Georgia 71, Mississippi State 61: Gerald Robinson scored 23 points, and Georgia dealt Mississippi State’s tenuous NCAA tournament hopes a big blow in the opening round of the SEC tournament at New Orleans.

The victory sends 11th-seed Georgia (15-16) to the quarterfinals at 10 p.m. Friday against third-seed Vanderbilt.

Mississippi State (21-11) has lost six of its last eight games.

Georgia led by 11 with 5:32 remaining, but Mississippi State rallied to pull within 60-57 on Jalen Steele’s 3-pointer with 3:50 left. But Georgia held the lead, going ahead 66-59 on Robinson’s jumper with 1:02 remaining.

Robinson finished 10 for 19 from the field, and the senior guard has averaged 17.2 points in his past six games. Nemanja Djurisic added 11 points and 10 rebounds. Georgia, the worst shooting team in the conference, shot 51 percent from the field.

Steele led Mississippi State with 19 points. Arnett Moultrie, the SEC’s leading rebounder and fourth in the conference in scoring, finished with seven points and eight rebounds. Dee Bost, the fifth-leading scorer in the SEC, shot just 3-for-13 from the field, finishing with 10 points.

Ahead 31-29 at halftime, Georgia would extend its margin with a 10-0 run early in the second half, building a 44-34 lead on Djurisic’s free throw with 13:06 to go.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Georgia trailed for most of the first half, but used a 16-6 run in the final seven minutes to grab its two-point halftime lead. … Djurisic’s double-double was the first by a Georgia player this season. … Mississippi State trailed by as many as 13 points in the second half. ... Georgia upset Mississippi State in their only regular-season meeting, 70-68 in overtime on Feb. 11 in Starkville.