No. 14 Mississippi State won its Southeastern Conference road opener with a 76-64 win at Vanderbilt in Nashville, Tenn., on Tuesday.
RJ Melendez (19 points), Cameron Matthews (16) and Claudell Harris (13) led the Bulldogs (14-1, 2-0) in scoring.
AJ Hoggard (18), Grant Huffman (12) and Tyler Nickel (10) paced the Commodores (13-2, 1-1) in points.
The Bulldogs capitalized a distinct advantage in size, quickness and athleticism on both ends of the floor, snapping Vanderbilt's seven-game winning streak and handing the Commodores their first home loss.
Offensively for Mississippi State, that meant driving the ball relentlessly from several positions on the floor, with Melendez particularly having success off the dribble.