South Carolina State hosts Delaware State following Smith’s 20-point game

Delaware State Hornets (7-9, 0-2 MEAC) at South Carolina State Bulldogs (8-9, 2-0 MEAC)

Orangeburg, South Carolina; Saturday, 4 p.m. EST

BOTTOM LINE: Delaware State plays South Carolina State after Robert Smith scored 20 points in Delaware State’s 73-64 loss to the Norfolk State Spartans.

The Bulldogs have gone 3-1 at home. South Carolina State ranks fourth in the MEAC with 9.5 offensive rebounds per game led by Drayton Jones averaging 1.8.

The Hornets have gone 0-2 against MEAC opponents. Delaware State ranks second in the MEAC with 11.8 offensive rebounds per game led by Muneer Newton averaging 2.3.

South Carolina State is shooting 45.9% from the field this season, 1.4 percentage points higher than the 44.5% Delaware State allows to opponents. Delaware State averages 4.8 made 3-pointers per game this season, 1.4 fewer made shots on average than the 6.2 per game South Carolina State gives up.

The matchup Saturday is the first meeting of the season for the two teams in conference play.

TOP PERFORMERS: Jones is scoring 13.1 points per game with 5.4 rebounds and 1.8 assists for the Bulldogs.

Smith is shooting 33.6% from beyond the arc with 2.4 made 3-pointers per game for the Hornets, while averaging 16.2 points and 3.1 assists.

LAST 10 GAMES: Bulldogs: 4-6, averaging 72.3 points, 29.3 rebounds, 13.8 assists, 8.9 steals and 3.6 blocks per game while shooting 44.5% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 72.8 points per game.

Hornets: 5-5, averaging 78.2 points, 34.1 rebounds, 14.0 assists, 7.9 steals and 2.0 blocks per game while shooting 44.7% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 75.1 points.

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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.