Mississippi State to play Utah at the Landers Center in November
Major college basketball will have more than the usual visibility in DeSoto County this season with Monday’s announcement that MIssissippi State will play Utah at the Landers Center on Nov. 17.
Recently, it was announced that Ole Miss and Colorado State will play at the Southaven venue on Nov. 16. That makes for a Saturday-Sunday doubleheader of basketball in one weekend.
The Bulldogs-Utes match up is being put together by Russ Potts Productions, Inc., a Winchester, Virginia-based entity that schedules special events, such as Division I neutral-site contests as the Nov. 17 game in Southaven will be.
This will mark the first game of a 2-year series between Mississippi State and Utah as they will face off again on Dec. 13, 2025 at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City, Utah.
Tickets for this year’s game go on sale tomorrow Tuesday, Sept. 17 with a special pre-sale for Mississippi State, Utah and Landers Center fans. The pre-sale will start at 9:00 a.m. and run through Thursday, Sept. 19 at 11:59 p.m. The public on-sale begins Friday, Sept. 20. All tickets are available onTicketmaster.com or at the Landers Center box office.
This contest will be the third meeting between the programs. The Bulldogs have won both of their previous meetings over the Utes, most recently a 52-49 decision, to win the 2022 Fort Myers Tipoff in Florida during coach Chris Jans’ first season.
A local connection for this game will be former Olive Branch standout Cameron Matthews will return to DeSoto County for the first time since his Conquistadors took home a MHSAA 5A state championship in 2018 alongside former Bulldog and high school teammate D.J. Jeffries.
Matthews, an All-SEC Defensive Team selection, is one of the nation’s most versatile players. He was one of three players nationally to average at least 9.0 points, 6.5 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 2.0 steals per game in 2023-24.
“We’re looking forward to bringing our program to Southaven and playing in-front of our North Mississippi Bulldog fans at the Landers Center,” Jans said. “The opportunity to face a quality Utah team from the Big 12 conference in mid-November will prepare us for our season and for the rigors of SEC play.”
A release on the complete non-conference schedule is found on the Mississippi State Athletics website.
