Gameday: Five Things to Know About MSU-No. 21 LSU

Wednesday, February 6

Starkville

8:00 PM

Mississippi State

#21 LSU

Photo by: Trevor Birchett/MSU Athletics

Gameday: Five Things to Know About MSU-No. 21 LSU

February 05, 2019 | Men's Basketball

Press Conference Purchase Tickets Watch on ESPN2 Listen Live Live Stats Game Notes (PDF)

by Matt Dunaway, Associate Director/Communications

STARKVILLE – After playing four of its last five games on the road, Mississippi State returns to the friendly confines of Humphrey Coliseum to open a three-game homestand against No. 21 LSU on Wednesday.

Tip time is slated for 8:00 p.m. CT televised by ESPN2 and available online through the WatchESPN platform. Karl Ravech and Andy Kennedy will serve as the announcing team.

The Bulldogs have won three of the last four meetings over the last two seasons highlighted by a pair of victories at the SEC Tournament. Mississippi State also has posted a 3-1 record in the last four outings between the two team in Starkville.

This week's matchups with No. 21 LSU and No. 5 Kentucky mark the 11th time in program history that the Bulldogs have faced back-to-back ranked opponents at home. Mississippi State has earned one sweep, five splits and been swept four times. The sweep came during the 1994-95 season when the Bulldogs defeated No. 25 Florida and No. 8 Arkansas on Feb. 1 and Feb. 4, respectively.

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 (16-5, 4-4 SEC) vs. No. 21 LSU (17-4, 7-1 SEC)
Where: Starkville, Mississippi – Humphrey Coliseum
When: Wednesday, Feb. 5, 8:00 p.m. CT
Live Stats: StatBroadcast (https://hailst.at/MBKLiveStats)

TV: ESPN2
Talent: Karl Ravech, Andy Kennedy
Online: https://hailst.at/LSUvsMSU0206
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. 84 (Sirius), Ch. 84 (XM), Ch. 84 (Internet)

FIVE THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT MISSISSIPPI STATE
1. Mississippi State has secured a 16-5 record or better through 21 games for the 14th time in program history. The last time the Bulldogs accomplished the feat was a 17-4 mark through 21 games during the 2011-12 season. Mississippi State has qualified for the NCAA Tournament on seven of the nine occasions dating back to 1962-63 when starting a season with a 16-5 record or better.

2. Quinndary Weatherspoon, a Jerry West Award Top 10 finalist, has fired in double figures in five consecutive games and improved his scoring average to 18.3 points per game in SEC action. He is coming off a season-high tying 27 points at Ole Miss which marked his eighth game of 20-plus points on the season. The Bulldogs are 22-2 and have won 14 straight games over the last two seasons when Weatherspoon reaches the feat. Weatherspoon also has upped his rebounding numbers to 6.5 per game versus SEC opponents sparked by eight or more boards in four games. The Canton native enters the LSU game as the SEC's active leader with 1,753 points and 175 steals. Both marks rank fifth in MSU history.

3. Reggie Perry has racked up 16.3 points and 9.7 rebounds per game over his last three appearances. He piled up a season-high 21 points and grabbed 11 rebounds at Ole Miss for his second double-double in his last three games. Perry is the reigning SEC Freshman of the Week and his 6.2 rebounds per game are ranked second among SEC freshmen.

4. Lamar Peters has worked his way to 12.9 points and drained a team-leading 58 treys. His 2.8 treys are fifth, while his 38.8 three-point percentage is sixth on the SEC leaderboard. Peters has reached 10-plus points in five of his last eight games. He is one of 12 major conference players to register over 250 points and 100 assists in 2018-19 according to Stat Pass. Mississippi State has won 13 of 15 games this season when Peters distributes five or more assists. Peters is rated among the SEC's active players in points (917 – 12th), assists (375 – 2nd) and steals (112 – 6th).

5. Tyson Carter made his first start of the season at Ole Miss and his first since the Nebraska game during the 2018 NIT First Round … Carter has tallied double figures in 12 games this season, and Mississippi State has won 22 of 25 games over the last two seasons when Carter scores 10-plus points … Robert Woodard II tied his season's best and scored seven of his nine points during the second half at Ole Miss … Woodard II has scored five or more points in 11 games which includes three of his last five outings … Aric Holman and Nick Weatherspoon have accounted for a combined 20.8 points per game … Weatherspoon came off the bench for the first time in his 56 career games at Ole Miss … He has provided double digit points 11 times and 1.4 steals per game in SEC games which is tied for eighth place … Holman is ranked among SEC active players in points (940 – 11th), rebounds (634 – T-4th) and blocks (188 – 3rd) … His 7.4 rebounds are seventh whereas his 2.1 blocks per game are tied for third among SEC players … Abdul Ado heads into Wednesday's action one block 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 Tigers had their 10-game winning streak come to a close during a 90-89 loss to Arkansas (Feb. 2) last Saturday. LSU nearly erased an 18-point second-half deficit to remain undefeated in SEC action. The Tigers are ranked No. 21 in the Associated Press and No. 22 USA Today/Coaches Top 25 polls.

Tremont Waters (15.1 PPG, 6.0 APG, 3.0 SPG) has pieced together 12 straight games in double figures and in 16 of LSU's 21 games. The last LSU player to accomplish that feat was Ben Simmons, the No. 1 pick of the 2016 NBA Draft. Waters exploded for a SEC career-high 36 points at Texas A&M (Feb. 2). His 3.0 steals per game lead the SEC and ranked among the nation's top 10.

Skylar Mays (13.4 PPG, 2.0 SPG) has improved his stat line each season during his career. The junior guard has notched 10-plus points in five of LSU's eight SEC games and in 16 games overall. Mays fired in a career-best 24 points at Missouri (Jan. 26) after he dialed up 20 points versus Georgia (Jan. 23). He enters Wednesday's game 88 points shy of 1,000 for his career.

Naz Reid (13.2 PPG, 5.9 RPG, 1.0 BPG) and Kavell Bigby-Williams (7.5 PPG, 5.4 RPG, 2.1 BPG) have done the heavy lifting for LSU on the interior. The duo has teamed for seven double-doubles on the season, five coming courtesy of Bigby-Williams. They also have connected on 62-of-115 from the floor during SEC action.

LSU's bench play has been headed by Javonte Smart (10.6 PPG) and Emmitt Williams (8.1 PPG, 6.1 RPG). Smart has added double digit points in five of his last eight outings since moving to the bench. He matched his season's best with 18 points headed by a 7-for-8 effort at the free throw line versus Arkansas (Feb. 2) last time out.

UP NEXT
Mississippi State heads into the heart of its three-game homestand against No. 5 Kentucky on Saturday. Tip time is on-tap for 12 p.m. CT from Humphrey Coliseum. The game will be televised by CBS and available online through www.CBSsports.com.

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 5, 2019 – Humphrey Coliseum

Head Coach Ben Howland
Opening Statement
BH: "Outstanding opponent [in LSU] coming in here tomorrow. I've been watching film on LSU. They're just really, really talented. They're very well coached and very impressive. They are a great rebounding team and outstanding in transition. They create a lot of offense from their defense. They really have good guard play and good bigs. It's just a combination of everything."
"At times, they'll have three point guards out there. When you have [Javonte] Smart in the game with [Tremont] Waters and with [Skylar] Mays – essentially three point guards that can handle [it] and shoot it. They can create for themselves, create for others. Number 14, [Marlon] Taylor, is just a phenomenal athlete. I don't know if you guys have seen him yet, but Taylor is one of the highest flying leaper in college basketball, bar none."

Q: During Robert Woodard II's recruitment, how fortunate did you feel to have that talent right in your back yard and his connection to the program with his family ties?
BH: "Unbelievable, both him and Reggie [Perry]. When you look at it, both of their dads were in Oxford at that game [against Ole Miss] along with Tyson's [Carter] dad. All three of the sons whose fathers were former players here, are all very important parts of our team. That's pretty special just thinking about it right now. It's amazing.

"Robert [Woodard II] is really coming on. He was critical in that game Saturday. He's just getting better and better. [He's] really comfortable. He's getting some treatment. I just walked by and spoke to him. He has a little strain of his elios colac, which is the hip flexor."

Q: What do you think makes LSU so strong on the road?
BH: "They're a really good team. First of all, their point guard is incredible. [Tremont] Waters is really good. You look at him, and he's second in the league right now in steals [in SEC games]. He's up there in assists. He's their leading scorer. He creates so much for them. He's averaging, in league play, 19 points per game. He has 53 assists in eight games, so he's almost at seven per game. He's shooting 80 percent [at the free throw line]. They're a great rebounding team, free throw shooting team and they get to the line a lot. If you look at him, they're shooting, I think, 38 percent from the three. He's an outstanding 3-point shooter. He had 36 against [Texas] A&M a couple games back at [Texas] A&M. He's a monster.

"But, their front line when you look at [Naz] Reid and [Kavell] Bigby-Williams. Bigby-Williams is great. He sat out and is a fifth-year transfer from Oregon. He's very good at shot blocking. Very athletic, with his blocking. He goes for everything. He has 18 blocks in the league. Reid is a McDonald's All-American. Those guys have some really good players. [Skylar] Mays is amazing too with just how smart he is. He's savvy. They just have a lot of ability. They're a team you're not going to want to see in the NCAA Tournament here in March if you're their opponent."

Q: Where does Lamar Peters stand with his offensive role?
BH: "Our offense runs through him. What's really nice is that what he's creating off the bounce and doing things and jump stopping in there. He had a lot of great passes in that game Saturday. He really did a nice job at settling things down. He will be critical for our success here tomorrow because they're going to press. They're going to change defenses. They're going to run their one-three-one. They have a diamond press that they use that's three-quarter courts sometimes to full court. They're a really aggressive man-to-man team when they're trying to ice down all the ball screens. You've have to have a really good point guard to deal with these guys. So yeah, he's always critical."

Q: With it being a Wednesday to Saturday game, do you do anything differently this week?
BH: "I'll tell you what, it was really nice to have Sunday off because we had been in the same routine. It was Tuesday, Saturday, Tuesday, Saturday, Tuesday, Saturday. Now [playing Wednesday-Saturday], it makes it rougher on the back-end, but to have a day of rest on Sunday and to get the all-important win on the road against a very good team was really good for our guys I think – mentally and physically."

Guard Robert Woodard II
Q: When you and Reggie [Perry] have big games like you did in the win against Ole Miss on Saturday, what do you say to each other about being big contributors for the team?
RW: "We talk about it all the time in the [locker] room. We understand there are high expectations for both of us. We understand that we have to clear our minds, play together and [play as] one when we're out there."

Q: The team has won in different ways recently, with shooting the three and by being physical inside. Which style of play do you prefer, or do you feel comfortable winning however you need to?
RW: "I don't think if there's really a style we prefer. Going into the game, knowing what we need to do and knowing the opponents' weakness on defense – [that's] going to help us win. Whatever strategy helps us win is the best way."

Q: Having played four out of your last five games on the road, how does it feel to know you're going to have some home games coming up?
RW: "It feels pretty good. The home game advantage feels great and having the fans behind your back. We just have to keep that energy going within ourselves like we have on the road to be successful."

Q: What [aspect] of your game do you feel like you still need to refine over the remainder of the season?
RW: "It's a matter of helping the team win, whatever I can do. I feel like I can grab more rebounds and try to keep my team motivated. At this point of the season, I know my teammates are getting tired so just keeping them motivated and keeping their confidence up is the best way I can help the team."

Q: What have you learned from Lamar Peters this year, and how do you think he's done this year in his role as a team leader?
RW: "He's done a great job since the summer. He has helped us be more competitive, helped our drive and has just motivated us from the jump up until now. He helps keep our confidence up. He always tells us what we can do. He doesn't try to bring us down at all, especially the freshmen. He keeps us up and keeps us high."