Gameday: Five Things to Know about MSU-FIU

Tuesday, November 5

Starkville

7:00 PM

Mississippi State

Florida International

Buy Tickets

Gameday: Five Things to Know about MSU-FIU

November 03, 2019 | Men's Basketball

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by Matt Dunaway, Associate Director/Communications

STARKVILLE – Mississippi State will hope to begin its journey towards back-to-back NCAA Tournament trips for the first time since 2007-08 and 2008-09 when the Bulldogs meet Florida International for its season opener Tuesday at Humphrey Coliseum.

The Matchup: Mississippi State (0-0, 0-0 SEC) vs. FIU (0-0, 0-0 Conference USA)
Where: Starkville – Humphrey Coliseum
When: Tuesday, Nov. 5, 7:00 p.m. CT
Live Stats: StatBroadcast (https://hailst.at/MBKLiveStats)
Tickets: MSU Ticket Office (https://hailst.at/FIUTix1920)

TV: SEC Network +
Talent: Bart Gregory, Matt Wyatt
Online: WatchESPN App (https://hailst.at/FIUvsMSU110519)

Radio: Mississippi State Sports Network – Powered by Learfield IMG College
Talent: Neil Price, Richard Williams
Affiliates: WLZA-FM 96.1 Starkville/Eupora (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. 977 (Internet)

METAL DETECTORS/CLEAR BAGS
In an effort to continue Mississippi State's long-standing commitment to provide a safe and secure environment for all fans, coaches and student-athletes, walk-through metal detectors have been implemented at all entrances of Humphrey Coliseum on basketball gamedays.

Fans will be asked to follow the instructions of the security screening staff and place large metal objects such as phones, keys and cameras in containers or in their clear bag on screening tables before passing through the walk-through metal detectors.

Fans will not be required to remove belts, watches, wallets, jewelry, shoes, jackets, coins or other small objects. The metal detectors and clear bag policies provide a safer atmosphere and speed up the entry process into The Hump.

PROMOTIONS/SEASON TICKETS/ACCESS PASS
In the spirit of Election Day, free admission will be granted for all fans who wear their "I Voted" stickers to the opener. Fans are asked to visit the check-in table in the Mize Lobby to pick up their free general admission ticket. There also will be 500 "Vote for Bully" T-shirts given away to students.

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 used a balanced offensive attack headed by four players in double figures as part of a 78-75 charity exhibition win over South Alabama last Sunday. Tyson Carter led the way with 19 points and five assists, while Iverson Molinar and KeyShawn Feazell provided sparks off the bench to combine for 27 of MSU's 31 bench points. Molinar garnered 15 points, five steals and was an efficient 4-of-5 shooting during the second half. Feazell nearly compiled a double-double with 12 points, nine rebounds and two blocks. He scored all 12 of his points in the second 20 minutes. Reggie Perry worked his way to 12 points, nine rebounds and four assists whereas Robert Woodard II chipped in eight points, eight rebounds and two assists.

2. Mississippi State has won six consecutive season openers and 14 of its last 16 opening decisions since 2003-04. The Bulldogs have posted a 4-0 mark, racked up 93.8 points per game and recoded an average margin of victory of 19.5 points per game under Ben Howland. Mississippi State will carry a SEC-leading 22-game nonconference on-court home winning streak into Tuesday's contest dating back to Dec. 14, 2016. The Bulldogs have won 16 of the 22 games during the streak by 10-plus points ignited by eight consecutive decisions.

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. At Mississippi State, he upped his averages to 11.2 points, 8.2 rebounds and 0.8 blocks per game in SEC action. The 8.2 rebounds were first among SEC freshmen and ranked third overall.

4. Tyson Carter has increased his points, field goals made, three-point field goals made, assists and steals totals during each of his first three seasons. He enters the 2019-20 campaign 79 points shy of becoming the 40th player in program history and seventh under Ben Howland to eclipse 1,000 career points. The Starkville native has knocked down 162 career three-pointers and is three treys shy of passing Marcus Grant (1992-93-94-95) into 10th place on the program's all-time list.

5. Abdul Ado has amassed 124 career blocks over his first two seasons which sit in eighth place on MSU's all-time list … His 1.85 blocks per game are third in program history only behind legendary shot blockers Jarvis Varnado (2007-08-09-10) and Erick Dampier (1994-95-96) … Ado's 2.1 blocks per game during SEC action was third on the conference leaderboard … Robert Woodard II collected 7.4 points per game over his last 15 outings of 2018-19 … He piled up a season's best 13 points and hauled down seven rebounds versus Liberty in the 2019 NCAA Tournament … Mississippi State will be without Nick Weatherspoon who managed 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 Panthers are coming off a 20-14 season and an appearance in the Collegeinsider.com Tournament under Jeremy Ballard. It marked the program's second overall postseason appearance and first since the 1995 NCAA Tournament.

FIU battled crosstown foe Miami in close exhibition matchup. Devon Andrews picked up All-Conference USA Preseason accolades after he secured 15.3 points and 5.1 rebounds per game. He is FIU's first preseason team honoree since Adrian Diaz in 2015-16.

UP NEXT
Mississippi State heads into the heart of a four-game homestand to open the season and meets another 20-game winner from a season ago in defending Southland Conference champion Sam Houston State. Friday's tip time is on-tap for 7 p.m. CT and will be carried online by SEC Network+ via 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.