South Carolina, 12-13 and 4-7 in the SEC, hosts Western Division leader Mississippi State, 17-8 and 8-3 in the SEC, on Sat., Feb. 22 at 4 pm. South Carolina, winners of the last two match-ups, won in Starkville last year by a tally of 66-63 on Jan. 27, 2007. First-team All-SEC guard Tre Kelley’s scored 23 points and Brandon Wallace tacked together a double-double (16 boards, 10 points).
USC is 3-0 vs. the SEC Western Division this season after defeating Alabama 67-65 behind Devan Downey’s 29 points on Sat., Feb. 16. MSU is on top of the SEC Western Division at 8-3 and are 2-1 vs. the SEC Eastern Division this season. They are playing their second of four out of four on the road in Columbia Saturday.
USC vs. MSU
Mississippi State leads the series record 10-8. The two only began play with each other in 1992 – the year USC joined the league. A few things about the rivalry:
Last Meeting: Feb. 24, 2007 (76-63 in Starkville, USC wins)
Last 5 Meetings: 3-2, USC
Last 10 Meetings: 5-5
Keep it up Leading the SEC in steals, with 3.3 overall, and more importantly in scoring, with 21.2 ppg in league games and 19.7 ppg in all games, Devan Downey, a Cousy finalist, enters the MSU game second in the country in steals after tying his career-best with seven steals vs. the Tide. He is also second in the SEC in assists and minutes played as well.
Downey is averaging a team-leading 19.7 ppg and 36.9 mpg starting all 25 games. Not just leading the team in scoring, Downey has tallied 18 4+ assist games this season.
He scored game-high 29 points (career-best 6 3 pointers), tying career-best with 7 steals in win over Alabama. His three-pointer + one made free throw with :14 on the block sealed the 67-65 win.
The South Carolina-Mississippi State game can be seen on Raycom Sports, Saturday, 4 pm
