Men’s Hoops Rankings, What Was Said at Monday’s Media Session
January 21, 2019 | Men's Basketball
by Matt Dunaway, Associate Director/Communications
STARKVILLE – Fresh off consecutive SEC victories, the Mississippi State men's basketball team rose two spots to No. 22 in this week's editions of the Associated Press and USA Today/Coaches Top 25 polls released Monday.
The Bulldogs have been ranked for 12 consecutive polls which matches the 2004-05 team for the program's third longest streak to start the season. This year's squad trails only the 2002-03 and 1958-59 squads who were ranked for 17 and 14 straight polls, respectively.
Mississippi State is one of six SEC teams ranked in this week's polls which include Tennessee (1 AP, 1 USA Today), Kentucky (8 AP, 9 USA Today), Auburn (16 AP, 15 USA Today), Ole Miss (20 AP, 20 RV) and LSU (25 AP, RV USA Today).
The Bulldogs and Wildcats are two of 10 teams to be ranked inside the AP's Top 25 on both the men's and women's side. They are joined by Gonzaga, Iowa, Iowa State, Louisville, Marquette, Maryland, Michigan State and North Carolina State.
Below is a transcript of Coach Howland's media session prior to Monday's practice.
Mississippi State Men's Basketball Media Session
January 21, 2019 – Humphrey Coliseum
Head Coach Ben Howland
Opening Statement
Q: I'm sure you've watched some of the film from the Auburn game, what do you see out of Kentucky?
BH: "[They're] Really talented and very strong inside. Their two freshman wings are spectacular, [Keldon] Johnson and [Tyler] Herro, are really good players. Obviously, [Ashton] Hagans is playing great. He's the leading scorer now in the conference. He creates a lot with his defense as well, creates problems."
"Their inside attack with [PJ] Washington, he's played well all year long. He's been consistent. [Reid] Travis is really a load inside because of his strength, size and experience being a fifth-year graduate transfer from Stanford. They come off [the bench] with good players coming in the game quickly. I really like their big that comes in, No. 4[Nick Richards], he's good."
"They have depth, talent and are really well coached. They have been through a lot of battles and played a lot of good opponents. I mean, they're really well coached. They play great defensively. They have length and size."
Q: The faces change from year-to-year, but what are the trademarks of Coach Calipari type of team?
BH: "[They're] 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."
Q: While Lamar Peters was out for foul trouble at Vanderbilt, your team actually widened its lead. What did that tell you about your team?
BH: "That we had good resolve and that we had other guys step up. That was good. I think our two freshmen in particular played well on Saturday. 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."
Q: Traditionally, Vanderbilt isn't a place that the program hasn't had success in. How did the team respond to pulling away and getting a win up there?
BH: "You know, it's funny. If you look at the history up there, I think it's the 10th win out of 57 tries for Mississippi State in that building. I'm impressed with that. We got a good, important win in a tough place to play, but I don't know if the history to our guys means a whole lot. They're 18, 19 and 20-years-old. I don't know if they relate to it as much as I do as you get older. It's pretty significant. Any road win is significant. To win there with the history and tradition of their success in that building was special."
AP Top 25 Poll – Week 12 – January 21, 2019
Ranking, Team (First Place Votes), Record, Points
1, Tennessee (48), 16-1, 1,575
2, Duke (11), 15-2, 1,520
3, Virginia (3), 16-1, 1,451
4, Gonzaga, 18-2, 1,374
5, Michigan, 17-1, 1,363
6, Michigan State (2), 16-2, 1,355
7, Nevada, 18-1, 1,143
8, Kentucky, 14-3, 1,087
9, Kansas, 15-3, 1,060
10, Virginia Tech, 15-2, 1,007
11, North Carolina, 14-4, 895
12, Marquette, 16-3, 861
13, Maryland, 16-3, 751
14, Texas Tech, 15-3, 743
14, Buffalo, 17-1, 743
16, Auburn, 13-4, 627
17, Houston, 18-1, 544
18, Villanova, 14-4, 450
19, Iowa, 16-3, 332
20, Ole Miss, 14-3, 291
21, North Carolina State, 15-3, 282
22, Mississippi State, 14-3, 266
23, Louisville, 13-5, 230
24, Iowa State, 14-4, 156
25, LSU, 14-3, 154
Others receiving votes: Florida State 139, Purdue 111, Kansas State 91, Nebraska 66, Wisconsin 64, Oklahoma 16, Syracuse 13, Washington 11, Murray State 9, Cincinnati 6, Wofford 5, Saint Louis 3, San Francisco 2, Florida 2, TCU 1, Hofstra 1.
Dropped from rankings: No. 11 Florida State, No. 20 Oklahoma, No. 25 Indiana
USA Today/Coaches Top 25 Poll – Week 12 – January 21, 2019
Ranking, Team (First Place Votes), Record, Points
1, Tennessee (30), 16-1, 798
2, Duke (2), 15-2, 746
3, Virginia, 16-1, 720
4, Gonzaga, 18-2, 693
5, Michigan State, 16-2, 682
6, Michigan, 17-1, 666
7, Nevada, 18-1, 561
8, Virginia Tech, 15-2, 520
9, Kentucky, 14-3, 502
10, Kansas, 15-3, 489
11, Marquette, 16-3, 441
12, North Carolina, 14-4, 403
13, Texas Tech, 15-3, 384
14, Buffalo, 17-1, 335
15, Auburn, 13-4, 331
16, Maryland, 16-3, 317
17, Houston, 18-1, 314
18, Villanova, 14-4, 231
19, North Carolina State, 15-3, 194
20, Ole Miss, 14-3, 189
21, Iowa, 16-3, 180
22, Mississippi State, 14-3, 147
23, Florida State, 13-5, 90
24, Louisville, 13-5, 85
25, Iowa State, 14-4, 75
Others receiving votes: LSU 54, Kansas State 50, Nebraska 40, Oklahoma 38, Purdue 30, Wisconsin 27, TCU 12, Furman 9, Washington 9, Indiana 9, North Texas 8, Ohio State 5, Arizona State 4, Cincinnati 4, UCF 3, Texas State 2, Murray State 2, Wofford 1
Dropped from rankings: No. 19 Oklahoma, No. 25 Indiana
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.
STARKVILLE – Fresh off consecutive SEC victories, the Mississippi State men's basketball team rose two spots to No. 22 in this week's editions of the Associated Press and USA Today/Coaches Top 25 polls released Monday.
The Bulldogs have been ranked for 12 consecutive polls which matches the 2004-05 team for the program's third longest streak to start the season. This year's squad trails only the 2002-03 and 1958-59 squads who were ranked for 17 and 14 straight polls, respectively.
Mississippi State is one of six SEC teams ranked in this week's polls which include Tennessee (1 AP, 1 USA Today), Kentucky (8 AP, 9 USA Today), Auburn (16 AP, 15 USA Today), Ole Miss (20 AP, 20 RV) and LSU (25 AP, RV USA Today).
The Bulldogs and Wildcats are two of 10 teams to be ranked inside the AP's Top 25 on both the men's and women's side. They are joined by Gonzaga, Iowa, Iowa State, Louisville, Marquette, Maryland, Michigan State and North Carolina State.
Below is a transcript of Coach Howland's media session prior to Monday's practice.
Mississippi State Men's Basketball Media Session
January 21, 2019 – Humphrey Coliseum
Head Coach Ben Howland
Opening Statement
Q: I'm sure you've watched some of the film from the Auburn game, what do you see out of Kentucky?
BH: "[They're] Really talented and very strong inside. Their two freshman wings are spectacular, [Keldon] Johnson and [Tyler] Herro, are really good players. Obviously, [Ashton] Hagans is playing great. He's the leading scorer now in the conference. He creates a lot with his defense as well, creates problems."
"Their inside attack with [PJ] Washington, he's played well all year long. He's been consistent. [Reid] Travis is really a load inside because of his strength, size and experience being a fifth-year graduate transfer from Stanford. They come off [the bench] with good players coming in the game quickly. I really like their big that comes in, No. 4[Nick Richards], he's good."
"They have depth, talent and are really well coached. They have been through a lot of battles and played a lot of good opponents. I mean, they're really well coached. They play great defensively. They have length and size."
Q: The faces change from year-to-year, but what are the trademarks of Coach Calipari type of team?
BH: "[They're] 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."
Q: While Lamar Peters was out for foul trouble at Vanderbilt, your team actually widened its lead. What did that tell you about your team?
BH: "That we had good resolve and that we had other guys step up. That was good. I think our two freshmen in particular played well on Saturday. 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."
Q: Traditionally, Vanderbilt isn't a place that the program hasn't had success in. How did the team respond to pulling away and getting a win up there?
BH: "You know, it's funny. If you look at the history up there, I think it's the 10th win out of 57 tries for Mississippi State in that building. I'm impressed with that. We got a good, important win in a tough place to play, but I don't know if the history to our guys means a whole lot. They're 18, 19 and 20-years-old. I don't know if they relate to it as much as I do as you get older. It's pretty significant. Any road win is significant. To win there with the history and tradition of their success in that building was special."
AP Top 25 Poll – Week 12 – January 21, 2019
Ranking, Team (First Place Votes), Record, Points
1, Tennessee (48), 16-1, 1,575
2, Duke (11), 15-2, 1,520
3, Virginia (3), 16-1, 1,451
4, Gonzaga, 18-2, 1,374
5, Michigan, 17-1, 1,363
6, Michigan State (2), 16-2, 1,355
7, Nevada, 18-1, 1,143
8, Kentucky, 14-3, 1,087
9, Kansas, 15-3, 1,060
10, Virginia Tech, 15-2, 1,007
11, North Carolina, 14-4, 895
12, Marquette, 16-3, 861
13, Maryland, 16-3, 751
14, Texas Tech, 15-3, 743
14, Buffalo, 17-1, 743
16, Auburn, 13-4, 627
17, Houston, 18-1, 544
18, Villanova, 14-4, 450
19, Iowa, 16-3, 332
20, Ole Miss, 14-3, 291
21, North Carolina State, 15-3, 282
22, Mississippi State, 14-3, 266
23, Louisville, 13-5, 230
24, Iowa State, 14-4, 156
25, LSU, 14-3, 154
Others receiving votes: Florida State 139, Purdue 111, Kansas State 91, Nebraska 66, Wisconsin 64, Oklahoma 16, Syracuse 13, Washington 11, Murray State 9, Cincinnati 6, Wofford 5, Saint Louis 3, San Francisco 2, Florida 2, TCU 1, Hofstra 1.
Dropped from rankings: No. 11 Florida State, No. 20 Oklahoma, No. 25 Indiana
USA Today/Coaches Top 25 Poll – Week 12 – January 21, 2019
Ranking, Team (First Place Votes), Record, Points
1, Tennessee (30), 16-1, 798
2, Duke (2), 15-2, 746
3, Virginia, 16-1, 720
4, Gonzaga, 18-2, 693
5, Michigan State, 16-2, 682
6, Michigan, 17-1, 666
7, Nevada, 18-1, 561
8, Virginia Tech, 15-2, 520
9, Kentucky, 14-3, 502
10, Kansas, 15-3, 489
11, Marquette, 16-3, 441
12, North Carolina, 14-4, 403
13, Texas Tech, 15-3, 384
14, Buffalo, 17-1, 335
15, Auburn, 13-4, 331
16, Maryland, 16-3, 317
17, Houston, 18-1, 314
18, Villanova, 14-4, 231
19, North Carolina State, 15-3, 194
20, Ole Miss, 14-3, 189
21, Iowa, 16-3, 180
22, Mississippi State, 14-3, 147
23, Florida State, 13-5, 90
24, Louisville, 13-5, 85
25, Iowa State, 14-4, 75
Others receiving votes: LSU 54, Kansas State 50, Nebraska 40, Oklahoma 38, Purdue 30, Wisconsin 27, TCU 12, Furman 9, Washington 9, Indiana 9, North Texas 8, Ohio State 5, Arizona State 4, Cincinnati 4, UCF 3, Texas State 2, Murray State 2, Wofford 1
Dropped from rankings: No. 19 Oklahoma, No. 25 Indiana
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.
Players Mentioned
G
/ Men's BasketballJosh Hubbard - "I'm Back"
Friday, April 17
MEN'S BASKETBALL | Chris Jans & Players SEC Tournament Postgame vs. Auburn - 3/11/26
Thursday, March 12
MEN'S BASKETBALL | Chris Jans Media Session - 3/9/26
Monday, March 09
MEN'S BASKETBALL | Josh Hubbard & Ja'Borri McGhee Postgame Press Conference vs. Georgia - 3/7/26
Sunday, March 08