ST. LOUIS, Mo. (First Alert 4) – A man from Missouri was shot and killed in North Carolina.

According to police, Darden Rhodes, 51, was found shot to death in the 1300 block of Sapona Road in Fayetteville, North Carolina, around 8 a.m. on Monday.

Fayetteville Police Department’s Homicide Unit is actively investigating the case. They ask anyone with information to call Detective J.M. Bergamine at (910) 705-209.

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NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The opponent is set.

Missouri basketball will begin its postseason as the 7-seed in the second round of the SEC Tournament, and now knows its opening matchup at Bridgestone Arena in Music City — 10-seed Mississippi State, which beat 15-seeded LSU 91-63 on Wednesday night.

Mizzou (21-10) fared well in its regular-season matchup against Mississippi State, beating the Bulldogs by 27 points on Feb. 1 in Starkville, Mississippi. But coach Dennis Gates’ Tigers will need to overcome a recent slump to make sure their stay in Nashville lasts longer than one night.

Missouri lost three straight games to close the regular season and has only won once in its past five matchups.

The Bulldogs (21-11) entered the postseason in extremely similar form, losing four of five before beating LSU in the first round of the conference tournament.  

Ahead of Thursday’s game at Bridgestone Arena, here is what you need to know about the Bulldogs since they last played Mizzou:

What are Mississippi State’s weaknesses leading into Missouri basketball game?

In the final games of the regular season, Mississippi State’s defense may have only have outpaced Mizzou.

According to CBB Analytics, the Bulldogs ranked in the bottom 20% of the country for opponents’ effective field goal percentage (59.4%), defensive rebounding percentage (67.6%), opponent free throw attempt rate (37.4%) and overall defensive rating with 1.258 points allowed per possession. That last number was among the bottom mark of all teams nationally.

Mizzou’s problem is that it ranked in the bottom 2% in each of those categories.

But the Bulldogs — uncharacteristically for a coach Chris Jans defense — have been inefficient at stopping teams from scoring.

What are Mississippi State’s recent strengths?

Here are a couple of stats that will make for rough reading for MU fans: In the final five games to close the regular season, no team in the SEC scored more points off fastbreak opportunities than Mississippi State, and only Alabama and Florida totaled more points in the paint.

In that same timespan, Mizzou ranks in the bottom 1% of the nation for points allowed in the paint per game with 41.6 and is dead last in points allowed from fastbreaks with 15.0 per game.

CBB Analytics had not updated Mississippi State’s stats from its first-round win over LSU at the time of publishing, but the Bulldogs scored 36 points in the paint in their 28-point win. They shot 52.2% from the field in the victory.

Mizzou has had some recent defensive struggles, allowing at least 90 points in four of its past five matchups.

Thursday would be a good day for the Tigers to see some defensive improvement.

Player to watch: Josh Hubbard

Beware the hot hand.

Hubbard put up 26 points in Mississippi State’s win over LSU, making six of his 12 attempts from 3-point range to help the Bulldogs advance. He was named to the All-SEC second-team on Monday and backed that up with a tremendous opening night in the postseason.

More: Three Missouri basketball players win conference awards. Here’s who landed on All-SEC list

Mizzou survived a similar night from the star guard on Feb. 1 in Starkville, where Hubbard had six 3s en route to a 24-point night. Missouri won by 27 points, as Caleb Grill had an equally elite shooting night with a 6-of-11 night from behind the arc.

Score prediction: Missouri 86, Mississippi State 77

Mizzou needs a get-right game, and opportunities don’t come much better than this. 

More: SEC basketball tournament predictions: How far Missouri basketball can go in bracket

The Tigers still have one of the more efficient offenses in the nation in recent games. With MSU coming off a single night’s rest and owning a defense that’s struggled to stop teams from scoring recently, Missouri should end its slump here and advance to meet Florida in Friday’s quarterfinals.

Mizzou needs to shore up its leaky defense, but if this devolves into a shootout, Gates’ team still has the manpower to progress.