Gameday: Five Things to Know About No. 17 MSU-Wofford

Wednesday, December 19

Starkville

7:00 PM

Mississippi State

Wofford

Gameday: Five Things to Know About No. 17 MSU-Wofford

December 18, 2018 | Men's Basketball

Press Conference Watch Online Tickets Listen Live Live Stats Game Notes (PDF)

by Matt Dunaway, Associate Director/Communications

STARKVILLE – Another non-conference test awaits No. 17 Mississippi State when Wofford visits Humphrey Coliseum on Wednesday.

Tip time is on-tap for 7 p.m. CT streamed online by SEC Network + and available through the Watch ESPN app. Bart Gregory and Matt Wyatt will serve as the announcing team.

Wednesday's matchup marks the first with Wofford. The Bulldogs have posted a 42-14 record against current members of the Southern Conference which includes a 25-6 mark against Samford and a 6-4 record against Chattanooga.

The Matchup: No. 17 Mississippi State (9-1, 0-0 SEC) vs. Wofford (9-3, 0-0 SoCon)
Where: Starkville, Mississippi – Humphrey Coliseum
When: Wednesday, Dec. 19, 7:00 p.m. CT
Live Stats: StatBroadcast (https://hailst.at/MBKLiveStats)

TV: SEC Network +
Talent: Bart Gregory, Matt Wyatt
Online: https://hailst.at/WOFFvsMSU1219
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. 108 (Sirius), Ch. 192 (XM), Ch. 963 (Internet)

FIVE THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT MISSISSIPPI STATE
1. Mississippi State has connected on 45 three-pointers during its last three games highlighted by a program single-game record 19 treys during the Clemson game on Dec. 8. The Bulldogs have hit 10 or more treys in three straight games on five occasions since the 2004-05 season.

2. Lamar Peters has done the heavy lifting with 19 three-pointers en route to a team-leading 23.0 points per game over his last three outings. He has dialed up double figures in three consecutive games and seven of his last eight outings. Peters has canned 33 of his 49 field goals from three-point territory for the season. He also has distributed five or more assists in seven straight games and amassed 92 assists against 33 turnovers since the start of the 2018 NIT.

3. Quinndary Weatherspoon is the SEC's active leader with 1,548 career points and 161 career steals. He heads into Wednesday's action 11 points shy of moving past Jamont Gordon (2006-07-08) for ninth place on the program's career list. Weatherspoon has reached double figures in nine of 10 games headed by five games of 20-plus points. Mississippi State is 19-2 and has won 11 consecutive games over the last two seasons when he reaches the 20-point mark.

4. Tyson Carter and Reggie Perry combined for 26 bench points during the win over Cincinnati last Saturday. Perry has upped his marks to 10.4 points and 6.4 rebounds per game over his last five games. He has reached double figures in his last three home games and connected on a 16-for-20 shooting clip. Carter has provided double figures in seven of 10 games for the season. The Bulldogs have won 19 of their last 21 games when Carter reaches 10-plus points over the last two seasons.

5. Aric Holman's 814 career points are 11th, his 558 career rebounds are 4th and 166 career blocks are 2nd among SEC active players … He filled the box score with seven points, 10 rebounds, four assists and three blocks versus Cincinnati … Nick Weatherspoon has added 9.9 points per game and secured double figures in three of his last five appearances … He has buried 13-of-24 from beyond the three-point arc on the season … Abdul Ado has chipped in 6.0 points per game on 9-of-17 from the floor during his last four games since returning from injury.

KNOW YOUR OPPONENT
The Terriers have won three in a row and seven of their last eight decisions. Wofford picked up a 20-point road victory over South Carolina (Nov. 26). Their three losses have come against nationally-ranked North Carolina (Nov. 6) and Kansas (Dec. 4) along with Oklahoma (Nov. 18) who is receiving votes.

Fletcher Magee, the Southern Conference Pre-Season Player of the Year, has amassed 17.3 points per game and recently surpassed 2,000 career points. He is currently 16th in NCAA history with 397 treys and is 18 away from current Golden State Warrior Steph Curry's SoCon record.

Cameron Jackson (14.5 PPG, 8.2 RPG) and Nathan Hoover (13.3 PPG) also have started all 12 games for the Terriers. Hoover has ripped off double figures in five of his last seven outings sparked by a 30-point outburst at South Carolina where he canned nine three-pointers. Jackson has already collected a trio of double-doubles most notably a 15-point, 10 rebound performance at Kansas.

Off the bench, Matt Pegram (5.9 PPG) and Tray Hollowell (5.7 PPG) have been Wofford's top two scoring options. Pegram tallied season's best with 11 points and eight rebounds during the Kansas game.

Mississippi State Men's Basketball Media Session
December 18, 2018 – Humphrey Coliseum

Head Coach Ben Howland
Opening Statement
BH: "I thought it was good that we got together today just because this is a huge game for us. We're coming off a really big game, but when you look at the NET ratings of all the teams we have played this far. After Cincinnati, Wofford has the highest NET rating. They're good. They beat North Carolina at North Carolina last year. They beat Georgia Tech a year ago. They beat South Carolina this year by 20. When you go watch their tapes from this year, it's a tied game at Oklahoma with 10 minutes to go. They're up three with 10 minutes to go at Kansas, [which are] games they both lost. The one other game they played incredibly tough. They have three losses at Oklahoma, at Kansas and to [North] Carolina which was a four-point game with seven minutes to go."

"These guys are a problem. [Fletcher] Magee will end up by the end of the year with the second most three-pointers made in the history of college basketball. He is currently the fifth scorer of all [active] scorers in the country. Their shooter [Nathan] Hoover, who had nine three's in the South Carolina game, can really shoot. They shoot 46 percent of their shots from three. They are very efficient from the three-point line. They have a great big guy inside, [Cameron] Jackson. Jackson scores on everybody who is a senior. He scores on every single team with ease that he plays against. He's a real problem. They're very well-coached. Coach [Mike] Young has been there 17 years, and he has a program. These kids are good players. Their point guard [Storm] Murphy is good. Ryan Larson who backs him up started against South Carolina, and Murphy didn't even play. He [Murphy] was hurt against South Carolina when they won. These guys are an excellent team."

"I guess my thing is that we need to get as many people to the game as possible. One of the things watching that game against Cincinnati, which I have watched two or three times, our crowd was awesome. It was a great atmosphere. It made a huge difference for our ability to be successful. I'm so appreciative of everyone that came to the game Saturday. I know that if everyone can make here it tomorrow night that it's going to be huge for our team as we march forward and hope to have a really special year this year."

Q: How hard it is to go from the emotional game like Cincinnati and hit the reset button to get ready for another tough game like Wofford?
BH: "Bottom line is that it is preparing us for what is the most important which is the SEC. Every night the SEC is going to be a monster. There are no breaks, every game is difficult. Clemson, Cincinnati, Wofford – I mean, it's hard. Every game is tough. This is what the non-conference prepares you for what you are going to see in your conference. Our conference is incredibly competitive and talented and tough. This team though, I just want to educate [everyone] and make sure everybody knows just how good [Wofford is]. It's going to be a fun team to watch. These guys can shoot, they play tough defense and they're rebounding. They're one of the top 25 rebounding teams in the country. It's a very good team."

Forward Aric Holman
Q: How special has this season been so far especially with what you have been through during your career here?
AH: "It feels good because us [Quinndary and I] coming in as freshmen, that was our mindset to come to a program that we can change in the long run. It's slowly getting there. We take part in that, and it feels good."

Q: How hard is it to collect yourself after Saturday's win and try to move on for tomorrow night's game?
AH: "It's definitely pretty hard because that was a great win for us [beating Cincinnati]. We prepared really hard for it, but now it's back to square one where we have to get ready for the next game. They [Wofford] aren't a bad team, they're pretty good like you said. They're a [NCAA] Tournament team. Basically, it's just enjoying the win but also getting back to business at the end of the day."

Guard Quinndary Weatherspoon
Q: The team has a lot of momentum going right now, how much do you all talk about building a NCAA Tournament resume?
QW: No, we are taking each game one at a time. We're just trying to build our wins up, so we are not looking into the future right now. We're trying to take each game that we have coming up and try to win those games one at a time."

Q: You have a lot of talented teammates around you, how fun is it to not have to be the one to carry the load every game?
QW: "It's exciting just knowing that we have a team where when it may not be my night, somebody else can step up and make it their night. Just having a lot of people around you takes a lot of pressure off of me. Just knowing that I don't have to force a lot of things and try to score the ball every night. I can just take what the defense gives me because I know I have great players around me."

UP NEXT
Mississippi State travels to the state capital to face 2017-18 NCAA Tournament participant Wright State on Saturday. Tip time is scheduled for 6 p.m. CT from Mississippi Coliseum in Jackson. The game will be televised by SEC Network and available online through 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.