Mississippi State begins its defense of the Southeastern Conference Tournament Championship today against Florida in Nashville tonight at 6:30 p.m.

The Gators won their first round meeting with Auburn 78-69 on Thursday while MSU received a first round by following their third Western Division title in four years.

The Bulldogs also won the SEC Tournament last season going on a four-game winning streak in a four-day span in Tampa last March en route to the NCAA Tournament. State will likely need a similar performance to punch their ticket to the Big Dance.

The Bulldogs dropped two straight games to end the regular season at 21-9 and 9-6 overall.

Mississippi State fell to the Gators in Gainesville earlier this season 69-62. The Bulldogs are 1-2 against Florida in SEC Tournament games and are 25-46 in the conference tournament overall. They sport a 7-4 record during their SEC Tournament debut games.

MSU is shooting 43.4-percent from the field and 72.8 points per game. The Bulldogs are hitting 35.9-percent from the outside and 68.3-percent from the charity stripe. They are limiting their opponents to 38.4-percent shooting and just 64.4 points an outing.



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