Dogs Close Regular Season With Auburn For Senior Day
March 04, 2016 | Men's Basketball
The 1:30 p.m. tipoff will air on the SEC Network with Richard Cross and Andrew DeClercq providing the courtside commentary. Fans can also tune in to the MSU Radio Network to hear Jim Ellis and Richard Williams on the call.
MSU will honor Bulldog seniors Travis Daniels, Reggie Patterson, Craig Sword, Fred Thomas, Gavin Ware and Johnny Zuppardo prior to opening tip. Mississippi State has won eight of its last 10 Senior Day games.
“I'm really excited about how our seniors play, all of them,” MSU coach Ben Howland said. “Travis (Daniels) is playing the toughest he's ever played in his career right now. Chicken (Sword) is playing really good at both ends of the floor. I'm really proud of his leadership. Gavin is obviously our best post player, and I was excited today that his weight was down lower than what it was last week at this time. I thought Fred had his best game by far of conference play on Saturday. I thought he and Johnny did a good job. Johnny gave some important minutes and played as good as he could play. Everybody has limitations, but we're getting the most out of them.”
MSU (13-16, 6-11) seeks to end the regular season on a high note following a 68-58 setback at Ole Miss Wednesday night. Gavin Ware led the Bulldogs with 28 points and nine rebounds, while Quinndary Weatherspoon and Sword added 15 and 10 points, respectively.
Auburn (11-18, 5-12) looks to snap a two-game skid, most recently falling to Texas A&M 81-63 Tuesday. Tyler Harris tallied a game-high 20 points along with three blocks and hauled in eight rebounds. TJ Lang added 10 points for the Tigers.
The Aggies limited Auburn to 14 bench points and outrebounded the Tigers by a 51-27 margin.
Harris stands as Auburn's leading scorer with 14 points per game, while Cinmeon Bowers records 9.8 rebounds per outing.
Although Auburn leads the all-time series 74-68, the Bulldogs hold a strong advantage in Humphrey Coliseum. MSU has won five straight against Auburn at home and 13 out of the last 14 matchups in Starkville.
“It means a lot to finish the right way,” Daniels said. “It's been a good journey for the most part. I wouldn't take any thing back.”
Following Saturday's finale, Mississippi State will prepare for SEC Tournament action. The 2016 tournament will serve as the 57th in league history and will return to Bridgestone Arena in Nashville for the sixth time.
