Gameday: Five Things to Know About MSU-Clemson

Saturday, December 8

Newark, N.J. (Prudential Center)

3:00 PM

Mississippi State

Clemson

Photo by: Blake Williams/MSU Athletics

Gameday: Five Things to Know About MSU-Clemson

December 07, 2018 | Men's Basketball

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by Matt Dunaway, Associate Director/Communications

NEWARK, New Jersey – No. 22 Mississippi State will begin a stretch of five consecutive games versus 2017-18 postseason squads when the Bulldogs square off with Clemson on Saturday at the Never Forget Tribute Classic hosted by the Prudential Center.

The Tigers have won the previous three meetings between the two schools most recently a home-and-home during the 2006-07 and 2007-08 seasons. Both meetings were decided by a combined five points. Mississippi State's last win over an ACC opponent was a 79-56 rout of Louisville on March 20 in the quarterfinal round at the 2018 NIT.

The Matchup: No 22 Mississippi State (7-1, 0-0 SEC) vs. Clemson (6-2, 0-0 ACC)
Where: Newark, New Jersey – Prudential Center
When: Saturday, Dec. 8, 3:00 p.m. CT
Live Stats: StatBroadcast (https://hailst.at/MBKLiveStats)

TV: ESPN2
Talent: John Sciambi, Chris Spatola
Online: https://hailst.at/CLEMvsMSU1208

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. 206 (Sirius), Ch. 190 (XM), Ch. 961 (Internet)

FIVE THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT MISSISSIPPI STATE
1. Mississippi State has erased a halftime deficit in back-to-back games. The Bulldogs overcame a 29-26 hole at Dayton on Nov. 30 and a 42-39 deficit versus McNeese State on Dec. 4. It marked the second time under fourth-year coach Ben Howland and 10th time since 1982-83 that Mississippi State has won when trailing at the half in consecutive games. The Bulldogs defeated Stephen F. Austin and Jacksonville State last season.

2. Lamar Peters equaled a single-game school record when he drained eight three-pointers en route to a career-best 27 points during the McNeese State game. He has secured double figures in five of his last six outings. Peters have been living by the three-ball recently and knocked down 14 of his 22 treys over his last three appearances.

3. Reggie Perry has posted 12.7 points and 7.7 rebounds in his last three outings. He has connected on 15 of his 21 shot attempts highlighted by 11 of his 13 two-point attempts during that span. The 2018 McDonalds All-American nearly dialed up his second double-double with 15 points and nine rebounds against McNeese State.

4. Quinndary Weatherspoon, the SEC's active leader in points and steals, will look to return to double figures. He has eclipsed the 20-point plateau four times on the young season. The 2018 Jerry West Award Watch List member has piled up 1,514 career points which ranks 10th on the program's all-time list. The Bulldogs are 18-2 overall and have reeled off 10 straight victories over the last two seasons when Weatherspoon produces 20-plus points.

5. Nick Weatherspoon has garnered 14.0 points and 2.3 assists per game over his last three outings … On the interior, Abdul Ado has added 8.5 points on 7-of-12 from the floor since returning from injury at Dayton on Nov. 30 … Tyson Carter has been Mississippi State's most consistent performer off the bench with 10.3 points per game. The Bulldogs are 6-0 in 2018-19 and 18-2 over the last two seasons when Carter comes away with 10-plus points.

KNOW YOUR OPPONENT
Clemson is receiving votes in both the Associated Press and USA Today/Coaches Top 25 polls after a trip to the 2018 NCAA Tournament Sweet 16. The Tigers dropped a pair of tightly-contested decisions to Creighton (87-82) and Nebraska (68-66) before returning to the win column against Saint Peter's (65-60) earlier this week.

Marcquise Reed has dialed up 19.4 points, 5.1 rebounds and 3.4 assists per game. The 19.4 points for the preseason All-ACC Second-Team selection are third on the ACC leaderboard. He has ripped off double figures in seven of eight appearances fueled by five outings of 20-plus points.

Shelton Mitchell and Elijah Thomas have chipped in 14.5 points and 11.9 points per game, respectively. Thomas has converted on 66.1 percent of his field goal attempts and already has a trio of double-doubles on the young season whereas Mitchell has pieced together double figures in all eight games and is 34 points shy of reaching 1,000 for his career.

Off the bench, Clyde Trapp has provided 5.8 points per game with seven of his 15 field goals coming from beyond the three-point line.

UP NEXT
Mississippi State welcomes Cincinnati, the defending American Athletic Conference (AAC) champions, to Humphrey Coliseum next Saturday. Tipoff is slated for 7:30 pm. CT. The game will be televised by SEC Network and available online 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.