Gameday: Five Things to Know about MSU-Tulane

Thursday, November 21

Conway, S.C. (HTC Center)

1:00 PM

Mississippi State

Tulane

MBK 2019-20 - Robert Woodard II, D.J. Stewart Jr., Reggie Perry

Photo by: Mississippi State Athletics

Gameday: Five Things to Know about MSU-Tulane

November 20, 2019 | Men's Basketball

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

by Matt Dunaway, Associate Director/Communications

CONWAY, South Carolina – Mississippi State will hit the road for the first time in 2019-20 and will play its third consecutive game against an opponent from the state of Louisiana when the Bulldogs take on former SEC rival Tulane during Thursday's quarterfinal round at the Myrtle Beach Invitational.

The Matchup: Mississippi State (4-0, 0-0 SEC) vs. Tulane (3-0, 0-0 American)
Where: Conway, South Carolina – HTC Center
When: Thursday, Nov. 21, 1:00 p.m. CT
Live Stats: StatBroadcast (https://hailst.at/MBKLiveStats)

TV: ESPNU
Talent: Doug Sherman, Corey Alexander
DirecTV: Ch. 208, Dish: Ch. 141, AT&T U-Verse: Ch. 1605, MaxxSouth: Ch. 1162, C Spire: Ch. 206
Online: WatchESPN App (https://hailst.at/MSUvsTLN112119)

Radio: Mississippi State Sports Network – Powered by Learfield IMG College
Talent: Jim Ellis, 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. 970 (Internet)

PROMOTIONS/TICKETS/ACCESS PASS
Mississippi State's next home game is versus Louisiana Tech on Thursday, December 5th. Tip time is slated for 7 p.m. CT from Humphrey Coliseum. It's "Christmas Vacation" night at the Hump, and the first 500 fans will receive a "Cousin Eddie" style M-state branded ski alpine hat.

General Admission seating is now available at Humphrey Coliseum for men's basketball. Tickets can be purchased in advance for only $5 at www.HailState.com/tickets or in person staring 90 minutes before tipoff for $10 at the Humphrey Coliseum Box Office. Discounted online purchasing also ends two hours prior to tip time for each game.
Mississippi State is offering a pair of new fan-focused season ticket options for the 2019-20 season which includes the addition of general admission seating to men's basketball. A traditional general admission season ticket for seats in designated areas of the 200 level are available for only $155, while reserved seat season tickets are available for $275.

The second offering is a first-of-its-kind mobile access season ticket, the mobile access pass. This new ticketing option will provide exclusive access to already-sold lower level seats during non-conference games inside Humphrey Coliseum, and a 200 level general admission ticket for all conference games.

During non-conference play, fans with the mobile access pass will be digitally delivered a general admission ticket for a designated lower level section each game and will have access to sit in any open seat within that designated section. The non-conference option is available for $65 whereas the entire season pass is available for $180. Learn more about this new offering at www.HailState.com/accesspass.

FIVE THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT MISSISSIPPI STATE
1. Mississippi State secured its fourth win over a 13-day span as the Bulldogs routed New Orleans by an 82-59 margin last Sunday. Robert Woodard II turned in a career-best performance with 21 points, 16 rebounds, four assists, three steals and two blocks. Reggie Perry, D.J. Stewart Jr. and Iverson Molinar made it four MSU players in double figures for the second consecutive game. Perry nearly missed his third straight double-double with 14 points, nine rebounds and four assists. Stewart Jr. and Molinar chipped in 13 and 10 points, respectively. Tyson Carter and KeyShawn Feazell came away with nine points apiece whereas Carter handed out five assists and Feazell hauled down six rebounds. In the process, the Bulldogs stretched the SEC's leading non-conference home winning streak to 26 consecutive games.

2. Mississippi State's defense has held the opposition to 54.0 points per game, a 36.8 percent field goal percentage and amassed 5.3 blocks per game over its last here games. The Bulldogs have held three straight opponents to under 60 points for the second time under fifth-year coach Ben Howland. The previous three-game swing was against Jacksonville State (59-56), North Dakota State (83-59) and Dayton (61-59) from Nov. 26-Dec. 3, 2017. MSU has won 19 consecutive games and 32 of 33 outings when the Bulldogs limit opponents to 60-points or less under Howland.

3. Reggie Perry is a preseason All-America selection by Lindy's (First Team), Street & Smith (Second Team) and Athlon Magazines (Third Team) in addition to being named a consensus All-SEC First-Team honoree. He is coming off a sensational summer where he won a gold medal and captured tournament MVP honors with the USA U19 Team at the 2019 FIBA World Cup in Greece. Perry also had the opportunity to attend the NBA Draft Combine and workout for several NBA franchises. He is the only MSU player to pick up 10-plus points in all four games this season. Last time out, He nearly registered his SEC-leading 12th double-double with 14 points, nine rebounds and four assists against New Orleans. Perry's 11.0 rebounds per game are tied for second on the SEC leaderboard. He also ranks among the SEC's top five in offensive and defensive rebound percentage according to KenPom.

4. Tyson Carter has improved his points, rebounds, assists and steals average over his first three seasons at Mississippi State. The senior guard is a fixture in the SEC rankings with 16.5 points (11th), 4.3 assists (9th) and 2.5 steals (T-3rd). He heads into the weekend 13 points away from being the 40th member of MSU's 1,000 points club and would be the MSU seventh player to reach the feat under Ben Howland. Tyson's father, Greg, scored 1,123 career points. The Carter's would be the second father-son tandem at a SEC school to reach 1,000 career points. The duo would join Ron and Ronnie Brewer at Arkansas.

5. Abdul Ado has garnered a trio of multi-block efforts and headlines the SEC with 2.8 blocks per game … He has racked up 135 career blocks over his first 71 career games and has climbed up to eight place on MSU's all-time list … His 1.90 career BPG are third in program history only behind legendary shot blockers Jarvis Varnado (2007-08-09-10) and Erick Dampier (1994-95-96) … Robert Woodard II has improved his scoring output over his first four games and strung together three consecutive games of double digit points for the first time in his career … He compiled a career-high 21 points and 16 rebounds coupled with four assists, three steals and two blocks during the New Orleans game … Woodard II's 16 rebounds are the most by a SEC player this season … Iverson Molinar and D.J. Stewart Jr. have provided 10-plus points during three of their first four games of their MSU careers … Stewart Jr.'s 11.5 points per game are fourth on the team, and he has claimed 46 of MSU's 69 bench points this season … He has knocked down 16-of-21 on two-pointers which is fifth in the SEC rankings according to KenPom … Molinar has hit on 12 consecutive free throws over his last three games … KeyShawn Feazell has been a solid rotation player with 4.3 points and 5.0 rebounds per game … He tallied a season's best nine points versus New Orleans and collected a career-high nine rebounds against Sam Houston State … Mississippi State will be without Nick Weatherspoon who came away with 9.6 points per game last season due to a violation of team rules … He is scheduled to make his season debut versus New Mexico State on Dec. 22 in Jackson.

KNOW YOUR OPPONENT
The Green Wave has ripped off wins over Southeastern Louisiana (76-55), Jackson State (88-79) and Northwestern State (79-52) to start 2019-20 under first-year coach Ron Hunter.

Tulane's newcomers have accounted for 204 of the team's 243 points on the young season. Teshaun Hightower, a transfer from Georgia, has pumped in 19.3 points and 5.3 rebounds per game. He is coming off a 19-point, 4-assist, 3-steal effort against Northwestern State.

K.J. Lawson (13.7 PPG), Jordan Walker (13.7 PPG) and Christion Thompson (12.3 PPG) also have provided double figures Tulane. Lawson's previous stops include Memphis and Kansas. He joins Hightower as the only Green Wave player to collect 10-plus points in all three games. Walker has drained 9-of-12 from three-point land, while Thompson also has registered a team-leading 8.7 rebounds per game.

UP NEXT
Mississippi State will face either No. 17 Villanova or Middle Tennessee as part of Friday's action from the Myrtle Beach Invitational. Tip time is set for 11 a.m. CT or 1:30 p.m. CT televised by ESPN2 or ESPNU. The game also will be streamed online courtesy of the Watch ESPN 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.