Mississippi State is coming off their most positive showing of the season following a 105-53 win over St. Bonaventure on Saturday.

The win was the second straight for the Bulldogs who hope that trend continues with two key tournament games on opposite ends of the country. MSU will travel to Tampa, Fla., for the SEC-Big East Challenge against DePaul before boarding a plane for Anaheim, Ca., to play UCLA in the John Wooden Classic on Saturday.

"Lately we've been playing pretty good and hopefully can just carry that to Tampa and Anaheim," said junior guard PhilTurne. "I think we pretty much know how we need to win. We just need to pick our energy up and our effort up.�h

The Bulldogs enter Thursday�fs game with a 5-2 record but will need to record some quality wins to boost their NCAA Tournament resume.

"When it comes down to the end of the year, having a win against UCLA and DePaul always looks good," said senior center Jarvis Varnado. "Those two are good teams. I saw UCLA play Kansas a good game (Sunday night). It's going to be two good games and show us where our team is at."
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Fellow senior Barry Stewart agrees that wins this week would loom large for State later on in the season.



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