Mississippi State, Southern Miss square off Monday night at Mississippi Coliseum

For the first time in 15 years, Mississippi State and Southern Miss will meet in basketball.

The Golden Eagles (3-5) face the Bulldogs at 8 p.m. Monday at the Mississippi Coliseum in Jackson. ESPNU will televise the rare hoops meeting between in-state Division I schools.

MSU (6-3) holds a commanding 14-4 series lead. The two last met in round one of the 2001 NIT Tournament, won by the Bulldogs at Humphrey Coliseum. The last regular-season meeting came in 1995.

But the Golden Eagles have won two of three games when the teams played in Jackson. Southern Miss won 68-53 in 1980 at the Mississippi Coliseum. MSU won in 1963, Southern Miss was victorious the next year.

The Bulldogs’ starting lineup features five double-digit scorers. Sophomore Quinndary Weatherspoon is averaging a team-leading 17 points a game for the Bulldogs. Sophomore Aric Holman is at 11.2 points and six rebounds. Senior point guard J.J. Ready is at 10.8 points and five assists a game. Freshman guards Mario Kegler and Tyson Carter are at 10.3 and10.2 points, respectively.

Southern Miss has two double-digit scorers: Quinton Campbell (11.9 points) and Tim Rowe (10.8 points).

This story was originally published December 18, 2016 at 3:08 PM with the headline "Mississippi State, Southern Miss square off Monday night at Mississippi Coliseum."