Dogs Travel To LSU Looking To Get Back Into Win Column
February 05, 2016 | Men's Basketball
STARKVILLE — Entering the second half of conference play for the season, Mississippi State seeks to get back into the win column as it travels to Baton Rouge for a showdown against LSU.
Saturday's 5 p.m. CT, tip will air on ESPN2 with Mark Jones and Kara Lawson providing the courtside commentary. The broadcast of Jim Ellis and Richard Williams can also be heard on the MSU Radio Network.
Mississippi State (9-12, 2-7 SEC) dropped an overtime heartbreaker against Alabama in its last outing. Despite a career-high 28 points from Gavin Ware, the Bulldogs could not carry a strong second-half rally into the overtime session in the 82-80 decision.
Travis Daniels and Craig Sword added 11 and 10 points, respectively, while also leading MSU with 7 rebounds each.
LSU (14-8, 7-2 SEC) returns home following an 80-68 victory at Auburn. Ben Simmons recorded his league-leading 16th double-double of the season with 21 points and 13 rebounds. Craig Victor added 13 points, while Keith Hornsby and Josh Gray each scored 10 points in the win.
Freshman standout Simmons leads LSU offensively with 19.5 points and a league-best 12.5 rebounds per game. The Tigers also lead the SEC in field goal percentage, shooting .474 percent from the field.
Although LSU leads the overall series 108-98, the Bulldogs bested the Tigers in last year's meeting, 73-67 in Starkville. The last nine meetings between the two teams have been tightly contested, with the average margin of victory being 4.6 points. Head Coach Ben Howland has faced LSU once on the hardwood, resulting in a 59-45 victory in the 2006 Final Four.
Following Saturday's game, the Bulldogs return to Humphrey Coliseum for a three-game homestand, beginning with Arkansas on Tuesday at 8 p.m.
