Gameday: Five Things to Know About MSU-Dayton

by Matt Dunaway, Associate Director/Communications

DAYTON, Ohio – No. 25 Mississippi State and Dayton will meet for the second time in as many seasons on Friday in-front of a sold-out crowd at UD Arena.

The Bulldogs have won both previous meetings in the all-time series by a combined four points. Last season, Quinndary Weatherspoon collected a steal and went coast-to-coast for a layup with 0.8 seconds remaining to vault Mississippi State to a 61-59 victory over the Flyers.

The Matchup: No 25 Mississippi State (5-1, 0-0 SEC) vs. Dayton (4-2, 0-0 Atlantic 10)
Where: Dayton, Ohio – UD Arena
When: Friday, Nov. 30, 6:00 p.m. CT
Live Stats: StatBroadcast (https://hailst.at/MBBMSUvsUD1130Stats)

TV: CBS Sports Network
Channels: 221 (DirecTV), 158 (Dish), 1643 (AT&T U-Verse), Not Available (MaxxSouth)
Talent: Jason Horowitz, Steve Wolf
Online: www.CBSSports.com/cbs-sports-network/ (https://hailst.at/2zsGnsY)

Radio: Mississippi State Sports Network – Powered by Learfield
Talent: Neil Price, Richard Williams
Affiliates: WKBB-FM 100.9 Starkville/West Point (Full List: https://hailst.at/MBKAffiliates)
Free Online Audio: Hail State Plus (https://hailst.at/MBKListen); Tune-In Radio App (https://hailst.at/MBKTuneIn)
Sirius/XM: Ch. 135 (Sirius), Ch. 190 (XM), Ch. 961 (Internet)

FROM THE BENCH WITH COACH HOWLAND
"Dayton has a very good team and a phenomenal home atmosphere. This will very much reciprocate a SEC away game in late November. That's why we are doing it. Watching them, Dayton play, they're incredibly physical. Their point guard is outstanding, a young man from Memphis. [Jalen] Crutcher, who obviously played well against us here last year in their comeback. He's an outstanding player. [Josh] Cunningham is their best player inside. That guy is really good, a first-team all-preseason pick out the A10 (Atlantic 10). That guy is a player. We have our hands full. It will be fun. There will be 13,500 great basketball fans there. It will be a great atmosphere."

"I can't tell you how fun it is to coach those two (Reggie Perry and Robert Woodard II). These guys are phenomenal to work with and to coach. It is so fun to watch players grow before your very eyes. That is what is fun about this job. They want it so bad. It is so fun to coach guys that are coachable. That is what makes it fun."

FIVE THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT MISSISSIPPI STATE
1. Mississippi State has won its last two true non-conference road games. The Bulldogs defeated Baylor (78-77) and Louisville (79-56) as part of their run to the 2018 NIT Final Four.

2. Quinndary Weatherspoon has collected 17.0 points, 3.5 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 2.2 steals per game. He has amassed double figures in all six games and 76 times during his career. He is the only SEC player to be ranked inside the top 10 in both points and steals. His 17.0 points are fifth, while his 2.2 steals are tied for 2nd in the SEC rankings. Weatherspoon has worked his way to 1,485 career points which is tops among SEC active players and 13th on MSU's all-time scoring list. He is eight points shy of passing Tony Watts (1989-90-91-92) and Craig Sword (2013-14-15-16) in addition to 18 points away from Jerry Jenkins (1973-74-75) for the No. 10 position.

3. Lamar Peters has put together four straight games of 10-plus points highlighted by a 17-point, 7-assist outing versus Alcorn State last time out. He has averaged 13.5 points and drained 10 of his 13 three's during the four-game span. Peters has dished out 5.5 assists and compiled a 2.4 assist-to-turnover ratio, both marks rank fifth in the SEC.

4. Reggie Perry has been inserted into the starting lineup filling in for an injured Abdul Ado during the last two games. He turned in his first career double-double with 16 points and 11 rebounds against Alcorn State. The freshman forward was an efficient 7-of-8 shooting. For the season, Perry is averaging 6.2 points and 6.2 rebounds per game. The 6.2 rebounds are third among SEC freshmen and tied for 15th on the conference leaderboard.

5. Tyson Carter has come away with double figures in five of six games en route to 11.2 points per game. He has knocked down 18 of his 30 shot attempts inside the three-point line. On the defensive end, Carter has secured multiple steals in four of six games.

KNOW YOUR OPPONENT
Dayton won its first three games at home and defeated Butler to open the Battle4Atlantis. Then, the Flyers dropped a pair of hard-fought decisions to No. 4 Virginia (66-59) and Oklahoma (65-54).

Josh Cunningham has secured a team-leading 14.5 points and 7.3 rebounds per game. The All-Atlantic 10 First-Team preseason selection has connected on 66.7 percent of his field goal attempts which includes a 15-point performance against Virginia on Nov. 22.

Jalen Crutcher was Dayton's top performer at the Battle4Atlantis where he compiled 15.0 points and 5.2 assists per game. He has made 13 of his last 27 three-point attempts and posted 20 points during the Butler victory.

Obi Toppin and Trey Landers have added 11.5 and 11.3 points per game, respectively. Landers has notched a pair of double-doubles which includes 12 points and 10 rebounds versus Oklahoma.

UP NEXT
Mississippi State embarks on its six-game December slate and plays host to McNeese State from the Southland Conference on Tuesday. Tip time is on-tap for 7 p.m. CT at Humphrey Coliseum. The game will be streamed online only by SEC Network + courtesy of the WatchESPN app.

Visit www.HailState.com for the latest news and information on the men's basketball program. Fans also can follow the program on its social media outlets by searching 'HailStateMBK' on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Gameday: Five Things to Know About MSU-Dayton

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Players Mentioned

Abdul Ado

Tyson Carter

Reggie Perry

Lamar Peters

Quinndary Weatherspoon

Robert Woodard II

Mississippi State University Athletics