Tolu Smith III, Miss. State not taking lowly Vanderbilt lightly

Winless in the SEC, Vanderbilt has defeated only Alabama A&M and Dartmouth in losing 11 of its past 13 games and Lady Luck is proving elusive.

The Commodores (5-12, 0-4) are searching for positives and the win column at Mississippi State on Saturday afternoon in Starkville, Miss., with danger looming around the corner.

Vanderbilt coach Jerry Stackhouse claims it's not win-or-else territory for the Commodores, even with games to follow against No. 6 Tennessee and a second closeup with No. 13 Auburn, this time on the road.

"The sky is not falling," Stackhouse said in an effort to reset following an 80-65 loss to Auburn that included a 25-4 run on Wednesday. "We played some really good teams that are off to really good starts. We played some teams that ... probably were just in a better place than we are now understanding what they want to get on both the offensive and defensive end."

Mississippi State won't mind seeing a Vandy team that is down on its fortunes and includes two freshmen in the starting lineup.

The Bulldogs (12-4, 1-3) and Commodores are the only two teams scheduled to face at least 10 NCAA NET Quad 1/2 opponents during SEC play.

Head coach Chris Jans leans on defensive intensity and an experienced roster headlined by Tolu Smith III. But after an upset of then-No. 5 Tennessee, the Bulldogs allowed a season-high 90 points Wednesday in a 13-point loss to Kentucky.

"That's just the way it is," Jans said of enjoying wins for a moment and flushing losses instantly.

"You don't have a choice. You dwell on it too long (and) it becomes a problem. ... On the way home, we're going to start working on our next opponent, which is Vanderbilt. It's only my second go around the league, but it's unforgiving and you can't dwell too long. You've got to learn and grow and flush it."

Smith scored 23 points and converted a decisive three-point play with 14.7 seconds left to upend the Vols and get Mississippi State its first win over a top-five team in 20 years.

But he's taking nothing for granted, not after starting SEC play 1-7 last season.

A 6-foot-11 senior averaging 18.6 points and 7.0 rebounds per game, Smith dropped 27 and 11 on Vandy at Nashville last March, but the Commodores won 77-72.

"Tolu is our leader. He goes in there, we see him work hard each and every day," forward D.J. Jeffries said. "He busts his tail every day. He leads us."

—Field Level Media