Mississippi State basketball

The remedy is simple for the Tennessee men's basketball team: start making more layups. An abundance of missed shots at the rim cost the Volunteers a Southeastern Conference game Saturday at Kentucky, a contest that Tennessee led by 14 points at halftime. The 74-71 loss also cost them a spot in the Top 25 rankings. When the Volunteers (16-7, 6-4 SEC) oppose Mississippi State (11-12, 3-7) on Wednesday night in Starkville, Miss., they will attempt to get back on track. "These guys will bounce back," Tennessee coach Rick Barnes said. "They have too much pride. They work too hard.

Vanderbilt had enough of the sudden losing and did something about it on Saturday afternoon in Starkville. After a 16-0 start to the season was rudely interrupted by a 3-game losing streak in SEC play, including a 25-point beatdown of a loss on Tuesday night at Arkansas, No. 15 Vanderbilt returned to the win column with a vengeance. An unranked Mississippi State took the hit by Vandy on its home floor, as the Bulldogs were overrun by the Commodores in an 88-56 whitewashing that emphatically put an end to that skid.