Gameday: Five Things to Know About No. 22 MSU-Ole Miss

Saturday, February 2

Oxford, Miss.

2:30 PM

Mississippi State

Ole Miss

Gameday: Five Things to Know About No. 22 MSU-Ole Miss

February 01, 2019 | Men's Basketball

Press Conference Watch Live on SEC Network Listen Live Live Stats Game Notes (PDF)

by Matt Dunaway, Associate Director/Communications

OXFORD, Mississippi – No. 22 Mississippi State will conclude a stretch of four of five games one the road and opens its February slate with a trip to Ole Miss on Saturday.

Tip time is on-tap for 2:20 p.m. CT televised by SEC Network and available online through the WatchESPN platform. Mike Morgan and Pat Bradley will serve as the announcing team.

The Bulldogs and Rebels will meet on the hardwood for the 260th time which marks the most meetings between two SEC programs. Mississippi State will look for a series split for the third time in four seasons under Ben Howland. The Bulldogs also will look to end a seven-game skid and secure its first win in Oxford dating back to the 2010-11 season.

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 (15-5, 3-4 SEC) at Ole Miss (14-6, 4-3 SEC)
Where: Oxford, Mississippi – The Pavilion at Ole Miss
When: Saturday, Feb. 2, 2:30 p.m. CT
Live Stats: StatBroadcast (https://hailst.at/MBKLiveStats)

TV: SEC Network
Talent: Mike Morgan, Pat Bradley
Online: https://hailst.at/MSUvsOM0202
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. 113 (Sirius), Ch. 191 (XM), Ch. 962 (Internet)

FIVE THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT MISSISSIPPI STATE
1. Mississippi State has connected on 175 three-pointers through 20 games which is second-highest in program history only behind the 2009-10 team. The Bulldogs have dialed up 10 or more treys in eight games, and five players have already knocked down at least 20 three-pointers individually. Mississippi State will look to improve on a 11-for-58 clip from three-point territory over its last three SEC road games.

2. Quinndary Weatherspoon has pumped in 17.2 points per game which is third in the SEC rankings. He has dropped in double figures in four straight, 11 of his last 12 outings and 17 of 19 games this season. His 1,726 career points lead SEC active players and ranks fifth in program history. Weatherspoon has already climbed 13 spots on MSU's scoring list during his senior season. Mississippi State is 21-2 and won 13 consecutive games over the last two seasons when Weatherspoon provides 20-plus points. He equaled his season-high with 27 points versus No. 16 Auburn on January 26.

3. Reggie Perry has worked his way to double figures in back-to-back games for the second time this season. He racked up a season-high 18 points on 9-of-12 from the floor at Alabama after he compiled a 10-point, 11-rebound performance against No. 16 Auburn. For the season, Perry has notched 7.8 points and 6.0 rebounds with 16 of his 20 appearances coming off the bench. The 6.0 rebounds are third among SEC freshmen.

4. Lamar Peters has chipped in 13.1 points and hit on a team-leading 56 treys. He is one of 12 major conference players to amass 250 points and 100 assists in 2018-19 according to Stat Pass. Peters has distributed 5.9 assists per game which ranks sixth on the SEC leaderboard. Mississippi State is 12-2 this season when the junior guard hands out five or more assists compared to a 3-3 mark when Peters' assist total is under five dimes. For his career, Peters is ranked among SEC players in points (908 – 12th), assists (369 – 2nd) and steals (110 – 6th).

5. MSU's legacy bench of Tyson Carter, Reggie Perry and Robert Woodard II has turned in 21.4 points per game … All three players are sons of former Mississippi State standouts … Carter has come away with double figures in 12 of 20 games this season … The Bulldogs are 22-3 over the last two seasons when Carter goes for 10 or more points … Nick Weatherspoon has reached double figures 11 times with his SEC season-high coming during an 18-point performance at South Carolina on Jan. 8 … His 10.1 points per game are third on the team, while his 1.5 steals per game in conference games is fifth inside the SEC rankings … Aric Holman and Abdul Ado have combined for 75 of MSU's 104 blocks on the season … Holman is ranked among SEC active players in points (940 – 11th), rebounds (634 – 4th) and blocks (191 – 2nd) … His 7.7 rebounds are sixth whereas his 2.3 blocks per game are third among SEC players … Ado heads into Saturday's action two rejections shy of 100 for his career … The last time Mississippi State had a pair of players with 100 career blocks on the roster was Jarvis Varnardo and Charles Rhodes during the 2007-08 season.

KNOW YOUR OPPONENT
The Rebels are receiving votes in both editions of the top 25 polls but have lost four of their last five games following the first meeting between the two schools back on January 12. Ole Miss was handed a 90-86 overtime loss at Florida last time out.

Breein Tyree (17.4 PPG, 2.8 APG) and Terence Davis (16.4 PPG, 6.2 RPG, 3.6 APG) have accounted for 43.2 percent of the scoring for Ole Miss. The duo has canned 80 of the team's 155 three-pointers on the season and racked up 18 of the team's 20 games of 20 or more points. The 18 combined games of 20-plus points are the most between two SEC teammates on the season.

The Tyree-Davis combo tallied 46 points at Florida and reached the 20-point mark for the fourth time during the same game this season. Tyree has averaged 16.2 points per game in five previous meetings with Mississippi State whereas all three of Davis' double-doubles have come against SEC opponents.

Devontae Shuler (9.5 PPG, 1.7 SPG) and Blake Hinson (8.7 PPG) complete the Rebels four-guard attack. Hinson exploded for a season's best 26 points aided by five three-pointers against the Bulldogs during the first meeting, while Shuler nearly secured his double-double of the season with nine points and nine rebounds at Florida.

The top two options off the bench for Ole Miss have been Bruce Stevens (8.2 PPG, 4.4 RPG) and KJ Buffen (6.5 PPG, 4.6 RPG). Buffen reached double figures for the fourth time and poured in a season-high 17 points sparked by a flawless 8-for-8 effort on free throws at Florida.

UP NEXT
Mississippi State is scheduled to face its third ranked opponent in its last five games when SEC co-leader and No. 19 LSU visits Humphrey Coliseum on Wednesday. Tip time is set for 8 p.m. CT. The game will be televised by ESPN2 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.

Mississippi State Men's Basketball Media Session
February 1, 2019 – Humphrey Coliseum

Head Coach Ben Howland
Opening Statement
BH: "Well, the first question is probably related to Nick [Weatherspoon]. He practiced yesterday and looked good. He's good to go in terms of the game tomorrow."

Q: Playing Ole for the second time. It's the first time that you'll see an opponent for the second time this season. How does the game plan change from the first game?
BH: "[Blake] Hinson had a great game against us. Obviously, 26 points. He was effective shooting the ball from the three. Obviously, we've got to be very aware of him. They have an outstanding team led by [Terence] Davis and [Breein] Tyree. Those two guys in particular have been incredibly consistent both in the conference and the non-conference in terms of their scoring with all of the different things they do defensively – rebounding. I think Davis is averaging eight rebounds a game which is very impressive. He's shooting a great percentage and passing the ball well. Tyree makes big shots and gets a lot of assists.

[Dominik] Olejniczak, the big kid, he played really well against us. I think he is one of the most improved players in the league when you look at where he was his first two years to where he is now. [Bruce] Stevens played well. He had two big three's against us – had a controversial play in the last minute that didn't go against them, but he is playing well as a senior. He's doing a good job for them and playing a very important role for their team. I like [Devontae] Shuler. They have a good team. We've got to do a better job with them in every aspect."

Q: What do you think the reason for the road struggles are especially when it comes to shooting?
BH: "I think on the road you're playing a team on their home floor, and you have to be even more efficient offensively in terms of execution to get good shots and take good shots. We missed some open shots in our last game, but we also took some tough shots too. Everything about shooting has to do with the quality of the shot. I've seen us shoot really well with a Nike ball in practice, and I know we're capable."

Q: It will be the third weekend in a row where your team is playing to get back to .500 in conference play. Is that mentally taxing on a team, and what is the mindset heading into tomorrow's game?
BH: "Hey, it's the SEC for us right now. There are a lot of reasons why we need to win these games. No question, we need this one desperately. It's going to be two teams fighting very hard to get the win tomorrow."

Q: After reviewing film against Alabama, what do you think the team needs to work on?
BH: "The lapses [on defense] were that we did a really poor job keeping them out of the paint off the dribble. We just did a very poor job at helping one another. Their whole game plan was to go downhill at us and try to drive us, drive us, drive us … We didn't do good enough job aggressively pressuring the ball so instead of the drive going towards the basket, it had to go lateral first. We have to do a better job."