Gameday: Five Things to Know About Alabama-MSU

Tuesday, February 12

Starkville

8:00 PM

Mississippi State

Alabama

Gameday: Five Things to Know About Alabama-MSU

February 11, 2019 | Men's Basketball

Watch on SEC Network Gameday Info Purchase Tickets Press Conference Listen Live Live Stats Game Notes (PDF)

by Matt Dunaway, Associate Director/Communications

STARKVILLE – After a pair of four-point losses to ranked opponents last week, Mississippi State will look to return to the win column during the final leg of a three-game homestand when Alabama visits Humphrey Coliseum on Tuesday.

Tip time is slated for 8 p.m. CT televised by SEC Network and available online through the WatchESPN platform. Tom Hart and Jon Sundvold will serve as the announcing team.

The Bulldogs have an opportunity to earn their second regular season split versus an opponent after they dropped the opening matchup. Mississippi State secured an 81-75 win over Ole Miss on Feb. 2 after falling by four points to the Rebels at home.

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: Mississippi State (16-7, 4-6 SEC) vs. Alabama (15-8, 6-4 SEC)
Where: Starkville, Mississippi – Humphrey Coliseum
When: Tuesday, Feb. 12, 8:00 p.m. CT
Live Stats: StatBroadcast (https://hailst.at/MBKLiveStats)

TV: SEC Network
Talent: Tom Hart, Jon Sundvold
Online: https://hailst.at/BAMAvsMSU0212
Radio: Mississippi State Sports Network – Powered by Learfield/IMG College
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. 135 (Sirius), Ch. 190 (XM), Ch. 961 (Internet)

FIVE THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT MISSISSIPPI STATE
1. Mississippi State has drained 198 three-pointers through 23 games which is second in program history only behind the 2009-10 squad. The Bulldogs have knocked down 10-plus treys in eight games, and four players have canned 30 or more three-pointers individually. Mississippi State has hit on 44 three-pointers for an average of 8.8 per game during its five SEC home games.

2. Quinndary Weatherspoon, a Jerry West Award Top 10 finalist, has worked his way to 17.9 points per game which is third on the SEC leaderboard. He has provided double figures in 21 of 23 games this season and 95 times during his career. Weatherspoon is the SEC's active leader in points (1,794) and steals (179). Both marks also are fifth in MSU history. The Bulldogs are 22-3 and have won 14 of their last 15 games during the last two seasons when Weatherspoon ups his scoring 20 or more points. He has reached the 20-point barrier in three of his last five outings fueled by 27-point efforts during the Auburn (Jan. 26), Ole Miss (Feb. 2) and LSU (Feb. 6) games.

3. Reggie Perry has started Mississippi State's last three games. He has posted 14.4 points and 9.0 rebounds over his last five appearances sparked by a trio of double-doubles. Perry scored a career-best 21 points at Ole Miss (Feb. 2) and provided an 18-point performance on 9-of-12 shooting during the first matchup at Alabama (Jan. 29). He has grabbed 7.6 rebounds per game in SEC action which are seventh overall and first among freshmen.

4. Lamar Peters and Aric Holman have pumped in 12.4 points and 10.6 points per game, respectively. Both players are closing in on 1,000 career points. The only other time in program history when Mississippi State had three 1,000 point scorers on the roster was in 2015-16 (Fred Thomas, Craig Sword, Gavin Ware) during Ben Howland's first season. Peters has distributed 5.7 assists per game which are fifth whereas Holman's 8.0 rebounds per game are eighth in the SEC rankings. The Bulldogs are 13-3 when Peters has tallied five or more assists.

5. Robert Woodard II equaled a season's best with nine points against No. 5 Kentucky (Feb. 9) … He has nearly doubled his season average and posted 7.0 points per game in his last seven outings … Nick Weatherspoon has managed 9.8 points per game and secured doubles figures in 11 games this season … He has garnered 1.4 steals per game in SEC action which is tied for ninth … Tyson Carter has come away with double figures in 13 games this season … Mississippi State has won 22 of 26 games over the last two seasons when Carter scores 10-plus points … Abdul Ado registered six points, four rebounds and two blocks versus No. 5 Kentucky … The two blocks enabled him to move into ninth place on MSU's all-time list.

KNOW YOUR OPPONENT
The Crimson Tide (15-8, 6-4 SEC) have won three of its last four starting with the Mississippi State game back on Jan. 29. The stretch has enabled Alabama to move into a fifth place tie with Ole Miss in the SEC standings. The Crimson Tide have posted a 15-3 mark when surpassing 70 points compared to a 0-5 record when scoring less than 70 points.

Kira Lewis, Jr. (14.3 PPG, 3.0 APG) and John Petty, Jr. (11.7 PPG, 4.1 RPG) are the top two scorers for Alabama. Lewis, Jr. has dialed up double figures in three consecutive games and 15 times on the season. He matched a season's best with a 24-point outburst versus Georgia (Feb. 6).

Petty, Jr. has secured double figures in 12 games and upped his scoring average to a team-leading 13.4 points per game during SEC action. He tacked on 13 points against Mississippi State during the first meeting. The Lewis-Petty combination has hit on 81 of the team's 166 three-pointers for the season.

Post play was a key for the Crimson Tide versus Mississippi State in Tuscaloosa as Alabama connected for 27 of its 30 field goals inside en route to 54 paint points. Donta Hall (11.0 PPG, 8.1 RPG) ripped off a SEC season-high 19 points on 7-of-9 shooting and added seven rebounds.

UP NEXT
The Bulldogs return to the road for the first time in two weeks and meet Arkansas on Saturday. Tip time is slated for 7:30 p.m. CT from Bud Walton Arena. 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.

Mississippi State Men's Basketball Media Session
February 11, 2019 – Humphrey Coliseum

Head Coach Ben Howland
Q: Alabama scored a lot of points in the paint during the last meeting. What have you seen during the last couple of weeks that maybe makes you think you won't see that type of thing again?
BH: "That will be something that is obviously a big focus for us because they have a consorted effort to get in the paint, attack the basket and score around the goal. They're playing really well right now. They've won their last two games and had a good road win at Vanderbilt which is a hard place to win at. We need to bring our best effort tomorrow."

Q: Do you think your team has gotten better a lot after going 0-2 last week?
BH: "Bottom line is that [with] the LSU game, we felt that we should have had that one. We had the lead late and couldn't quite get it over the hump. We even had the lead in the overtime. With the Kentucky game, I thought we really got better in the second half. I think we really showed to ourselves if we play with that kind of heart, intensity and all out defense, then we can be good against anybody in the country. Kentucky is the hottest team in the country right now, and they're clawing toward a number one seed [in the NCAA Tournament]."

Q: How do you think you can get off to a better start offensively against Alabama?
BH: "They're a good defensive team. They have great size and length. It starts with our defense though. If we're taking it [the ball] out of the net as opposed to taking it off the backboard, it's a big difference because we do a good job when we get out in transition. We can take advantage of numbers and the opportunities. It starts with our defense. You saw on Saturday when we played really good defensively in the second half, it really helped our offense. That's usually the case."

Q: Why do you consider Alabama a rivalry game?
BH: "There's a reason why they [the SEC] have us playing each other twice every year. [Alabama] and Ole Miss are the two closest to us. The last time we played them there was the 200th meeting or something like that, it was a big number. To me, that's how it's always felt. Who is your biggest rival after Ole Miss? It would probably be Alabama."

Q: Donta Hall has really long arms, what problems does he present down low?
BH: "He's a really good player. He's playing at a really high level and has a number of double-doubles, one of the most in our conference. When you look at him right now in the conference, he's getting 9.4 rebounds and about 11 points per game and blocked shots. He's a really good player, and he's got better every year. He's really improved his game from his free throw shooting as a freshman to where it is now. I think I talked about that the last time. He has the ability to step out and shoot jump shots. He's a very good player."

Forward Reggie Perry
Q: Last time you played Alabama in Tuscaloosa, they frequently attacked the paint. Has preventing that been a main focus leading into this game?
RP: "Yeah, pretty much. We went over film from our last game. We saw some of the same things when we playing against Alabama. A little bit of help defense. They scored 54 points last game so we just want to make sure we help each other out and guard each possession the right way."

Q: It was a slow start offensively the last time you played Alabama, how can you all come out of the gate better?
RP: "Just stay focused and come out mentally prepared, basically."

Q: Now that you are getting more minutes, is it harder for you to stay out of foul trouble? Is it more important in your mind while on the court?
RP: "I try to stay aggressive the entire game and try not to pay too much attention to it. But, I still have it in the back of my head that they're going to need me down the stretch. So I just try to play aggressive without fouling."

Q: Most of the teams' losses have come down to the wire. Is that frustrating to look back on, knowing you were just a few plays away from winning those games?
RP: "Any loss is really frustrating, but we try not to dwell on it. We try to learn from our mistakes, carry on to the next game and pick up where we left off."

Q: Although you guys went 0-2 last week, do you take moral victories in playing two ranked teams very closely?
RP: "We played two of the best teams in the SEC. We try to not worry about our losses but still learn from them. We just want to go out, play hard each game and learn from our mistakes."