at practice Thursday and get themselves ready to play on Saturday."

A three-year player in the program, Josh Hubbard's 22.8 points per contest leads Mississippi State and the SEC. Jayden Epps chips in 15.6 ppg.