Photo by: Thomas Brown
Schaefer, Vivians Earn National Honors From College Sports Madness
March 08, 2018 | Women's Basketball
STARKVILLE, Miss. – Mississippi State women's basketball earned more national recognition Thursday, as College Sports Madness tabbed Vic Schaefer its National Coach of the Year and Victoria Vivians First Team All-American.
The honor comes a day after Vivians was named a First Team All-American by USA Today. The Carthage, Miss., scored a career-best and MSU eighth-most 646 points this season, a 19.6 scoring average that ranks third in the SEC. Vivians scored double figures in 32 of the Bulldogs' 33 games this season, including tallying 20 points 15 times and 30 points twice.
She also had her most efficient season on offense, knocking down an SEC sixth-best 48.5-percent from the field. Vivians ranked eighth in the league from the 3-point arc (39.5-percent) and seventh at the free-throw line (81.4-percent).
After scoring 17 points in Sunday's SEC Tournament final against South Carolina, Vivians has tallied 22.3 ppg on the year against ranked foes.
The First Team All-SEC selection also grabbed 6.0 rpg, 1.8 per game higher than a year ago.
Vivians helped Mississippi State win its first SEC regular-season championship as she averaged 19.6 ppg in helping the Bulldogs to a 16-0 conference mark.
The 32-1 Bulldogs finished the regular season undefeated, the first SEC team to do so in 20 years. State's run of 32-straight wins ranked as the second-longest win streak in conference history.
During the historic campaign, Vivians became the third player in MSU history to pass 2,000-career points. With 2,400 points in her time in Starkville, she enters the NCAA Tournament 21 shy of tying Tan White for second at State.
Schaefer garnered the national recognition after claiming SEC Coach of the Year by his fellow coaches and Associated Press. The Bulldogs' sixth-year head coach guided MSU to the program's first SEC regular-season championship by notching the first undefeated regular season by a league team in 20 years.
His Bulldogs posted a school-record 32-straight wins, the second-most in SEC history. State's 32 victories are tied for the most in the nation, and he took this year's Bulldogs to a school-record No. 2 ranking in the Associated Press Top 25 Poll this season.
Of State's 32 victories, eight came against ranked teams and 11 were over Top-50 RPI teams.
Under his watch, the 2017-18 Bulldogs wrapped the regular season in the Top 20 in 10 NCAA categories, including rating 10th in the country in scoring offense and 18th in scoring defense. State also knocked down 47.1 percent from the field, the 13th-best total in Division I.
State also ranked fifth in the country in assist/turnover ratio, committed the eighth-fewest turnovers in the nation and third in turnover margin. The Bulldogs also wrapped the regular season third in scoring margin and seventh in 3-point field goal percentage.
The honor comes a day after Vivians was named a First Team All-American by USA Today. The Carthage, Miss., scored a career-best and MSU eighth-most 646 points this season, a 19.6 scoring average that ranks third in the SEC. Vivians scored double figures in 32 of the Bulldogs' 33 games this season, including tallying 20 points 15 times and 30 points twice.
She also had her most efficient season on offense, knocking down an SEC sixth-best 48.5-percent from the field. Vivians ranked eighth in the league from the 3-point arc (39.5-percent) and seventh at the free-throw line (81.4-percent).
After scoring 17 points in Sunday's SEC Tournament final against South Carolina, Vivians has tallied 22.3 ppg on the year against ranked foes.
The First Team All-SEC selection also grabbed 6.0 rpg, 1.8 per game higher than a year ago.
Vivians helped Mississippi State win its first SEC regular-season championship as she averaged 19.6 ppg in helping the Bulldogs to a 16-0 conference mark.
The 32-1 Bulldogs finished the regular season undefeated, the first SEC team to do so in 20 years. State's run of 32-straight wins ranked as the second-longest win streak in conference history.
During the historic campaign, Vivians became the third player in MSU history to pass 2,000-career points. With 2,400 points in her time in Starkville, she enters the NCAA Tournament 21 shy of tying Tan White for second at State.
Schaefer garnered the national recognition after claiming SEC Coach of the Year by his fellow coaches and Associated Press. The Bulldogs' sixth-year head coach guided MSU to the program's first SEC regular-season championship by notching the first undefeated regular season by a league team in 20 years.
His Bulldogs posted a school-record 32-straight wins, the second-most in SEC history. State's 32 victories are tied for the most in the nation, and he took this year's Bulldogs to a school-record No. 2 ranking in the Associated Press Top 25 Poll this season.
Of State's 32 victories, eight came against ranked teams and 11 were over Top-50 RPI teams.
Under his watch, the 2017-18 Bulldogs wrapped the regular season in the Top 20 in 10 NCAA categories, including rating 10th in the country in scoring offense and 18th in scoring defense. State also knocked down 47.1 percent from the field, the 13th-best total in Division I.
State also ranked fifth in the country in assist/turnover ratio, committed the eighth-fewest turnovers in the nation and third in turnover margin. The Bulldogs also wrapped the regular season third in scoring margin and seventh in 3-point field goal percentage.
Players Mentioned
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