Mississippi

Mississippi State basketball vs LSU: SEC tournament prediction, picks, odds and injury updates

Published

1 year ago

March 11, 2025

Mississippi State basketball vs LSU: SEC tournament prediction, picks, odds and injury updates

STARKVILLE — Mississippi State basketball’s postseason begins this week.

The Bulldogs (20-11) are the No. 10 seed in the SEC tournament and will play No. 15 LSU (14-17) in the first round on Wednesday (6 p.m. CT, SEC Network). All games are played at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville.

MSU has won at least one game in seven straight SEC tournaments, and last season reached the semifinals.

Here’s what to know about the matchup.

Mississippi State beat LSU two weeks ago

LSU and Mississippi State played each other once in the regular season, which MSU won 81-69 in Starkville on March 1. Josh Hubbard, who won the Howell Trophy for the second consecutive season as the best men’s college basketball player in the state of Mississippi, scored 30 points.

LSU is in the midst of a five-game losing streak (to Florida, Tennessee, Kentucky and Texas A&M, along with the Bulldogs). Its three conference wins are against South Carolina, Oklahoma and Arkansas.

Slowing down former Bulldogs player Cam Carter was key last time

LSU senior guard Cam Carter played with a vengeance against Mississippi State. It was his first game back at MSU after he transferred to Kansas State in 2022, then LSU in 2024. He scored 18 points in the first half, with four 3-pointers.

But in the second half, he had just five points as the Bulldogs turned a two-point halftime deficit into a rout.

Carter is LSU’s leading scorer with 16.5 points per game.

Will Mississippi State’s defense travel?

The Bulldogs have not played great defense in their last three games away from Humphrey Coliseum, averaging 99 points allowed in those three games. Oklahoma and Arkansas both scored 93 points and Alabama scored 111 points.

Those three teams combined to shoot 42 of 92 from 3-point range (45.7%).

“At the end of the day, it’s my responsibility,” Jans said. “lt’s my job to figure it out, if you will. And equally important is to get them to play with the type of energy and motor that’s required to play the way we want to play, and to play this particular defense. It hasn’t been good enough.

“We can point fingers and talk about a lot of different factors on why, but at the end of the day, it’s a bottom-line deal. I am trying my best to shore up as much as I can in a short time period before we play in Nashville, and then hopefully when we play in the NCAA tournament, so we can be better on the court.”

LSU went just 9-for-36 from 3 against MSU and shoots the second-lowest percentage in the SEC (30.9%). The Tigers haven’t reached 70 points during their five-game losing streak.

Mississippi State vs LSU odds

BetMGM has not yet posted betting lines for this game.

Mississippi State vs LSU injury updates

Mississippi State guard Kanye Clary is out for the season with a lower-leg injury.

How to watch Mississippi State vs LSU: Time, TV channel, live stream

Mississippi State vs LSU will air on SEC Network. Tipoff is scheduled for 6 p.m. CT. Streaming is available via Fubo, which offers a free trial.

Mississippi State vs LSU predictions, picks

Mississippi State 78, LSU 71: Neither team is playing well entering the postseason, including the Bulldogs, who lost four of their past five games. They still should win as long as the defense holds up and they get some secondary scoring.

Sam Sklar is the Mississippi State beat reporter for the Clarion Ledger. Email him at ssklar@gannett.com and follow him on X @sklarsam_.

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Mississippi

How Mississippi State’s Tomas Valincius dominated third straight SEC team vs Ole Miss

Published

5 hours ago

March 28, 2026

Press Room

How Mississippi State’s Tomas Valincius dominated third straight SEC team vs Ole Miss

OXFORD — Tomas Valincius struck out top Ole Miss baseball batter Tristan Bissetta looking on his last pitch of the game.

There was no emotion from the Mississippi State starting pitcher as he walked back to the dugout after Bissetta was the fourth straight Ole Miss batter to strike out.

It was another instance of Valincius, the left-handed Virginia transfer, showing a trait that’s made him such a dominant pitcher for the No. 4 Bulldogs. The longer Valincius pitches, the better he gets.

The sophomore pitched another five shutout innings as MSU (23-4, 5-2 SEC) took down No. 18 Ole Miss, 6-1, at Swayze Field on March 28 to win the series.

“It’s all mental,” Valincius said. “Just going out there and just kind of trusting yourself and all the work you put in throughout the week. And even when you don’t have your stuff, it’s still a war between every battle in every inning. It’s kind of like finding a way to do what you can do with what you got.”

The win clinched the Bulldogs’ ninth series against the Rebels (19-9, 3-5) in the last 10 meetings. Another win March 29 (3 p.m., SEC Network) would make Brian O’Connor the third straight first-year MSU coach to sweep Ole Miss.

Valincius (6-0) hasn’t allowed an earned run in 19 SEC innings and his season ERA dropped to 0.91.

Against the Rebels, one game after striking out a career-high 14 batters against Vanderbilt, Valincius recorded nine strikeouts with three hits, two walks and one hit by pitch in 90 pitches.

“He buckled down when runners were in scoring position,” O’Connor said. “He’s always best in his middle innings. You see him just rise his game up.”

Why Tomas Valincius could’ve done even better against Ole Miss

While the Ole Miss game was Valincius’ third SEC start without allowing an earned run, it was his shortest outing of the three. The other two against Arkansas and Vanderbilt both lasted seven innings.

Valincius stranded six Ole Miss batters on base in his five innings.

“Early on, I didn’t really feel like I had anything going,” Valincius said. “I was kind of just finding a way to win. That was kind of my whole approach throughout the whole game. I couldn’t really figure out the slider and fastball command. It wasn’t working a lot. I just found a way to win.”

Sam Sklar is the Mississippi State beat reporter for The Clarion Ledger. Email him at ssklar@usatodayco.com and follow him on X @sklarsam_.

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Mississippi

Mother, her 2 daughters among 5 killed in collision between train and van

Published

17 hours ago

March 28, 2026

Press Room

Mother, her 2 daughters among 5 killed in collision between train and van

STONE COUNTY, Miss. (WLOX/Gray News) — Multiple people were killed in a crash between a train and a van on Friday afternoon in Mississippi.

Stone County Sheriff Todd Stewart said the crash happened around 1 p.m. on Pump Branch Road. First responders had to cut through the woods to get to the wreckage.

There were six people in the van at the time of the crash, Stewart said. Stone County Coroner Wayne Flurry confirmed five of them died in the crash.

Multiple people are dead after a crash between a train and a van in Mississippi. (WLOX)

The sixth person was airlifted to New Orleans.

The five victims were identified as 26-year-old Ryan C. Peterson, who was a corrections officer with the Harrison County Sheriff’s Department, 23-year-old Demarcus Perkins, 45-year-old Kristina Carver, and Carver’s two daughters, 22-year-old Emley Chamblee and 20-year-old Sarabeth Chamblee.

Nearby resident Pam Olson has been sounding the alarm on the Pump Branch Road railroad crossing for some time. She was tending to her garden with her husband when the sound of screeching brakes made them jolt.

“We heard it,” explained Olson. “My husband and I were in the yard working on our flowerbeds. I told my husband a train hit another vehicle. My husband ran up there and said, ‘Pam, it’s bad.’”

A recent report from the Stone County Enterprise outlines another wreck in the same spot, which resulted in the driver of a pickup truck being airlifted. Stewart also pointed out a fatal train accident in Stone County happened at the location in 2023, claiming the life of a Wiggins woman.

“This’d be the second incident in the last four to five weeks involving fatalities and the third incident in the last year, all involving fatalities,” explained Stewart. “To date, we’ve lost seven folks within the last year.”

The crossing does not have crossing arms or lights. Stone County District 1 Supervisor Jimmy Springs said he previously reached out to Mississippi Department of Transportation railroad engineers and was told crossing arms are on the way for two crossings, including the one at Pump Branch Road. However, it could take a year for them to be installed.

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CLASH Endurance triathlon begins on Mississippi Gulf Coast

Published

1 day ago

March 27, 2026

Press Room

CLASH Endurance triathlon begins on Mississippi Gulf Coast

GULFPORT, Miss. (WLOX) — The CLASH Endurance triathlon officially started along the Mississippi Gulf Coast.

Maya Reilly placed first in the collegiate female draft-legal division.

“I placed first, so I’m pretty stoked about that,” Reilly said.

Winning a triathlon means beating competitors from across the country and around the world in swimming, biking and running.

“Definitely a lot of hours goes into the sport, but the actual race was tough. It was like full gas, swim, bike, and run, so over an hour. And I’m excited to be able to be done and take home the win,” Reilly said.

Maya Reilly placed first in the collegiate female draft-legal division.(WLOX)

Athletes praise Gulf Coast hospitality

It’s CLASH Endurance’s first year on the Mississippi Gulf Coast, and athletes say the experience is just as memorable as the competition.

“I have had such a great time down here in the south. It’s, like, the nicest people I’ve ever met. The culture is amazing. The music’s great. The food’s great. Honestly, nothing but positive for me. It’s awesome,” said Annette Zavala of the UC Davis Triathlon Team.

“I really like this course. It was really cool to see them swim in the marina. The course was very accessible to view, which I really appreciated,” said Sophia Najera of the UC Davis Triathlon Team.

It’s CLASH Endurance’s first year on the Mississippi Gulf Coast, and athletes say the... — It’s CLASH Endurance’s first year on the Mississippi Gulf Coast, and athletes say the experience is just as memorable as the competition.(WLOX)

More than 28 countries and all 50 states are represented, bringing a boost to the coastal economy.

“All of the athletes who are visiting coastal Mississippi, they’re staying in the hotels, they’re visiting the restaurants, they’re shopping, and they’re not just staying for a night or two. Some of them are staying and playing,” said Blair Lahaye, CLASH Endurance vice president of communications.

Athletes say it’s the support from the crowd and each other that pushes them across the finish line.

“You might have the worst mindset out there, but just hearing someone believe in you, like, that’s sometimes all you need to move forward,” Zavala said.

“I could not have gone through half the races I did, half the trainings I did, without the support of my teammates. We’re really excited to come race tomorrow, and we were super glad to get to be able to cheer on our teammates today,” Najera said.