No. 4 MSU Meets No. 7 Oregon in Nationally Televised Game on Tuesday

by Brian Ogden, Assistant Coordinator/Communications

EUGENE, Ore. – After checking in at No. 4 in the Associated Press Top 25 Poll on Monday, Mississippi State's women's basketball team will play a nationally-televised game at No. 7 Oregon on Tuesday.

The game will air on ESPN2 at 9 p.m. CT with Beth Mowins, Deb Antonelli and Holly Rowe on the call.. Fans can listen to the action on the MSU Radio Network and online via HailState.com/Plus and the TuneIn app.

Tuesday night's action will pit the top two offenses in the country against each other. Oregon averages 92.4 points per game with the Bulldogs right behind them at 92.3 ppg. However, State ranks fourth in the nation scoring defense (50.3 ppg) for the country's best scoring margin (+42.0).

The Bulldogs lead the SEC in field goal percentage (51.2%), field goal percentage defense (34.0%), rebounding margin (+17.7), blocked shots (7.6 bpg) and assists (19.5 apg).

Individually, Jazzmun Holmes leads the nation in assist/turnover ratio (6.11) and is third in the SEC in assists per game (5.5). Over the last three games, she is averaging 7.0 assists, 1.0 turnover, 2.3 steals and 14.3 points while shooting 50.0 percent from the field (12-of-24) and going 13-of-14 from the free throw line.

With their one-spot rise in the AP Poll on Monday, MSU has now held a spot in the poll for 81 consecutive weeks. The Dawgs have been ranked inside the Top 10 for 45 weeks in a row.

Tuesday's contest is the first leg of a 5,207-mile round-trip journey to play the Ducks and Washington. State heads to Seattle to meet the Huskies at 9 p.m. on Dec. 20.

GAME INFORMATION
Opponent: Oregon
Location: Eugene, Oregon (Matthew Knight Arena)
Time: Tuesday, 9 p.m.
Watch: ESPN2 (PxP – Beth Mowins; Analyst – Deb Antonelli; Sideline – Holly Rowe)
Listen: MSU Radio Network and HailState.com/Plus (PxP – Jason Crowder; Analyst – Charlie Winfield)

SERIES HISTORY
Overall: MSU leads 3-0
At MSU: MSU leads 1-0
At UO: N/A
Neutral Sites: MSU leads 2-0
Last Meeting: MSU, 90-79 (12/13/17 in Starkville)

BULLDOG BITES

MSU won its 700th game in program history on Friday, defeating Southern Miss, 86-42.
State has won 46 straight regular-season non-conference contests. The Dawgs have won 12-straight non-conference road games and 19 such contests at home, with the last setback coming at Texas on Dec. 2, 2015.
Seniors Jazzmun Holmes and Teaira McCowan have won 109-career games, 4th-most in the nation since 2015-16. Their 81 wins since 2016-17 are tied with UConn for the nation's best.
State has been in the AP poll 81 straight weeks, including 45 weeks in a row in the Top 10.
The Bulldogs are the nation's 2nd-best scoring offense, averaging 92.3 ppg. Its 50.3 ppg allowed is 4th in the country, giving the Dawgs the highest scoring margin (+42.0) in Division I.
MSU tops the SEC in FG% (51.2%), rebounding (46.8 rpg), assist/turnover ratio (1.5), assists (19.5 apg), rebound margin (+17.7), scoring offense and scoring defense.
The Bulldogs continue to lead the nation in blocked shots with 76 on the year, 7.6 bpg. Teaira McCowan's 28 blocks are 3rd in the nation and lead the SEC.
Jazzmun Holmes leads the nation with a 6.1 assist/turnover ratio. Jordan Danberry is 4th in the SEC (2.1). They have helped MSU to DI's 5th-best ratio (1.5).
Teaira McCowan has scored double figures in 16-straight games going back to last season, with 10 of those being 20-point efforts. The two-time SEC Player of the Week is averaging 19.8 ppg, 11.9 rpg and shooting 74.7% from the field (59-of-79)over the last seven games.
Over the last 3 games, Jazzmun Holmes is averaging 14.3 ppg, 7.0 apg and 2.3 spg while posting just three total turnovers with a 50.0% FG% (12-of-24) and making 13-of-14 from the free throw line
Chloe Bibby is 2nd in the SEC, 11th in the nation, sinking the triple at a 51.1% clip.
Anriel Howard led all scorers with 16 points as every MSU starter scored in double-figures Friday.

LAST TIME OUT FOR MSU...

The Bulldogs' defense held Southern Miss to just 15 points in the second half to cruise to an 86-42 win. MSU scored 21 points in the fourth quarter, all off the bench.
State forced 27 turnovers, just one shy of its season-high (Coppin State - 28), and converted them in 40 points off turnovers. It was the third time this year that MSU has recorded 40 or more points off turnovers.
Anriel Howard led all scorers with 16 points as all five Bulldog starters scored in doule-figures.
Teaira McCowan picked up the 47th double-double of her career (13 pts., 16 rbds.).

GET TO KNOW THE OPPONENT…

Oregon enters the game with an 8-1 record after erasing a halftime defecit to defeat South Dakota State, 87-79, last week. Sabrina Ionescu and Satou Sabally combined for 53 points in the game.
Only the Ducks rank higher in scoring average than MSU, leading the nation at 92.4 ppg.
Ionescu is one triple-double shy of breaking the NCAA career record (12).

ON THE ROAD AGAIN

MSU is in the midst of three consecutive road games to close the fall semester. That stretch is the longest away from home on State's schedule this season.
State defeated Southern Miss on Friday night in Hattiesburg, and now meets No. 7 Oregon and Washington on the road.
The Bulldogs' travel to the Pacific Northwest will cover 5,207 miles round trip from Starkville to Eugene and then to Seattle before heading home.
State has not lost a regular-season non-conference game on the road since
Dec. 2, 2015 at Texas.

REDEFINED DEFENSE

McCowan has long been known as a shot-blocking threat, but the Bulldog senior has taken her defense to another level this season.
The Brenham, Texas native is blocking shots at a higher rate (2.8 bpg) this year than any prior season while being more effective and limiting her fouls.
McCowan is averaging 2.3 fouls per game, the lowest rate of her career, and has yet to foul out of a contest after doing so twice in each of the past two years and five times as a freshman.

Mississippi State University Athletics

No. 4 MSU Meets No. 7 Oregon in Nationally Televised Game on Tuesday

Players Mentioned

Chloe Bibby

Jordan Danberry

Jazzmun Holmes

Anriel Howard

Teaira McCowan

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