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This story originally appeared in the Jackson Free Press. It was added to the Mississippi Free Press website in 2025.
Note that any opinions expressed in legacy Jackson Free Press stories do not reflect a position of the Mississippi Free Press or necessarily of its staff and board members.

College basketball, Mississippi State women at Ole Miss (7 p.m., FSN South): This rivalry makes the women’s hoops that much more interesting. … William Carey at Belhaven (women, 5:30 p.m.; men, 7:30 p.m.): The Crusaders call on the Blazers in the latest installment of the old (church) school rivalry.

Friday, Jan. 28
High school basketball, Lanier at Callaway (girls, 6 p.m.; boys, 7:30 p.m.): Monta Ellis and the Bulldogs visit the Chargers.

Saturday, Jan. 29
College basketball, Mississippi State at LSU (2 p.m., Ch. 12/620 AM): The Bulldogs are still playing catch-up in the SEC West. … Mississippi Valley State at Jackson State (7:30 p.m., 1300 AM): The Delta Devils visit the Tigers’ den.

Sunday, Jan. 30
There’s no NFL this weekend, boo hoo. So console yourself with … tennis. Australian Open men’s championship (11 a.m., ESPN): Federer beats Roddick. Or whomever. … Arena football, teams TBA (2 p.m., Ch. 3): Another season of human pinball begins.

Monday, Jan. 31
College basketball, Arkansas-Pine Bluff at Jackson State (7:30 p.m., 1300 AM): The Tigers vs. the Golden Lions in a SWAC catfight.

Tuesday, Feb. 1
College basketball, Florida at Mississippi State (7 p.m., ESPN2/620 AM): The Bulldogs play host to one of the best teams in the SEC East.

Wednesday, Feb. 2
College basketball, South Florida at Southern Miss (7 p.m., 1180 AM/103.3 FM): The Golden Eagles play a C-USA foe they actually have a chance to beat.

The Slate is compiled by Doctor S, the original pinball wizard. For more great stuff, visit the Amazing SportsBlog at http://www.jacksonfreepress.com

Mississippi native Donna Ladd and partner Todd Stauffer founded the Jackson Free Press in 2002 in the capital city. The heavily awarded local newspaper did many investigations heralded across the state and nation and served as a paper of record due to its diversity, inclusion, in-depth reporting and deep connection to readers and dedication to narrative change in and about Mississippi. In 2022, the nonprofit Mississippi Free Press, founded by Ladd and JFP Associate Publisher Kimberly Griffin in 2020, purchased the journalism assets and archives of the Jackson Free Press. A Google grant through AAN Publishers enabled Newspack's integration of the JFP archives into the Mississippi Free Press website to become part of a more searchable archive of recent Mississippi history and essential journalism.