OXFORD, Miss. — R.J. Melendez had 17 points to lead No. 22 Mississippi State's balanced offense for an 81-71 win over No. 19 Mississippi and a season sweep of its in-state rival on Saturday night.

OXFORD — Mississippi State basketball completed the regular season sweep of Ole Mis s. The Bulldogs beat No. 23 Ole Miss 81-71 on Saturday in the sold-out Sandy and John Black Pavilion. It is Mississippi State's second win over the Rebels this season.

Column: In basketball, urgency matters. Mississippi State played with a clear sense of urgency in Oxford on Saturday evening. Ole Miss did not.

Back-to-back top 20 wins has Mississippi State back on track for a strong seed in the NCAA Tournament and to push above the middle pack of the SEC, but more work is there to be done. State knocked off No.

Coach Chris Jans said Mississippi State basketball needed to "burn the boats" to beat Ole Miss. Here's how it did it.

In reality, MSU was even better in the road matchup of the rivalry series than the first game against the Rebels. The Bulldogs had a 40-33 lead at halftime and pushed their lead all the way to 19 points with 8:16 left in the 2nd half.

The Mississippi State Bulldogs received a big blue-chip commitment ... The 6-foot-7, 285-pound lineman is headed to Oxford, just a 45-minute drive from his hometown of New Albany, Mississippi ...

Mississippi State Bulldogs (17-7, 5-6 SEC) at Ole Miss Rebels (19-6, 8-4 SEC) Oxford, Mississippi; Saturday, 6 p.m. EST BOTTOM LINE: No. 19 Ole Miss hosts No. 22 Mississippi State. The Rebels are 11-2 on their home court.

No. 19 Ole Miss will aim for its 20th victory of the season when the Rebels face the No. 22 Mississippi State Bulldogs.

A Magnolia State rivalry takes place in Oxford tonight, and Rohit Ponnaiya expects the Rebels to get vengeance on their home floor.

Mississippi State was stuck. It spent a month losing ... It started a run of three road games in four weeks with a date in Oxford against Ole Miss, and then ... Boom. One fantastic 81-71 win ...