Starkville, MS (Sports Network) - The 16th-ranked Tennessee Volunteers and the Mississippi State Bulldogs will close out the 2009-10 regular season with an SEC battle this evening in Starkville.

Wins in four of the last five games have lifted the Volunteers to 22-7 overall, and they are 10-5 in conference play. After defeating national power Kentucky last weekend, Tennessee carried the momentum into an 80-73 triumph over Arkansas. The hope today is that the Vols can even their record in true road games at 5-5.

Mississippi State carried a three-game win streak into Wednesday's road clash with Auburn, but the positive run came to an end with an 89-80 loss to the Tigers. The Bulldogs are still 21-9 overall and 9-6 in conference, but some believe that the club is in jeopardy of being left out of the NCAA Tournament picture, especially if this game ends in defeat. MSU is 12-2 at home, so expect plenty of support from the Starkville faithful.

Tennessee leads the all-time series with Mississippi State, 74-39, and the Vols have won five of the last six meetings. The Bulldogs did, however, post a victory in the most recent encounter, beating UT in last year's SEC Tournament title tilt, 64-61.

There are only two active double-digit scorers on the Tennessee roster, as the team relies on smaller contributions from several role players. Scotty Hopson leads the club with 13.1 ppg, while Wayne Chism checks in with 12.8 ppg and 6.9 rpg. The Vols are netting 75.0 ppg while limiting opponents to 65.4 ppg on 39.3 percent shooting, and it is obvious that strong defense is key to the club's success. In the victory over Arkansas earlier this week, Hopson scored 15 points to pace a balanced attack. Chism added 14 points, while both Bobby Maze and J.P. Prince contributed 12 points. The Vols connected on 54.5 percent of their field goal attempts, key to the victory. A 22-6 edge in fast-break points helped the cause as well.

Mississippi State is scoring 73.2 ppg this season while allowing 64.1 ppg on 38 percent shooting from the field, and it is obvious that defensive play is just as big a factor to the Bulldogs' success as it is in Tennessee's. Ravern Johnson continues to lead MSU with 13.8 ppg, but he is clearly overshadowed by teammate Jarvis Varnado. The NCAA's all-time leader in blocked shots, Varnado has 146 rejections to his credit to go along with 13.5 ppg and 10.8 rpg this season. Dee Bost is netting 12.9 ppg, and he has dished out 160 assists. The fourth and final double-digit scorer in the fold is Barry Stewart, the program's all-time leader in three-pointers made, who averages 11.7 ppg. Bost scored 25 points and dished out eight helpers in the recent loss to Auburn. Stewart added 18 points for the Bulldogs, who were outscored 18-8 from the foul line.