Gameday: Five Things to Know About MSU-UGA

Wednesday, February 20

Athens, Ga.

5:30 PM

Mississippi State

Georgia

Gameday: Five Things to Know About MSU-UGA

February 19, 2019 | Men's Basketball

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

by Matt Dunaway, Associate Director/Communications

ATHENS, Georgia – Mississippi State will look to continue its winning ways on the road when the Bulldogs travel to Georgia on Wednesday.

Tip time is set for 5:30 p.m. CT televised by SEC Network and available online through the WatchESPN platform. Roy Philpott and Daymeon Fishback will serve as the announcing team.

Mississippi State is in pursuit of the program's first three-game SEC road winning streak dating back to the 2003-04 season when the Bulldogs won all eight of their SEC road games.

Georgia has won eight of the last 10 games going back to the 2011-12 season and grabbed a 58-54 series advantage. In last season's meeting, Mississippi State grabbed a 72-57 victory. Lamar Peters sparked a balanced attack of four players in double figures and pumped in a game-leading 20 points.

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 (18-7, 6-6 SEC) at Georgia (10-15, 1-11 SEC)
Where: Athens, Georgia – Stegeman Coliseum
When: Wednesday, Feb. 20, 5:30 p.m. CT
Live Stats: StatBroadcast (https://hailst.at/MBKLiveStats)

TV: SEC Network
Talent: Roy Philpott, Daymeon Fishback
Online: https://hailst.at/MSUvsUGA0220
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. 137 (Sirius), Ch. 190 (XM), Ch. 961 (Internet)
FIVE THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT MISSISSIPPI STATE
1. Mississippi State is one of two SEC teams and one of 10 teams in the country to capture at least 12 combined Quad 1 and Quad 2 victories. The Bulldogs are joined by Duke (14), Houston (14), Kansas (14), Michigan (14), LSU (13), Michigan State (13), Virginia (13), Purdue (12) and Texas Tech (12). Mississippi State has done its damage with seven of the 12 wins coming versus Quad 1 opponents. The Bulldogs are one of eight teams to secure at least seven Quad 1 victories. That list includes Michigan State (10), Kansas (9), Kentucky (8), Virginia (8), Duke (7), Marquette (7) and Wisconsin (7).

2. Quinndary Weatherspoon has exploded for 22.0 points, 3.4 steals and 2.8 assists per game over his last five games. He has dropped in four performances of 20-plus points over the five-game span and garnered 11 games of 20-plus points for the season which is tied for second among SEC players. Weatherspoon, a Jerry West Award Top 10 Finalist, needs only three points to move past Rickey Brown (1977-78-79-80) for fourth place on MSU's all-time scoring list. He has notched double figures in 23 of 25 games this season and 97 times during his career. The Bulldogs are 24-3 and have won 16 of their 17 games over the last two seasons when Weatherspoon rips off 20 or more points. The 1,836 career points and 188 career steals are tops among SEC active players.

3. Reggie Perry has stepped up his play as a member of Mississippi State's starting five over the last five games. He has tucked away a double-double in four of those outings, most recently 12 points and 10 rebounds at Arkansas (Feb. 16). Perry has chipped in 10.6 points and 8.0 rebounds per game during SEC action. The 8.0 rebounds are good enough for fourth place overall and the top spot among SEC freshmen. Perry has racked up four of his top six scoring games against SEC opponents highlighted by his top three efforts since Jan. 29.

4. Tyson Carter and Robert Woodard II stepped up in a big way for the Bulldogs during MSU's 10-point road win at Arkansas. Carter amassed a season's best 18 points and converted on 7-of-10 from two-point territory. He also dished out four assists over his season-high 36 minutes of action. Mississippi State has managed a 23-4 record over the last two seasons when Carter scores 10-plus points. For Woodard II, he came away with a season's best 10 points during the Arkansas game. Four of his top six scoring performances on the season have come in February, and he has upped his scoring effort to 8.2 points per game over his last six appearances.

5. Lamar Peters and Aric Holman have collected 12.5 points and 10.0 points per game, respectively … Both players have totaled 960 career points which is tied for 11th place among SEC active players and 40 away from 1,000 for their careers … Peters is one of nine major conference players to pile up at least 300 points and 125 assists for the season … MSU has won 13 of 16 games this season when Peters distributes five or more assists … Holman will look to return to double figures for the first time since the LSU game … His 190 blocks and 12 double-doubles are third among SEC active players … Abdul Ado has registered 7.0 points per game in his last three games … His 104 career blocks over 58 games sits ninth in the MSU record book … Nick Weatherspoon is fourth on the team with 9.6 points per game and tallied 11 games in double figures … He will miss his second straight game after being suspended indefinitely from game competition for a violation of team rules on Feb. 16.

KNOW YOUR OPPONENT
Georgia (10-15, 1-11 SEC), the SEC East's version of the Bulldogs, has dropped six straight games since their 98-88 victory over Texas in the Big 12/SEC Challenge on Jan. 26. Last time out, the Bulldogs battled SEC co-frontrunner LSU to an 83-79 decision.

Nicolas Claxton (12.8 PPG, 9.0 RPG, 2.6 BPG, 2.1 APG, 1.2 SPG) is one of five Division I players to lead his team in points, rebounds, blocks, assists and steals per game. He has collected 10 double-doubles on the season and turned in 10-plus points in eight of his last 11 appearances. Claxton amassed 17 points and four assists against LSU (Feb. 16) last time out.

Rayshaun Hammonds (12.4 PPG, 6.2 RPG), Tyree Crump (10.0 PPG, 1.7 APG) and Derek Ogbeide (10.0 PPG, 5.6 RPG) also have provided double figures for UGA. Crump's 10.0 points per game are third among SEC bench players, while Ogbeide has dialed up double digit points in four of his last six appearances. He matched a season's best 17 points at Alabama (Feb. 6).

Jordan Harris (6.0 PPG) has started the last four games for Georgia. He has provided a spark with 10.7 points and 8.7 rebounds per game during his last three outings. Harris equaled his career-best with 12 points during the LSU game.

UP NEXT
The Bulldogs return to the friendly confines of Humphrey Coliseum for back-to-back home games. First up is a rematch with South Carolina on Saturday. Tip time is on-tap for 5 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.

Mississippi State Men's Basketball Media Session
February 19, 2019 – Humphrey Coliseum

Head Coach Ben Howland
Q: There have been double-digit steals in three of the last four games. What do you attribute that to?
BH: "Our defense being way more help conscious and really getting in gaps and helping each other. It's not from gambling. A lot times, guys can get steals. That doesn't mean you're playing good defense if you're not doing it the right way. We're doing it the right way in terms of creating with our defense."

Q: Do you think that Coach Crean has made a mark on Georgia in year one?
BH: "Yeah, he's getting them to play really hard. They're really completive. This team is really long. They really rebound hard, and he's going to do a great job. They already have the No. 1 point guard recruited in the country coming in next year. A kid from Atlanta that's a one-and-doner. He'll be really good for them in the one year that he'll be there. He's something else."

Q: How much faith do you have in Tyson Carter now that Nick Weatherspoon is out?
BH: "He [Carter] started a lot of games for us last year already as you remember – also both as a sophomore and as a freshman. He's very experienced. Tyson is probably one of the best-conditioned guys on our team. If you're talking about when we're doing all of our running in the pre-season and all of that, he never gets tired. He's in great shape, physical condition, so he can play a lot of minutes."

Q: What's it like preparing for a team that's on the slide like Georgia is?
BH: "It's a great question because our guys look at that, and they don't [get to] watch the whole LSU game from [Georgia's] last game. [Georgia] had LSU on the ropes with a chance to win [against a team] who is tied for first in our league. If we don't play our very best tomorrow, if we don't come and play our very best, they'll beat us. There's not that much – the margin of error is so small. It's up to them, and what I'll be hammering home for the next 24 hours."

Q: In terms of finishing ballgames, what confidence level do you think your guys are at right now?
BH: "I think our guys are very confident. They have been all year. We have won a lot of close games too. We won a number of close games during the year. It goes both ways for sure."

Q: Now that Tyson Carter is in his third year with the program, do you feel like he is a better all-around type of player?
BH: "I think he is. What I would say about it is that he's doing a good job for us defensively as well as offensively. I think he had 18 points at Arkansas and didn't make a three. He was 0-for-5 from the three, but he scored in a lot of different ways. He's got a really nice floater that he's able to score on in the paint. He had a couple run out dunks where his teammates did a good job finding him. He created a lot. He made big free throws down the stretch when they were having to foul us. He did a lot of good things on both ends of the floor."

"That's the key of being a complete player. Everyone is trying to run him off the three-point line because they know how good of a three-point shooter he is. You've got to be able to put the ball on the floor and do other things, and he definitely can. He's our backup point [guard] right now. He's been running a lot of point all year, and he's very comfortable with the ball in his hands. You can see that there were times in that game where he was driving against their pressure. He's done that in the past against Stephen F. Austin [last year]. He kind of took the game over a year ago when they were really pressuring us and got to the rim. He's good with the ball in his hands for sure."