Gameday: Five Things to Know About No. 24 MSU-Florida

Tuesday, January 15

Starkville

6:00 PM

Mississippi State

Florida

Gameday: Five Things to Know About No. 24 MSU-Florida

January 14, 2019 | Men's Basketball

Buy Tickets Watch on SEC Network Listen Live Game Notes (PDF)Live Stats

by Matt Dunaway, Associate Director/Communications

STARKVILLE – No. 24 Mississippi State will look to close out its two-game homestand on a winning note when Florida visits Humphrey Coliseum on Tuesday.

Tip time is on-tap for 6 p.m. CT televised by SEC Network and available online through the WatchESPN app. Tom Hart, Jon Sundvold and Andy Kennedy will serve as the announcing team.

The Bulldogs will look to snap an eight-game losing streak to the Gators and pick up their first win in the series since the 2010-11 campaign.

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.

The Matchup: No. 24 Mississippi State (12-3, 0-2 SEC) vs. Florida (9-6, 2-1 SEC)
Where: Starkville, Mississippi – Humphrey Coliseum
When: Tuesday, Jan. 15, 6:00 p.m. CT
Live Stats: StatBroadcast (https://hailst.at/MBKLiveStats)

TV: SEC Network
Talent: Tom Hart, Jon Sundvold, Andy Kennedy
Online: https://hailst.at/UFvsMSU0115
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. 135 (Sirius), Ch. 191 (XM), Ch. 962 (Internet)

FIVE THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT MISSISSIPPI STATE
1. Mississippi State will attempt to become the fifth SEC team over the last five seasons to make the NCAA Tournament following a 0-2 conference start. The list includes Georgia (2015), Vanderbilt (2016), Tennessee (2018) and Texas A&M (2018). In fact, the Volunteers claimed a share of the SEC regular season title last season.

2. Lamar Peters has racked up 16.3 points per game and knocked down 32 of his team-leading 46 treys over his last eight appearances. He has amassed double figures in seven of those eight games. Peters dished out 5-plus assists in 11 of his last 12 outings and moved into the program's top 10 against Ole Miss last Saturday. For the season, the New Orleans, Louisiana native has handed out 6.1 assists per game which is fourth and his 2.0 assist-to-turnover ratio is fifth in the SEC rankings.

3. Quinndary Weatherspoon has piled up double digit points in seven straight games and in 14 of 15 games this season. The senior guard is the SEC's active scoring leader with 1,640 career points which also ranks tied for sixth in program history with Dee Bost (2009-10-11-12). Weatherspoon has already worked his way up 11 spots on MSU's scoring list during his senior season and heads into Tuesday's action 13 points shy of eclipsing Ray White (1976-77-78-79) for fifth place. MSU has won 20 of 22 games highlighted by a 12-game winning streak over the last two season when he has reached the 20-point barrier. Weatherspoon also has been strong on the glass and hauled down 7.1 rebounds per game over his last nine games.

4. Aric Holman has found his rhythm with 17.4 points and 3.2 blocks per game in his last five appearances. The Owensboro, Kentucky product surpassed 900 career points during the Ole Miss game. He continues to rank among active players inside the SEC's top 10 in points (901 – 10th), rebounds (607 – 4th) and blocks (182 – 2nd). He has notched three or more blocks in five of his last six games and enters Tuesday's matchup with Florida two blocks away from moving past Kalpatrick Wells (1980-81-82-83) for fourth place in MSU history.

5. MSU's legacy bench is led by Tyson Carter (9.5 PPG), Reggie Perry (7.1 PPG) and Robert Woodard II (3.8 PPG) … All three players are sons of former MSU letterwinners … Carter has come away with double figures in nine games but has been limited to 3.0 PPG is SEC action … His 9.5 PPG are tied for fourth among SEC bench players … Perry has upped his marks to 12.2 points per game and hit on 27-of-44 from the floor during his last six home games … Woodard II provided a spark with seven points and drained all three of his shot attempts against Ole Miss … He has scored more than five points on eight occasions … Nick Weatherspoon has garnered 13.3 points per game and connected on a 17-for-30 shooting clip over his last three appearances … He has finished with 10-plus points in 10 of MSU's 15 games, and the Bulldogs are 25-9 over the last two season when Weatherspoon reaches double figures … Abdul Ado has posted 8.3 points and 3.0 blocks per game over his last three games … He grabbed a season's best 11 rebounds against Ole Miss and has tallied 11 of his 20 blocks on the season over the last four games … Ado has buried 10 of his last 18 shots over the three-game run.

FROM THE BENCH WITH COACH HOWLAND
"I think our guys are confident. They know, for example, that Tennessee started 0-2 [in SEC play] last year. They ended up pretty strong. Every game is one game at a time. You've got to win it one game at a time. At the end of the day, we have to go out and get better. It's all about continuing to improve always – always improving, always learning and always growing. I thought we did that yesterday. I thought our practice yesterday was really good. I was really excited about it."

"They're [Florida] really good defensively. They're a team, in terms of defensive efficiency, is in the top 10 in a lot of different areas. They'll show a 1-2-2 press every time they score and go back to their man-to-man matching up with anybody. They're not matching up with a specific position. They're matching up with the players in their own area. They do some different things that you don't see a lot from other teams."

KNOW YOUR OPPONENT
The Gators have had four of their six losses on the season come against teams currently ranked among the top 25 which include Florida State, Michigan State, Oklahoma and Tennessee. Florida captured an SEC road victory at Arkansas last Wednesday.

Defensively, the Gators boast of the SEC's top units and have limited their opponents to 61.2 points per game. Florida checks in among the nation's top 15 in defensive efficiency and turnover percentage according to the KenPom ratings.

KeVaughn Allen (11.3 PPG) and Noah Locke (10.4 PPG) are UF's top two scoring options. The duo has accounted for 64 of the team's 131 three-pointers on the season and upped their scoring mark to 29.6 points per game in SEC action. Allen has posted consecutive 18-point efforts at Arkansas (Jan. 9) and versus No. 3 Tennessee (Jan. 12).

Andrew Nembhard has had a solid freshman campaign at the point guard position where he has averaged 7.1 points and 5.7 assists per game. The Canada native has compiled a 4.4 assist-to-turnover ratio which is second on the SEC leaderboard.

UF's top interior option has been Kevarrius Hayes who has registered a solid 6.8 points, 6.0 rebounds and 1.9 blocks per game. He has connected on 68.4 percent of his shot attempts and is third among SEC active players with 175 career blocks.

Deaundrae Ballard has chipped in 7.7 points per game with all 14 of his appearances coming off the bench. The sophomore has notched 10-plus points on six occasions, his last coming against Florida Gulf Coast (Dec. 22).

UP NEXT
Mississippi State will play its next two away from home starting with a trip to Vanderbilt on Saturday. Tip time is slated for 7:30 p.m. CT from Memorial Gym. 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.