A Battle Of Bulldogs Unfolds In Athens

Tuesday, February 14

Athens, Ga.

8:00 PM

Mississippi State

Georgia

The Bulldogs will head to Athens tomorrow.

A Battle Of Bulldogs Unfolds In Athens

February 13, 2017 | Men's Basketball

MSU Game Notes Georgia Game Notes SEC Game Notes Watch ESPN Ben Howland Press Conference

STARKVILLE, Miss. — Looking to snap a two-game losing streak, Mississippi State travels to Georgia on Tuesday in hopes of a win to better its SEC positioning.

Tip at Stegeman Coliseum is set for 8 p.m. CT on ESPNU, with Mike Couzens and Brooke Weisbrod handling the broadcast. The game can also be heard on the MSU radio network with veterans Jim Ellis and Richard Williams on the call.

It's the Bulldogs' first trip to Athens since dropping a 66-45 decision in 2014.

Mississippi State stands at 14-10 on the season, 5-7 in league play after dropping a 77-73 decision to No. 16 South Carolina on Tuesday. Freshman guard Tyson Carter paced the Bulldogs with his career-best 22 points, while Mario Kegler added 16.

Georgia enters Tuesday's showdown 14-11, 5-7, after rallying to win at Tennessee, 76-75, behind J.J. Frazier's 29 points.

THE SERIES
Georgia lead the all-time series 57-53 with a 28-19 advantage at home.

COACHES
Ben Howland is in his second year at MSU and 21^st overall. As a head coach in four different stops, he is 429-233 with a 28-27 mark with the Bulldogs.

Mark Fox is in his eighth year at Georgia and owns a 140-114 ledger. In 13 years overall, he's 263-157.

QUOTABLE
"I think he's done a good job all year. I think he's improved steadily throughout the season. He's been consistent. I think he has a lot of fight in him, and he really competes." — MSU coach Ben Howland Mario Kegler.

NEXT 2
Home against No. 17 Florida on Feb. 18 and Ole Miss on Feb. 21.

BULLDOG BITES

After Mississippi State won 72-61 in Athens during the 2013 season, Georgia has won five in a row to overtake the series lead.
UGA has won eight out of the last nine in this series and has never won six straight against MSU.
With the setback to No. 16 South Carolina on Saturday, Mississippi State has now dropped 16-consecutive games to ranked teams. Five out of the last six have been decided by six points or less. The last 10 setbacks have been by an average of 8.4 points.
USC rallied from seven points down, the largest lead MSU has surrendered this season.
Freshman guard Tyson Carter totaled a career-high 22 points on 8-of-13 shooting. In his previous 10 games, he had just 26 points.
In his last three games, Mario Kegler has totaled 49 points on 17-of-26 shooting, with a 9-13 mark from 3-point range.
MSU's last two opponents — Auburn and South Carolina — both shot 50 percent or better from the floor. On the year, MSU is 1-5 when foes shoot 50 percent or above.
USC's Sindarius Thornwell scored 28 points, tying the most against MSU this year (Zeek Woodley of Northwestern State).
MSU seeks its 15th win this season, the most since having 21 in 2012.
KenPom.com has MSU as the least experienced team of all 351 DI programs at .69.
Sophomore All-SEC guard Quinndary Weatherspoon had a season-low 5 points against South Carolina, but is still fourth in the SEC with his 16.8 scoring clip.
Five times this season, MSU has rallied from deficits of 10-plus points to win.
Mississippi State has three players with 10-plus, 30-minute games this year — Quinndary Weatherspoon (16), I.J. Ready (11) and Mario Kegler (10).
Aric Holman's 52 blocked shots are the third-most in the SEC and the most by an MSU player since Jarvis Varnado had 170 in 2010.
Mississippi State is 14-17 all-time on Valentine's Day.