ASHVILLE – After looking sharp against a bad SEC team on Saturday night, Mississippi State takes on a taller task tonight.

The SEC Western Division leading Bulldogs (16-5, 4-2 SEC) tip off at 7 p.m. against No. 18 Vanderbilt (16-4, 5-1) in a game to be seen on the SEC Network (including WCBI).

Saturday’s 67-51 victory at home against LSU snapped a two-game SEC losing streak – both in road games, where the Bulldogs are 3-3 this season.

But MSU won its only previous matchup this season with a ranked team, beating Ole Miss in Oxford on Jan. 9.

Vanderbilt will be looking to rebound from Saturday’s 85-76 loss at Kentucky, which snapped a 10-game winning streak.

That loss establishes a possible blueprint for the Bulldogs tonight – hit plenty of 3-pointers (Kentucky made 12 of 23) and hit the glass (the Wildcats outrebounded the ’Dores 41-22, with an 18-3 edge on the offensive boards).

Vandy’s Memorial Gym is regarded as one of the tougher venues in the league – the Commodores are 10-0 there this season – but the Bulldogs have split their last four games played in Music City.

MSU takes a four-game winning streak against Eastern Division foes into the contest. The Bulldogs have won 9 of their last 10 against teams from the rival division. They’ll visit Florida on Saturday.