MSU, USM Face Off In Capital City Showdown

STARKVILLE, Miss. – In the final game before the Christmas break, Mississippi State travels to Jackson on Saturday to face in-state rival Southern Miss at Mississippi Coliseum.

The second-annual Capital City Showdown is set for a 6 p.m. CT tip, with Neil Price and Richard Williams handling the call on the MSU radio network.

This is the 25^th game the Bulldogs will play at the arena.

LAST TIME OUT
Mississippi State used a strong second half and another solid defensive effort to run past Little Rock, 64-48. Quinndary Weatherspoon paced MSU with his 21 points, while Abdul Ado hauled in a career-high 13 rebounds.

The Golden Eagles dropped a 98-45 decision at Florida State to snap a four-game winning streak. Eddie Davis, Cortez Edwards and Anfernee Hampton each had 8 points.

RECORDS
Mississippi State, 10-1; Southern, 7-5.

THE SERIES
MSU leads, 15-4.

KEY LINKS
Live Stats: http://hailst.at/2kAzqib

COACHES
Ben Howland enters his third year at MSU and 22^nd overall. As head coach in four different stops, he is 441-240 with a 40-34 mark with the Bulldogs.

Doc Sadler is in his fourth year with Southern Miss and is 27-68. In 12 seasons overall, he's 176-175.

QUOTABLE
"It means a lot to me, just to get into that category with all of the guys that did it before me. AndI just credit my teammates, from my freshman year to now, for putting me in the opportunities to score the basketball." — MSU Quinndary Weatherspoon on scoring 1,000-career points

Game Notes
Mississippi State
Southern Miss
SEC

BULLDOG BITES

Against Little Rock on Wednesday, junior All-SEC guard Quinndary Weatherspoon made a free throw with 2:07 left in the first half to become the 37th player in school history to score 1,000 for a career.
MSU is 46-20 all-time versus the 12 teams currently comprise Conference USA. The 19 games played against Southern Miss are the most for the Bulldogs against any team in the league. The Golden Eagles are also the last Conference USA team MSU has faced.
Saturday marks the 25th game the Bulldogs have played at Mississippi Coliseum. MSU is 18-6 overall in the Capital City.
Mississippi State has won 14 of its last 15 games in Jackson, including last year's outing against USM, 86-44.
Freshman guard Nick Weatherspoon has now accounted for nine of MSU's 12 charges taken.
Against Little Rock, Quinndary Weatherspoon poured in 21 points, marking the fourth time this year he's totaled 20-plus points. In those games, MSU is 4-0.
With his two blocks against the Trojans, Aric Holman needs just seven more to tie Gavin Ware for the eighth most in school history.
The Bulldogs lead the SEC and are 10th nationally in fewest points allowed at 60.8.
MSU also leads the SEC and is 67th nationally with its 7.7 steals.
Mississippi State has shot 50 percent or better five times this season.
MSU has held nine of its 11 opponents below 39 percent shooting (Cincinnati, .407; Dayton, .457) and is second in the SEC in field goal percentage defense and 19th nationally at .377.
Abdul Ado now has 26 blocks after recording 3 against Little, a total that's eighth best by an MSU freshman in school history. His 2.6 clip is third in the SEC. He also had a career-high 13 rebounds against the Trojans and ranks 11th in the SEC at 6.3.
Mississippi State is looking for its first 11-1 start since opening the 2011-12 campaign 12-1.
With 10 wins at Humphrey Coliseum, MSU has already matched its total from a year ago.

NEXT 3 UP
Dec. 30 vs. North Florida in Starkville
Jan. 2 vs. Arkansas in Starkville
Jan. 6 at Ole Miss

MSU, USM Face Off In Capital City Showdown

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Abdul Ado

Aric Holman

Nick Weatherspoon

Quinndary Weatherspoon

Mississippi State University Athletics

MSU, USM Face Off In Capital City Showdown

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Abdul Ado

Aric Holman

Nick Weatherspoon

Quinndary Weatherspoon

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