No. 6 Bulldogs Host SE Missouri State To Open Season

Tuesday, November 6

Starkville

7:00 PM

Mississippi State

Southeast Missouri State

No. 6 Bulldogs Host SE Missouri State To Open Season

November 05, 2018 | Women's Basketball

Tickets Watch On SECN+Where To Listen Game Notes

By Brock Turnipseed, Associate Director/Communications

STARKVILLE – Mississippi State officially begins the 2018-19 season Tuesday, hosting Southeast Missouri State in a 7 p.m. tip at Humphrey Coliseum.

The season opener for the reigning SEC champions will be streamed online and via the WatchESPN app on SEC Network + with Bart Gregory and Charlie Winfield on the call.

The audio broadcast of the contest can be heard on the MSU Radio Network, HailState.com/plus and the TuneIn app.

Humphrey Coliseum doors open at 5:30 p.m., and Mississippi State's clear bag policy and walk-through metal detectors will be in place for all home games this season.

Fans can arrive early and enjoy Bully's Kidz Kourt activities in Mize Pavilion starting at 5:30 p.m.

Vic Schaefer's team was picked to repeat as SEC champion and was tabbed No. 6 nationally by the Associated Press, USA Today and ESPN after winning 37 games and claiming a second-straight NCAA National Finalist finish last season.

The Bulldogs are coming off a 97-56 exhibition win against Central Missouri last Friday. Anriel Howard paced MSU with 23 points and 11 rebounds, while SEC Preseason Player of the Year Teaira McCowan notched 16 points and six boards in 16 minutes of action.

Southeast Missouri put together a pair of exhibition wins, knocking off Rockhurst and Lindenwood-Belleville.

GAME INFORMATION

Mississippi State vs. Southeast Missouri State
Tip: 7 p.m.
Location: Starkville, Mississippi (Humphrey Coliseum)
Tickets: General Admission ($5 youth, $10 adults at the door; $5 adults, $3 youth online — Online sales end 4 hrs. before tip)
Online: SEC Network + (Bart Gregory, PxP; Charlie Winfield, Analyst)
Radio: MSU Radio Network
Online Audio: HailState.com/Plus & TuneIn App

BULLDOGS SET TO BEGIN 2018-19 SEASON

Mississippi State officially begins the 2018-19 season on the home court Tuesday as it hosts Southeast Missouri State in a 7 p.m. tip. The contest will be streamed online on SEC Network +.

LAST TIME OUT...

Vic Schaefer's Bulldogs wrapped their final tune-up for the campaign Friday, defeating reigning NCAA Division II national champion Central Missouri 97-56.

Anriel Howard had 23 points and 11 rebounds to lead six Bulldogs in double figures.
MSU held the Jennies to 2-of-16 shooting (12.5%) in the second quarter to take a 35-29 lead to halftime. State out-scored UCM 62-27 the final two quarters.

BULLDOGS VS. REDHAWKS SERIES HISTORY

Tuesday's game will be the second meeting between the two programs, with both coming in Starkville.

The only contest came Dec. 11, 1982, a game won by MSU 77-44.

BULLDOG BITES

Mississippi State opens the season at home for the second-straight year and 13th time in the last 15 seasons. The Dawgs are 32-12 in season openers with 14-straight victories.
In home openers, the Bulldogs are 42-2 all-time with 32-straight wins.
The Bulldogs enter 2018-19 having won 20 games in a row inside Humphrey Coliseum. That run is tied for the sixth-longest active home win streak in Division I.
State has won 36-straight regular-season non-conference contests.
MSU has been victorious in 35-straight home games against non-SEC foes.
Since 2014-15, MSU is 126-22. Those 126 wins are fourth-most nationally in that span. The Bulldogs' 71 wins the past two seasons are second in the nation, one back of UConn.
Teaira McCowan and fellow senior Jazzmun Holmes enter the season with a 99-15 record, the fourth-most victories in the nation since 2015-16. They need 27 wins to match last year's senior class for the program wins record (126).
Mississippi State hosted reigning NCAA Division II national champion Central Missouri in an exhibition Friday night, winning the contest 97-56. Anriel Howard led six MSU players in double figures with 23 points and 11 rebounds.
McCowan was named the Preseason SEC Player of the Year by both league media and coaches.
Howard earned Preseason All-SEC honors from select league and national media, and was tabbed to the coaches' preseason All-SEC first team.
After winning the first SEC regular-season title for any MSU women's sport, the Bulldogs were picked to repeat as league champions by both the media and the coaches.
State is ranked No. 6 in both the Associated Press Preseason Top 25 Poll and the USA Today Preseason Top 25 Poll. MSU's AP ranking is the program's highest preseason ranking in the poll.
After compiling one of the nation's toughest schedules a year ago, the Bulldogs' 2018-19 is also a challenging one, with 13 games coming against teams that are coming off an NCAA Tournament berth.
A year ago, McCowan grabbed 544 rebounds, an SEC record and second-most in NCAA Division I history. She also set a league record with 29 double-doubles, the second-most in the nation a year ago and T10th in NCAA DI history.
With the addition of Howard, the Bulldogs now boast the Top 2 active rebounders in the SEC. McCowan leads the way with 1,015-career boards, while Howard follows with 1,002 rebounds.
McCowan and Howard also give Schaefer a combined 72-career double-doubles.
MSU also has the country's top returning rebounders from last season. McCowan's 13.9 rpg in 2017-18 leads the way, while Howard's 12.2 average is third.