Gameday: Five Things to Know About Ole MIss-No. 14 MSU

Saturday, January 12

Starkville

12:00 PM

Mississippi State

Ole Miss

Gameday: Five Things to Know About Ole MIss-No. 14 MSU

January 11, 2019 | Men's Basketball

Game Notes (PDF)Watch Online Listen Live Live Stats

by Matt Dunaway, Associate Director/Communications

STARKVILLE – The SEC's most-played basketball rivalry will take one of the nation's biggest stages when No. 14 Mississippi State and Ole Miss meet on Saturday at Humphrey Coliseum.

Tip time is slated for 12 p.m. CT televised by CBS and available online through www.CBSSports.com. Spero Dedes and Clark Kellogg will serve as the announcing team.

Mississippi State holds a 143-115 series advantage and protected its home floor with a 79-62 victory over the Rebels last season in Starkville. Quinndary Weatherspoon sparked a balanced attack with 16 points and 10 rebounds, while Tyson Carter and Nick Weatherspoon added 15 points apiece.

The Matchup: No. 14 Mississippi State (12-2, 0-1 SEC) vs. Ole Miss (12-2, 2-0 SEC)
Where: Starkville, Mississippi – Humphrey Coliseum
When: Saturday, Jan. 12, 12:00 p.m. CT
Live Stats: StatBroadcast (https://hailst.at/MBKLiveStats)

TV: CBS
Talent: Spero Dedes, Clark Kellogg
Online: www.CBSSports.com
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. 99 (Sirius), Ch. 191 (XM), Ch. 962 (Internet)

FIVE THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT MISSISSIPPI STATE
1. Mississippi State played one of the nation's toughest non-conference schedules which featured nine teams from the 2017-18 postseason who finished among the top three in their respective conferences. The Bulldogs head into Saturday's action as one of nine teams nationally to have earned at least five non-conference Quad 1 and Quad 2 victories. The Bulldogs are among four teams in the country joined by Florida State, Kansas and Nevada to secure three of those wins on the road or on a neutral floor.

2. Aric Holman has racked up 19.8 points, 8.8 rebounds and 3.5 blocks per game over his last four appearances. He has garnered 20-point performances in back-to-back games for the first time during his career with the Maroon and White. Holman is ranked among active players in the SEC's Top 10 in points (893 – 10th), rebounds (603 – 4th) and blocks (180 – 2nd). He has secured three or more blocks in eight games which includes four of his last five outings. Holman is four blocks shy of moving past Kalpatrick Wells (1980-81-82-83) for fourth place on the program's all-time list.

3. Quinndary Weatherspoon continues his assault moving into the MSU scoring list. He eclipsed Barry Stewart (2007-08-09-10) during the BYU game and slide past Darryl Wilson (1994-95-96) at South Carolina last time out. Weatherspoon's 1,622 career points are tops among SEC active players, and the Canton, Mississippi, native heads into Saturday's action 19 away from Dee Bost (2009-10-11-12) for sixth position. The senior guard has worked his way to double figures in 13 of 14 games this season ignited by six games of 20-plus points. MSU has compiled a 20-2 record and turned in 12 straight wins over the last two seasons when Weatherspoon has pumped in 20 or more points.

4. Reggie Perry has treated the home fans in the friendly confines of Humphrey Coliseum. His scoring average has nearly doubled to 13.2 points per game on an impressive 24-for-37 from the floor during his last five home games dating back to the Alcorn State game on Nov. 26. Perry dialed up 11 points and eight rebounds versus BYU proceeded by a pair of 12-point efforts during the Cincinnati and Wofford games.

5. MSU's bench will look to bounce back from a season-low two points during the South Carolina game … Prior to that, the Bulldogs had received 24.8 points per game on 38-of-65 shooting over the previous four outings … Tyson Carter has been the top performer and ranks fourth among SEC players with 9.9 points per game … Carter has managed double-digit points in nine of 14 games and knocked down two or more three-pointers in eight of his last 10 games … MSU is 20-2 over the last two seasons when Carter claims 10-plus points … Lamar Peters has fired in 16.3 points, 6.6 assists, 2.1 steals and buried 29 of his team-leading 43 treys over his last seven games … He has pieced together 11 straight games with five or more assists and enters Saturday's action three assists shy of passing Butch Pierre (1981-82-83-84) for 10th place on the program's all-time list … Nick Weatherspoon is fourth on the team with 10.6 points per game and is coming off an 18-point effort at South Carolina … The 18 points was Weatherspoon's second-highest scoring output of the season … He has collected double figures in six of his last nine games and nine of 14 games on the season … Weatherspoon has started all 50 of his appearances, and MSU is 25-8 when Weatherspoon adds 10 or more points … Abdul Ado has posted 9.5 points and 3.5 blocks per game in his last two games since returning from an injury which forced him to miss the Wright State game on Dec. 22 … He has tallied nine of his 18 blocks over his last three appearances.

KNOW YOUR OPPONENT
The Rebels have won nine consecutive games which include SEC victories at Vanderbilt (81-71) and against No. 11 Auburn (82-67). The two teams have one common non-conference opponent in Cincinnati where Ole Miss dropped a 71-57 decision.

Ole Miss is led by Breein Tyree, the reigning SEC Player of the Week. He is the only SEC player to be ranked in the top 10 in scoring (17.4 PPG – 3rd), field goal percentage (51.0 – 5th), three-point field goal percentage (42.0 – 6th) and free throw percentage (80.9 – 9th). Tyree amassed a career-high 31 points during the Vanderbilt game.

Terence Davis has filled the box score with 16.0 points, 5.6 rebounds, 3.6 assists, 1.4 steals and 1.0 blocks per game. He is coming off a 27-point, 12-rebound performance versus Auburn. Davis has piled up double figures in eight of his last nine games sparked by five 20-point efforts.

Devontae Shuler has secured 10.6 points and 3.2 assists per game. The trio of Davis-Shuler-Tyree have accounted for 74 of the team's 108 three-pointers. He has upped his scoring mark to 13.0 points en route to three straight games in double figures.

Blake Hinson (8.6 PPG) and Dominik Olejniczak (6.4 PPG) have been inserted into the starting lineup for the last six games for the Rebels. Olejniczak provided 11 points and seven rebounds against Auburn fueled by a 9-for-12 effort at the foul line.

Ole Miss' top option off the bench has been K.J. Buffen who has notched 6.6 points and 5.4 rebounds per game. He pumped in a career-best 16 points during the Auburn game.

UP NEXT
Mississippi State continues its two-game homestand and welcomes Florida to Humphrey Coliseum on Tuesday, Jan. 15 with tip time is scheduled for 6 p.m. CT. 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.