Gameday: Five Things to Know About MSU-Auburn

Saturday, March 2

Auburn, Ala.

3:00 PM

Mississippi State

Auburn

Gameday: Five Things to Know About MSU-Auburn

March 01, 2019 | Men's Basketball

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

by Matt Dunaway, Associate Director/Communications

AUBURN, Alabama – A pair of teams receiving votes in the respective top 25 polls will meet on The Plains when Mississippi State opens the March portion of its schedule at Auburn on Saturday.

Tip time is on-tap for 3 p.m. CT televised by ESPNU and available online through the WatchESPN platform. Beth Mowins and Debbie Antonelli will serve as the announcing team.

The Bulldogs head into this week's action in a four-way logjam with Florida, Ole Miss and South Carolina for fourth place and the final double bye during the upcoming SEC Tournament. The quartet is one-game clear of Auburn and Alabama who are tied for eighth place.

Mississippi State closed February on a five-game winning streak with an average margin of victory of 12.8 points per game. The last time the Bulldogs ripped off a five-game winning streak in SEC play was during the 2007-08 season when Mississippi State opened conference play with a 5-0 mark. MSU also secured six February victories for the first time since the 1994-95 squad posted a 7-1 mark.

The Bulldogs have split their previous four meetings with Auburn under fourth-year head coach Ben Howland. Auburn has an overall 76-70 series advantage on the strength of a 46-23 mark in games played on The Plains.

Earlier this season, Mississippi State outlasted the Tigers 92-84 in a matchup of ranked opponents on Jan. 26 in Starkville. Lamar Peters turned in his first career double-double with 16 points and 10 assists, while Quinndary Weatherspoon poured in 20 of his 27 points during the second half. The Peters-Weatherspoon duo knocked down a combined eight treys.

Visit www.HailState.com for 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 (21-7, 9-6 SEC) at Auburn (19-9, 8-7 SEC)
Where: Auburn, Alabama – Auburn, Alabama
When: Saturday, March, 3:00 p.m. CT
Live Stats: StatBroadcast (https://hailst.at/MBKLiveStats)
TV: ESPNU
Talent: Beth Mowins, Debbie Antonelli
Online: https://hailst.at/MSUvsAU0302
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: NA (Sirius), Ch. 389 (XM), Ch. 980 (Internet)

FIVE THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT MISSISSIPPI STATE
1. A win on Saturday would give Mississippi State 10 SEC victories for the first time dating back to the 2007-08 season when the Bulldogs posted a 12-4 mark. MSU has picked up 18 SEC wins over the last two seasons, the program's highest two-year total since back-to-back 9-7 campaigns during the 2008-09 and 2009-10 seasons. The Bulldogs are currently on a five-game SEC winning streak for the fifth time in program history during the 2000's. During the five-game streak, MSU has held opponents to 61.2 points per game and a 39.2 percent shooting clip coupled with a 10.4 steals and 6.2 blocks per game.

2. Quinndary Weatherspoon holds the SEC's top spot with 19.8 points per game in conference play. He has racked up 13 of the team's 22 games of 20-plus on the season. He heads into Saturday's action with 1,904 career points which is first among SEC active players and fourth on the program's all-time scoring list. Weatherspoon is 15 points shy of passing Jim Ashmore (1954-55-56-57) for third place. He has turned in 10-plus points in 26 of 28 games and 100 times during his career. Mississippi State has won 25 of 28 games overall and is 17-1 over the last two seasons when Weatherspoon garners a 20-plus point scoring performance.

3. Reggie Perry is the seventh player in program history to claim multiple SEC Rookie/Freshman of the Week honors. The last person to accomplish the feat was teammate Quinndary Weatherspoon in 2015-16. Perry has posted 14.6 points and 8.5 rebounds per game over his last 10 appearances. The 10-game run is highlighted by five of his top seven scoring efforts on the season. Perry's season-high is a pair of 21-point efforts at Ole Miss on Feb. 2 and against South Carolina on Feb. 23. He also has compiled five of his six double-doubles on the season as part of his last 10 games. Perry's 7.7 rebounds per game in SEC action are fifth overall and first among freshmen.

4. Tyson Carter has managed 15.0 points and 2.5 assists per game since being inserted into the starting lineup over the last four games. He exploded for a season-high 22 points on a 7-of-12 shooting effort against Missouri last time out. Carter notched a then season's best 18 points and dished out four assists at Arkansas on Feb. 16. The Bulldogs are 25-4 over the last two seasons and have won 14 of 16 games this season when Carter scores 10 or more points.

5. Abdul Ado has vaulted his way to third place with 2.3 blocks per game in SEC games on the strength of 11 rejections over his last two games … Ado has secured 116 blocks in 61 games which sits ninth in the MSU record book … Aric Holman and Lamar Peters have totaled 971 career points apiece which ranks tied for 12th among SEC players … The duo is looking to become the 38th and 39th players in program history to eclipse 1,000 career points … Peters has been solid on the defensive end with 17 steals during MSU's five-game winning streak … He is one of eight major conference players with at least 300 points and 150 assists this season, according to Stat Pass … The Bulldogs have won 15 of 18 games when Peters hands out five or more assists in 2018-19 … Holman's 192 career blocks and 12 career double-doubles are third among SEC active players … Robert Woodard II has recorded eight of his 10 games with seven or more points during SEC play … He has upped his scoring average to 7.2 points per game in his last nine outings and fired in nine points during the Missouri win … Nick Weatherspoon is fifth on the team with 9.3 points per game and tallied 11 games in double figures this season … He is scheduled to miss his fifth straight game after being suspended indefinitely from game competition for a violation of team rules on Feb. 16.

KNOW YOUR OPPONENT
The Tigers (19-9, 8-7 SEC) have won three of their last four decisions and are one win shy of recording consecutive 20-win seasons for the fourth time in program history and for the first time since the 1998-99 and 1999-2000 seasons. Auburn's high-octane offense has averaged 80.4 points per game, and dialed up a 12-2 mark when surpassing the 80-point mark on the season.

Bryce Brown (15.7 PPG) and Jared Harper (15.3 PPG, 5.9 APG) have done the heavy lifting for Auburn in the backcourt. The duo has canned 168 of the team's 310 three-pointers this season. Harper is one of four players in Auburn history to amass 1,000 career points and 400 career assists. He dropped in 22 points and added five assists at Georgia last time out. Harper has secured double figures 22 times and in 13 of his last 14 appearances. Brown also has ripped off 10-plus points on 22 occasions in 2018-19. He'll look to return to double figures for the first time since an 18-point effort against Arkansas on Feb. 20.

Chuma Okeke (11.4 PPG, 6.6 RPG, 1.6 SPG) provided the late-game heroics with a three-pointers inside the closing minute to lift Auburn to a 78-75 win at Georgia on Wednesday. He has notched double digit points in seven consecutive games and 12 of his last 13 outings. Okeke has been a force on the offensive glass with a team-leading 77 offensive rebounds. He has four double-doubles, most recently a 23-point and 11-rebound performance versus Ole Miss on Feb. 13.

Austin Wiley (8.2 PPG, 1.4 BPG) and Malik Dunbar (7.3 PPG, 1.0 SPG) have been the top two options off the bench but have missed time due to injuries this season. Dunbar provided a SEC season's best 13 points at Vanderbilt on Feb. 16, while Wiley has tallied 11 total points over a six-game span since returning from injury.

Samir Doughty (7.2 PPG) and Anfernee McLemore (7.1 PPG) have been solid contributors for the Tigers and combined for 16 games in double figures. McLemore has come away with 10-plus points in two of last three outings. He nearly turned in a double-double with 10 points and eight rebounds at Kentucky on Feb. 23.

UP NEXT
The Bulldogs travel to SEC co-leader and No. 7 Tennessee for their last SEC road outing of 2018-19 on Tuesday. Tip time is slated for 8 p.m. CT from Thompson-Boling 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
March 1, 2019 – Humphrey Coliseum

Head Coach Ben Howland
Q: When you face a good three-point shooting team such as Auburn, do you have to adjust your gameplan from a defensive standpoint?
BH: "You've really got to be out on them. Not only do they shoot a lot of them, but they make a lot of them. They're shooting 40 percent from the three, which is like shooting 60 percent from the two. They have a lot of guys that can put the ball in the basket from the three. They're a very, very dangerous three-point shooting team."

Q: What can you say about your team's defense during the second half of the SEC schedule?
BH: "I think our defense in the last five games we've played has been some of the best we've played all year. That's what's really keyed this winning streak that we've been on is our defense. Again, it happened to us in the second half the other night [against Missouri] where we really did a good job [defending]. That's been the key for us."

Q: When looking at film, how has Auburn improved from a couple of months ago since coming to Starkville?
BH: "They're the same team. They have great guards. Those two guards are fantastic – [Jared] Harper and [Bryce] Brown. Brown is leading the league in three-point shooting percentage at 44 percent in conference games, which is amazing. [Chuma] Okeke is really a good player. He's been playing well right now, and they've been going to him more and more."

"[Austin] Wiley has been in and out of the lineup. He didn't play against us here. I'm not sure what his status is for tomorrow's game. It's been kind of a tough year for him because of his knee. [Horace] Spencer and [Anfernee] McLemore are playing really well at the five-spot for them. They basically play that position, so you have a fresh body always coming in. They always play hard."

"[Samir] Doughty and [Malik] Dunbar are both very good three men. They have a lot of good personnel. They have great home court advantage in terms of their crowd and the support they get there. It will be a tough environment."

Q: Seeing that you guys are a lock-in for the NCAA Tournament, is there anything you say to the team to help them keep their focus and on how to improve?
BH: "We've got a lot to play for. Being in as a lock is a great thing, but we want to take care of business and continue to win so we can help ourselves get the best possible position not only for the NCAA Tournament but the SEC Tournament. Our last three games are all critical. This one is a really big game for our team and their team. We're 9-6, and we're trying to get the 10th win here in this conference."