What No. 22 Men’s Hoops Said at Friday’s Media Session
January 25, 2019 | Men's Basketball
by Matt Dunaway, Associate Director/Communications
STARKVILLE – No. 22 Mississippi State will face its second ranked opponent on the week when No. 16 Auburn visits Humphrey Coliseum.
Tip time is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. CT televised by SEC Network and available online through the WatchESPN platform. Dave Neal and Daymeon Fishback will serve as the announcing team.
Below is a transcript of Friday's media session prior to practice.
Mississippi State Men's Basketball Media Session
January 25, 2019 – Humphrey Coliseum
Head Coach Ben Howland
Q: Auburn shoots the three-pointer well. At times, your team has had trouble defending the three. Are you concerned, and has that been a point of emphasis getting ready for Saturday's game?
BH: "Really, our first day back was yesterday in terms of we have the one day off a week. We had a good day yesterday and a good practice. You're right, they [Auburn] is outstanding three-point team. They are averaging 30 points per game. They shoot 45 percent of their shots from the three-point line on the entire year. I think in the league, it's 47 or 48 [percent] right now. Basically, half of their shots are three's. It's an explosive offense starting with [Bryce] Brown. He's shooting 10 three's per game. He's making 50 percent of them – shooting 49 percent. He's just a phenomenal player. A returning all-league player from a year ago from their co-conference championship team."
"That back court of [Jared] Harper and [Bryce] Brown is as good as it gets throughout the entire country in my opinion. [Samir] Doughty is a very good shooter. He's shooting right around 50 percent from the three right now in conference. They're very good at creating space because they all shoot it so well. There's a lot of opportunity for them to create for each other."
"They're great in transition. They really do a good job at getting the ball down the floor. Two things that stand out statistically with them. One is that they're the number one offensive rebounding team efficiency wise. They get back literally 38 percent of their missed shots, some crazy number, it's amazing. They also force a lot of turnovers, so they do a good job of pressuring and getting after you. They have a very high turnover efficiency rate as well."
Q: There were only two players had assists against Kentucky. What do you think was the cause of that?
BH: "I think it was distributing the ball. We got a little bit caught up in terms of not playing how we played the previous two games. Against Florida, we had 19 assists. Against Vanderbilt, I thought we really shared the ball well and had a high number of assists. I know Q [Quinndary Weatherspoon] had four, and Nick [Weatherspoon] had five in that game. We missed some guys on penetrating drives, and we need to get back to slowing down when we get into the paint and read the open man out on the perimeter – need to set up the pass fakes at times because their hands are so active, and they are slapping for the ball. We did miss some shots. We had some shots that were decent looks that should have had some assists too. So, that was probably a combination of both.
Q: It's not easy to play on the road especially for freshman, how do you get Reggie Perry and Robert Woodard II to rebound and respond after a tough opponent?
BH: "The one thing that they did do well in that game well is that they rebounded. I think they had 21 rebounds between the two of them. They rebounded the ball well and played hard. I thought Robert [Woodard II] had a tremendous rebounding effort when you're talking about 13 rebounds in 17 minutes – six offensive and seven defensive. Reggie [Perry] did a very good job on the glass as well. For those guys, that's their third time being on the road in our conference. We were on the road it seems like forever early on in the season – five of our first eight were on the road."
"Rupp Arena, the mythical and iconic brand [of Kentucky], we rushed a few shots. Reggie had one layup where he rebounded the ball. He put it up so quick that he didn't have the ball clearly in his hands. Our guys were also complaining about that ball because it was slippery … Those freshmen are fine. They are really getting a lot of experience for young freshmen, and are performing [very] well."
Q: Bruce Pearl said on the SEC Teleconference yesterday that he expects teams to attack his team inside without Austin Wiley. How do you plan to attack Auburn in the paint?
BH: "We have got to do a better job just period not just against Auburn but against everybody. One thing I talked about with Aric [Holman] is that Aric has to get more touches there closer. He scored more in the post his sophomore and junior year than he has this year. He's got to get more touches in there not just to score, but to play through the post because he's a good passer."
"Abdul [Ado] actually did a good job against Auburn here a year ago in the post scoring. He did a nice job with us getting the ball in there. We've got to continue getting him more touches and do a better job. I thought offensively, when you look at the last game, that was our poorest performance of the year offensively. We had a good film session and a good practice yesterday. We will learn from it."
Q: The last two games from behind the arc have not been very successful. Are you worried about that becoming a trend?
BH: "Everybody shot yesterday. We put a lot of time into shooting yesterday. For example, I want Q [Quinndary Weatherspoon] to take more. He's only taken nine three's in our first five league games. Four of those were against South Carolina. He's had two league games where he didn't even attempt a three. We need him to look to shoot more of those."
"I think we're a good shooting team. We just need to be a little more patient and get some better looks than some of the ones we have been taking, and we have to knock down the ones we do get. For example, Tyson [Carter] had a wide-open three that he's rarely going to miss against them [Kentucky] in the second half that would have cut the game to like two out of a timeout. Robert Woodard [II] had a three that would have cut it to five with nine minutes to go. He's shooting the ball well in practice every day. We had some good looks."
"What we have to cut down on are our looks from 25 feet. Q's first three of the game against Kentucky was too far out. Lamar [Peters] had one that was too far out during the beginning of the second half. Aric's [Holman] first shot of the game was a 24-footer. They're just anxious to get things going, need to show a little more poise to let it come to you."
Guard Quinndary Weatherspoon
Q: With Auburn taking more three's than any team in the league, do you feel like there have been strides made over the past few weeks in defending the three? How big of a concern is it?
QW: "We're just try to come out and play as hard as we can on the defensive end and try to track some of those long rebounds down because we know they're going to take a lot of three's. If we can just get a lot of rebounds and defend, I think we have a good chance of winning."
Q: You had a stretch in the Kentucky game where you scored 5 in a row. What do you guys have to do or say even in huddles and during timeouts to keep the game close and not let it go the way it did?
QW: "I think we just have to keep our composure, keep our emotions out of the game and we'll be just fine."
Q: How much emphasis are you going to try and put on shooting 3's in the next couple of games?
QW: "Just taking what the defense gives me. Honestly, I've felt like I can get by anybody in this league driving the basketball. So, I'll do what I have to do to help my team win, I'm going to keep doing."
Forward Reggie Perry
Q: What can you take away from the Kentucky game coming into a game against Auburn, another ranked team, here on your home floor?
RP: "We know this Auburn game is going to be physical, just like the Kentucky game. It's probably going to be a lot more physical though. We just have to do what Q [Quinndary Weatherspoon] said and hold our composure and play hard."
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 – No. 22 Mississippi State will face its second ranked opponent on the week when No. 16 Auburn visits Humphrey Coliseum.
Tip time is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. CT televised by SEC Network and available online through the WatchESPN platform. Dave Neal and Daymeon Fishback will serve as the announcing team.
Below is a transcript of Friday's media session prior to practice.
Mississippi State Men's Basketball Media Session
January 25, 2019 – Humphrey Coliseum
Head Coach Ben Howland
Q: Auburn shoots the three-pointer well. At times, your team has had trouble defending the three. Are you concerned, and has that been a point of emphasis getting ready for Saturday's game?
BH: "Really, our first day back was yesterday in terms of we have the one day off a week. We had a good day yesterday and a good practice. You're right, they [Auburn] is outstanding three-point team. They are averaging 30 points per game. They shoot 45 percent of their shots from the three-point line on the entire year. I think in the league, it's 47 or 48 [percent] right now. Basically, half of their shots are three's. It's an explosive offense starting with [Bryce] Brown. He's shooting 10 three's per game. He's making 50 percent of them – shooting 49 percent. He's just a phenomenal player. A returning all-league player from a year ago from their co-conference championship team."
"That back court of [Jared] Harper and [Bryce] Brown is as good as it gets throughout the entire country in my opinion. [Samir] Doughty is a very good shooter. He's shooting right around 50 percent from the three right now in conference. They're very good at creating space because they all shoot it so well. There's a lot of opportunity for them to create for each other."
"They're great in transition. They really do a good job at getting the ball down the floor. Two things that stand out statistically with them. One is that they're the number one offensive rebounding team efficiency wise. They get back literally 38 percent of their missed shots, some crazy number, it's amazing. They also force a lot of turnovers, so they do a good job of pressuring and getting after you. They have a very high turnover efficiency rate as well."
Q: There were only two players had assists against Kentucky. What do you think was the cause of that?
BH: "I think it was distributing the ball. We got a little bit caught up in terms of not playing how we played the previous two games. Against Florida, we had 19 assists. Against Vanderbilt, I thought we really shared the ball well and had a high number of assists. I know Q [Quinndary Weatherspoon] had four, and Nick [Weatherspoon] had five in that game. We missed some guys on penetrating drives, and we need to get back to slowing down when we get into the paint and read the open man out on the perimeter – need to set up the pass fakes at times because their hands are so active, and they are slapping for the ball. We did miss some shots. We had some shots that were decent looks that should have had some assists too. So, that was probably a combination of both.
Q: It's not easy to play on the road especially for freshman, how do you get Reggie Perry and Robert Woodard II to rebound and respond after a tough opponent?
BH: "The one thing that they did do well in that game well is that they rebounded. I think they had 21 rebounds between the two of them. They rebounded the ball well and played hard. I thought Robert [Woodard II] had a tremendous rebounding effort when you're talking about 13 rebounds in 17 minutes – six offensive and seven defensive. Reggie [Perry] did a very good job on the glass as well. For those guys, that's their third time being on the road in our conference. We were on the road it seems like forever early on in the season – five of our first eight were on the road."
"Rupp Arena, the mythical and iconic brand [of Kentucky], we rushed a few shots. Reggie had one layup where he rebounded the ball. He put it up so quick that he didn't have the ball clearly in his hands. Our guys were also complaining about that ball because it was slippery … Those freshmen are fine. They are really getting a lot of experience for young freshmen, and are performing [very] well."
Q: Bruce Pearl said on the SEC Teleconference yesterday that he expects teams to attack his team inside without Austin Wiley. How do you plan to attack Auburn in the paint?
BH: "We have got to do a better job just period not just against Auburn but against everybody. One thing I talked about with Aric [Holman] is that Aric has to get more touches there closer. He scored more in the post his sophomore and junior year than he has this year. He's got to get more touches in there not just to score, but to play through the post because he's a good passer."
"Abdul [Ado] actually did a good job against Auburn here a year ago in the post scoring. He did a nice job with us getting the ball in there. We've got to continue getting him more touches and do a better job. I thought offensively, when you look at the last game, that was our poorest performance of the year offensively. We had a good film session and a good practice yesterday. We will learn from it."
Q: The last two games from behind the arc have not been very successful. Are you worried about that becoming a trend?
BH: "Everybody shot yesterday. We put a lot of time into shooting yesterday. For example, I want Q [Quinndary Weatherspoon] to take more. He's only taken nine three's in our first five league games. Four of those were against South Carolina. He's had two league games where he didn't even attempt a three. We need him to look to shoot more of those."
"I think we're a good shooting team. We just need to be a little more patient and get some better looks than some of the ones we have been taking, and we have to knock down the ones we do get. For example, Tyson [Carter] had a wide-open three that he's rarely going to miss against them [Kentucky] in the second half that would have cut the game to like two out of a timeout. Robert Woodard [II] had a three that would have cut it to five with nine minutes to go. He's shooting the ball well in practice every day. We had some good looks."
"What we have to cut down on are our looks from 25 feet. Q's first three of the game against Kentucky was too far out. Lamar [Peters] had one that was too far out during the beginning of the second half. Aric's [Holman] first shot of the game was a 24-footer. They're just anxious to get things going, need to show a little more poise to let it come to you."
Guard Quinndary Weatherspoon
Q: With Auburn taking more three's than any team in the league, do you feel like there have been strides made over the past few weeks in defending the three? How big of a concern is it?
QW: "We're just try to come out and play as hard as we can on the defensive end and try to track some of those long rebounds down because we know they're going to take a lot of three's. If we can just get a lot of rebounds and defend, I think we have a good chance of winning."
Q: You had a stretch in the Kentucky game where you scored 5 in a row. What do you guys have to do or say even in huddles and during timeouts to keep the game close and not let it go the way it did?
QW: "I think we just have to keep our composure, keep our emotions out of the game and we'll be just fine."
Q: How much emphasis are you going to try and put on shooting 3's in the next couple of games?
QW: "Just taking what the defense gives me. Honestly, I've felt like I can get by anybody in this league driving the basketball. So, I'll do what I have to do to help my team win, I'm going to keep doing."
Forward Reggie Perry
Q: What can you take away from the Kentucky game coming into a game against Auburn, another ranked team, here on your home floor?
RP: "We know this Auburn game is going to be physical, just like the Kentucky game. It's probably going to be a lot more physical though. We just have to do what Q [Quinndary Weatherspoon] said and hold our composure and play hard."
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.
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