Gameday: Five Things to Know About No. 22 MSU-No. 8 UK

Tuesday, January 22

Lexington, Ky.

6:00 PM

Mississippi State

#8 Kentucky

Gameday: Five Things to Know About No. 22 MSU-No. 8 UK

January 21, 2019 | Men's Basketball

Watch on ESPN Listen Live Game Notes (PDF)Live Stats

by Matt Dunaway, Associate Director/Communications

LEXINGTON, Kentucky – A pair of 14-3 squads will meet in the Bluegrass State when No. 22 Mississippi State and No. 8 Kentucky begin its home-and-home series on Tuesday at Rupp Arena.

It marks the first time that the Bulldogs will be featured in a ranked vs. ranked matchup since Jan. 28, 2012 when then No. 18 Mississippi State traveled to No. 14 Florida.

Tip time is slated for 6 p.m. CT televised as part of ESPN's Super Tuesday and available online via the WatchESPN platform. Karl Ravech, Dick Vitale and Laura Rutledge will serve as the announcing team.

Kentucky holds a 95-20 series advantage and has won 11 consecutive meetings. The Bulldogs last win in the series and last win in Lexington was a 66-57 victory on Feb. 3, 2009. Phil Turner and Ravern Johnson tallied 18 and 17 points, respectively. The duo combined to drain nine of the team's 14 treys.

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. 22 Mississippi State (14-3, 2-2 SEC) at No. 8 Kentucky (14-3, 4-1 SEC)
Where: Lexington, Kentucky – Rupp Arena
When: Tuesday, Jan. 22, 6:00 p.m. CT
Live Stats: StatBroadcast (https://hailst.at/MBKLiveStats)

TV: ESPN
Talent: Karl Ravech, Dick Vitale, Laura Rutledge
Online: https://hailst.at/MSUvsUK0122
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. 94 (Sirius), Ch. 192 (XM), Ch. 963 (Internet)

FIVE THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT MISSISSIPPI STATE
1. Mississippi State is one of three SEC teams and one of 17 teams in the country to secure at least seven Quad 1 and Quad 2 combined victories. Last time out, the Bulldogs earned their seventh win in that category during their 16-point victory at Vanderbilt. It marked the second-largest, margin-of-victory under fourth-year coach Ben Howland during a SEC road game.

2. Aric Holman will return to the Bluegrass State where he won a state championship and was named Kentucky's Mr. Basketball in 2014-15. He is ranked inside the SEC's Top 10 among active players in points (921), rebounds (618) and blocks (182). Holman has posted 15.3 points and 2.3 blocks per game in his last seven appearances and has secured three of his five games of 20-plus points this season. For the season, his 8.1 rebounds are fifth and 2.2 blocks are tied for third in the SEC rankings.

3. Quinndary Weatherspoon etched his name into the top 5 of Mississippi State's all-time scoring list with a 17-point performance at Vanderbilt last Saturday. He has already moved up 12 spots on the list during the team's first 17 games. Weatherspoon's 1,666 career points are tops among SEC active players. He has racked up 10-plus points in 15 of 17 games and is one of five SEC players to eclipse 20 or more points in six games this season. His 16.6 points per game are fifth on the SEC leaderboard. In conference action, Weatherspoon has upped his rebound and assist averages to 7.5 and 4.0, respectively.

4. MSU's legacy bench of Tyson Carter, Reggie Perry and Robert Woodard II combined for 25 points and 15 rebounds during the Vanderbilt game. Carter led the way with 10 points, and the Bulldogs improved to 22-2 over the last two seasons when Carter provides double-digit points. His 9.6 points per game on the season is fifth among SEC bench players. The nine points for Woodard II were a career-high at Vanderbilt. He has tallied at six points in four of his last seven appearances. Perry has garnered 7.1 points and 5.5 rebounds per game. He turned in his most complete performance away from with six points and eight rebounds versus Vanderbilt.

5. Nick Weatherspoon has garnered 10.3 points per game and has pumped in double figures with three of five outings … Mississippi State is 25-9 when Nick Weatherspoon secures 10-plus points and 21-8 when both Weatherspoon's notch double digit points … Lamar Peters has posted 15.3 points and knocked down 37 of his team-leading 51 treys over the last 10 games … His 3.0 treys per game and 41.5 three-point percentage is third on the SEC leaderboard … Peters has distributed five or more assists in 12 of his last 14 games … His 5.8 assists per game and 1.9 assist-to-turnover ratio is ranked fifth in the SEC … Abdul Ado has chipped in 6.6 points and 2.6 blocks per game in his last five appearances … With his two blocks at Vanderbilt, Ado now has 91 career blocks and moved into the program's top 10.

FROM THE BENCH WITH COACH HOWLAND
"I think our two freshmen in particular played well on Saturday [at Vanderbilt]. Both Reggie [Perry] and Robert [Woodard II] played very well. They're playing good minutes. They're both very good for us and really helped us. I thought Tyson's [Carter] minutes increased. He always steps up to the challenge. I was excited for all of those guys. Nick [Weatherspoon] did a great job. Nick was phenomenal defensively with his energy and how much ground he covers. He was really impressive."

"[Kentucky is] Really talented. They're always going to play good defense. They'll play different ways based on their team and their personnel. They're always good defensively, and they'll always take good shots. I think a big trademark is that they try and beat you up on the glass. Every year, Kentucky is always way up at the top in rebound margin. This year, there's no exception. They really try to pound you on the glass, and they get to the line 20 times a game plus. They're battle-tested. Every time they play anybody, it's that team's big game because you're playing the iconic Kentucky program and brand."

KNOW YOUR OPPONENT
The Wildcats have won four straight since dropping their SEC opener to Alabama on Jan. 5. Last time out, Kentucky grinded out an 82-80 road win over Auburn on Jan. 19. The Wildcats have protected their home floor en route to a 10-0 record inside Rupp Arena. Nine of the 10 wins have come by double figures, the lone exception was a 56-47 decision against Vanderbilt on Jan. 12.

Ashton Hagans has had the hot hand for the Wildcats during SEC action. He has pumped in a team-high 14.8 points per game and buried 58 percent of his shot attempts. All five of his double figure scoring games have come since the Louisville game on Dec. 29. Hagans poured in a season's best 23 points coupled with five rebounds, four assists and four steals at Georgia (Jan. 15)

Keldon Johnson has posted a team-leading 14.9 points and hauled down 5.1 rebounds per game. The Wooden, Naismith and Julius Erving Award Watch List member has reached double figures in 14 of 17 games and is coming off his fifth 20-point effort on 7-of-11 shooting at Auburn (Jan. 19).

Tyler Herro, the reigning SEC Freshman of the Week, has secured 13.5 points and 2.3 assists per game. He has worked his way to double digit points in 10 of his last 11 outings. Two of his three of his games of 20 or more points have come against SEC opponents. Herro tallied 20 points and four assists during the Auburn game (Jan. 19). The duo of Herro and Johnson have combined to knock down 52 of the team's 102 treys for the season.

Reid Travis has piled up 13.0 points and 6.4 rebounds per game. He was a two-time All-Pac 12 First-Team selection at Stanford and garnered All-SEC Preseason honors. Travis has dialed up double figures in 11 of 17 games fueled by four games of 20 or more points during the non-conference. He posted a SEC-best 17 points on 6-of-7 from the floor at Auburn (Jan. 19).

PJ Washington has been UK's top interior option with 11.8 points, 7.9 rebounds and 1.1 blocks per game. The Wooden, Naismith and NABC Watch List member has connected on 51.1 percent of his shot attempts and compiled a quartet of double-doubles headed by 29-point, 12-rebound performance against Seton Hall (Dec. 8). Washington has tucked away 10-plus point on eight occasions.

UP NEXT
The Bulldogs are in the midst of a five-game stretch with four games on the road and will play their lone home contest when No. 16 Auburn visits Humphrey Coliseum on Saturday. Tip time is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. CT. The game will be televised by SEC Network and available online through the WatchESPN platform.

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.