Gameday: Five Things to Know About MSU-No. 5 Kentucky

by Matt Dunaway, Associate Director/Communications

STARKVILLE – Mississippi State heads into the heart of a three-game homestand and will look to regroup versus No. 5 Kentucky on Saturday in-front of a sold out crowd at Humphrey Coliseum.

The Bulldogs are coming off a 92-88 overtime loss to LSU on Wednesday, while Kentucky has won nine consecutive games since dropping its SEC opener at Alabama. It marks the 11th time in program history that Mississippi State will be playing its second straight ranked opponent in back-to-back games at home.

Tip time is set for 12 p.m. CT televised by CBS and available online through www.CBSSports.com. Carter Blackburn and Bill Raftery will serve as the announcing team.

The Wildcats have compiled a 96-20 series advantage and won the last 12 decisions between the two teams. Mississippi State's last win in the series was a 66-57 victory on Feb. 3, 2009 in Lexington.

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 (16-6, 4-5 SEC) at No. 8 Kentucky (19-3, 8-1 SEC)
Where: Starkville, Mississippi – Humphrey Coliseum
When: Saturday, Feb. 9, 12:00 p.m. CT
Live Stats: StatBroadcast (https://hailst.at/MBKLiveStats)

TV: CBS
Talent: Carter Blackburn, Bill Raftery
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. 94 (Sirius), Ch. 190 (XM), Ch. 961 (Internet)

FIVE THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT MISSISSIPPI STATE
1. Mississippi State is one of four SEC teams and one of 18 teams in the country to secure at least nine Quad 1 and Quad 2 victories. The Bulldogs are joined by Kentucky, LSU and Tennessee from the SEC. MSU has won three of its four Quad 1 games inside Humphrey Coliseum this season. The list shrinks to eight teams when including teams with at least three of their five Quad 1 and Quad 2 non-conference wins coming away from home or on a neutral floor.

2. Quinndary Weatherspoon, a Jerry West Award Top 10 finalist, has amassed double figures in six consecutive games and improved his scoring average to 19.2 points per game in SEC action. He is coming off a season-high tying 27 points in back-to-back games at Ole Miss (Feb. 2) and against LSU (Feb. 6). The Bulldogs are 22-3 and have won 14 of their last 15 games over the last two seasons when Weatherspoon reaches the feat. The Canton native enters the Kentucky game as the SEC's active leader with 1,780 points and 176 steals. Both marks rank fifth in MSU history.

3. Reggie Perry has exploded for 17.0 points and 9.8 rebounds per game over his last four appearances. He has accounted for three double-doubles in his four games which includes a 19-point, 10-rebound effort versus LSU (Feb. 6) last time out. Perry is the reigning SEC Freshman of the Week and fired in a career-best 21 points coupled with 11 rebounds at Ole Miss (Feb. 2). His 7.8 rebounds per game are sixth on the SEC leaderboard and first among freshmen.

4. Lamar Peters has come away with 12.3 points and connected on a team-leading 58 treys. His 2.6 treys are fifth, while his 38.2 three-point percentage is sixth in the SEC rankings. He is one of seven major conference players to register over 250 points and 125 assists in 2018-19 according to Stat Pass. Mississippi State has won 13 of 16 games this season when Peters distributes five or more assists.

5. Tyson Carter returned to double figures with 12 points during the LSU game (Feb. 6) … Carter has tallied double figures in 13 games this season, and Mississippi State has won 22 of 26 games over the last two seasons when Carter scores 10-plus points … Robert Woodard II tacked on eight points, all coming during the first half, versus LSU (Feb. 6) … Woodard II has averaged 6.7 points per game over his last six outings with season-highs of nine points at Vanderbilt (Jan. 19) and Ole Miss (Feb. 2) … Aric Holman and Nick Weatherspoon have accounted for a combined 20.8 points per game … Weatherspoon returned to the starting lineup after a one-game absence and has started 57 of 58 games in his career … He has provided double digit points 11 times and 1.6 steals per game in SEC games are tied for seventh place … Holman is ranked among SEC active players in points (952 – 11th), rebounds (639 –4th) and blocks (188 – 3rd) … He dialed up 12 points against LSU and garnered double digit points in two of his last three outings … Abdul Ado registered his 100th career block during the LSU game … 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 Wildcats have secured SEC road victories versus Auburn, Florida Georgia and Vanderbilt. Only the Auburn contest was decided by single digits. Last time out, Kentucky posted a 76-48 victory over South Carolina back on Tuesday.
PJ Washington (13.8 PPG, 8.3 RPG, 1.1 BPG) has been the hot hand for UK over the last five games. He has worked his way to three straight double-doubles en route to 20.4 points and 9.6 rebounds per game over his last five games. The reigning SEC Player of the Week pumped in 21 points and four blocks versus Mississippi State (Jan. 22) during the first meeting. A week later, he fired in a SEC season's best 26 points coupled with 12 rebounds at Vanderbilt (Jan. 29).

Keldon Johnson (14.0 PPG, 5.2 RPG) and Tyler Herro (13.4 PPG, 2.2 APG) have dialed up 67 of the team's 135 three-pointers. Herro has garnered 10-plus points in six of his last seven appearances and 17 times on the season. He provided 18 points aided by three treys in the first matchup with the Bulldogs. Johnson also has secured double digit points in 17 games and notched a SEC season-high 20 points at Auburn (Jan. 19).

Reid Travis (11.9 PPG, 6.9 RPG) and Ashton Hagans (7.2 PPG, 4.3 APG) round out UK's starting five. Hagans has dished out six-plus assists in four of his last six games highlighted by a season-high nine dimes against Mississippi State. He also has added a team-leading 50 steals which is five behind the pace of Rajon Rondo's season record in 2004-05. Travis, a graduate transfer from Stanford, has accounted for 82 games in double figures over his career which includes 13 with UK this season.

The Wildcats top options off the bench are Immanuel Quickley (6.3 PPG), EJ Montgomery (4.2 PPG) and Nick Richards (3.5 PPG). Richards tallied eight points and six rebounds in 10 minutes of action during the first meeting with MSU.

UP NEXT
The Bulldogs wrap their three-game homestand and will look for a season split with Alabama on Tuesday. Tip time is scheduled for 8 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 8, 2019 – Humphrey Coliseum

Head Coach Ben Howland
Q: How can you get the fours and the fives more shots in the post against Kentucky?
BH: "I thought we have done a better job at that since that game especially getting Reggie [Perry] the ball. I thought Reggie did a good job against them the first time that they played. Since that point, I think Alabama, Ole Miss, LSU and Auburn – he's been very good. We've tried to make an effort to do that. We need to get Abdul [Ado] and Aric [Holman] touches in there as well."

Q: What are some other things you wanted to focus in preparation for Kentucky?
BH: "Number one, they're hot. They're the hottest team in the country maybe. They've won nine in a row against good teams [on] foreign courts, much less their own. They're playing great. They're really good. John's [Calipari] team is getting better throughout the year. Typically, they're starting young guys. As that team matures [and] you see where they are now from when they started … It's amazing."

"We definitely have to do a better job with them on the glass. We've got to do a better job offensively. The first time we played them, I think we played rushed. We've got to be more patient once we're in the half court and move the ball. We did a good job fighting back. We got off to a wrong start with that game. We put in the wrong starting lineup. It was a bad beginning right from the get go up there in Lexington. We will have the starting five right for sure [for tomorrow's game]."

Q: With this game starting the second half of SEC play, how do you feel about your team right now?
BH: "I like our team. Our team has had a very good year. This is an unbelievable gauntlet that is the SEC. Bottom line is that's what we're going through, and we have to deal with it."

Q: How is your team getting to be where they can bounce back after a midweek loss?
BH: "If I knew that, then I'd be a genius. Bottom line is that's the way it's fallen here in recent. I don't know if there is truly a pattern there that has anything to do with us. This is a huge game for us because it's one of the best teams in the country, maybe one of the hottest teams right now coming into our place. We'll have a great crowd. It's sold out. We're excited about that. We just want to come out and hang it all out there –play as hard as we can. That's what we want to do every night."

"I thought we played tremendously hard last game against LSU. I think I did a poor job at managing our minutes, and that's a big part of why we lost that game. I said that after the game. In retrospect, I still feel that way."

Q: After reviewing film against LSU, what do you think your team could do better?
BH: "Defensively, I thought we got tired. They [LSU] shot 60 percent in the second half. You're not going to beat good teams [when you allow] them to shoot 60 percent in the second half. They made big shots. Give them credit too – it's not all what we did but also something of what they did. They made some big shots. You've got to give LSU some credit. They're a good team, and they made some plays."

Q: How has Quinndary Weatherspoon having so much success getting to the rim recently?
BH: "I think he's been doing it all year. He's been spending a lot of time [working on his game]. Right now, he's out there shooting on the floor working on his shot. It all relates to the time you put in. He's a tremendously hard worker. He works hard and has a lot of confidence because of that. The harder you work, the more confident you become."

Q: Do you think Quinndary Weatherspoon's success comes from him being a senior and wanting to close on a high note?
BH: "No question. He's fighting his heart out. I played him in too many minutes [in] the second half and the overtime [against LSU]. He was exhausted at the end, but he really had us on his back on the offensive end. There's no question – he has the most experience other than Aric [Holman], and he gets it. He's just playing his heart out, and that's what you want all of your guys to do."

Gameday: Five Things to Know About MSU-No. 5 Kentucky

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Abdul Ado

Tyson Carter

Aric Holman

Reggie Perry

Lamar Peters

Nick Weatherspoon

Quinndary Weatherspoon

Robert Woodard II

Mississippi State University Athletics