MSU Looks To Stay Perfect On Road At Tennessee

Saturday, January 21

Knoxville, Tenn.

5:00 PM

Mississippi State

Tennessee

The Bulldogs travel to Tennessee looking for third SEC road win.

MSU Looks To Stay Perfect On Road At Tennessee

January 20, 2017 | Men's Basketball

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STARKVILLE, Miss. – After dropping a hard-fought loss to No. 5 Kentucky on Tuesday, Mississippi State returns to the road on Saturday to face Tennessee.

The Bulldogs won their first two road games and is looking to go 3-0 for the first time since 2004.

Tip at Thompson-Boling Arena is set for 5 p.m. CT, with Mike Morgan and Pat Bradley handling the SEC Network broadcast. The game can also be heard on the MSU radio network with veterans Jim Ellis and Richard Williams on the call.

MSU stands at 12-5 on the season, 3-2 in league play following the 88-81 setback to the Wildcats. Freshman guard Lamar Peters poured in a career-high 25 points, while All-SEC standout Quinndary Weatherspoon added 15.

The Volunteers enter the contest 9-9, 2-4, following their 80-69 loss at Ole Miss on Tuesday.

THE SERIES
Tennessee leads the all-time series 80-42, but MSU has won two out of the last three in Knoxville.

COACHES
Ben Howland is in his second year at MSU and 21^st overall. As a head coach in four different stops, he is 427-228 with a 26-28 mark with the Bulldogs.

Rick Barnes is in his second year at Tennessee and owns a 22-28 ledger. Overall, he's 628-342 in 30 years.

QUOTABLE
"They're athletic. The point guard from Alabama (Lamonte Turner), he's really fast and quick. They're a problem. They're very talented, very well coached. A lot of times it's like playing against five guards. They switch one through five, so it's a different setup, and we have to prepare for that." — MSU coach Ben Howland of his team's defense.

NEXT 2
Jan. 25 at Humphrey Coliseum against Missouri and Jan. 28 at Alabama.

BULLDOG BITES

On Monday, Quinndary Weatherspoon was named the SEC player of the week after totaling 25 points at Arkansas and 13 (all in the second half) against Texas A&M.
Mississippi State is looking for its first 3-0 road start in SEC play since 2004.
MSU has won two out of the last three games in Knoxville, including its last outing in 2015, 71-66.
The Bulldogs are looking for their first 4-2 start in league play since 2010.
Freshman guard Lamar Peters scored a career-high 25 points against Kentucky, marking the second time this season he's totaled 20-plus points.
Four times this year, MSU has rallied from deficits of 10 points or more en route to victory.
Against Kentucky, the Bulldogs lost for the first time in 11 games when shooting 45 percent or better from the floor.
Also against the Wildcats, MSU had season highs in turnovers (19) and fouls (28).
Quinndary Weatherspoon has totaled 28 points in the last two games, with all points coming in the second half. He's 19-31 shooting his last three games, 10-15 beyond the arc.
KenPom.com has MSU as the second-least experienced team of all 351 DI programs, UK fifth.
When is Mississippi State successful? When outrebounding foes (9-0), shooting 45 percent or better (10-1) and winning or being tied at the half (11-0).
Of current SEC players, I.J. Ready is 12th with 834 points, tied for third with 140 steals and third with 356 assists.
I.J. Ready is third in the SEC with his 2.6 assist/turnover ratio (46th nationally), while his 5.1 assists are second. He now has 355 assists for his career, now the 8th most in school history, while his 140 steals are tied with Darryl Wilson for the 10th most in school history.
Sophomore guard Quinndary Weatherspoon is fourth in the SEC with his 17.7 scoring clip. MSU hasn't had a player average 18-plus since Darryl Wilson in 1996 (18.0).
Sophomore forward Aric Holman leads the Bulldogs with 39 blocked shots, the most in a single season since Jarvis Varnado had 170 in 2010.