Gameday: Five Things to Know About MSU-Liberty

by Matt Dunaway, Associate Director/Communications

SAN JOSE, California – Mississippi State's much anticipated return to March Madness is slated for Friday when the Bulldogs meet Liberty in a 5-12 matchup on Friday during the NCAA Tournament Round of 64.

Mississippi State (23-10) is making its 11th NCAA Tournament trip and first since the 2008-09 season. The Bulldogs have tucked away seven of their 11 NCAA Tournament appearances since 2001-02. MSU advanced to the 1996 NCAA Final Four as a No. 5 seed under Richard Williams when the Bulldogs defeated Virginia Commonwealth, Princeton, Connecticut and Cincinnati.

Tip time is slated for 6:27 p.m. CT televised by tru TV and available online through the NCAA March Madness app. Spero Dedes, Len Elmore, Steve Smith and Ros Gold-Onwude will serve as the announcing team. The winner of Friday's game moves onto Sunday's NCAA Round of 32 and a meeting with either No. 16 Virginia Tech or Saint Louis.

Mississippi State is the nation's only program to appear in a football bowl game and have both of its basketball programs as top five seeds in the Big Dance.

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 (23-10) vs. Liberty (28-6)
Where: SAP Center – San Jose, California
When: Friday, March 22, 6:27 p.m. CT
Live Stats: NCAA.com (https://hailst.at/MBKNCAAStats)
TV: tru TV (https://hailst.at/truTV)
Talent: Spero Dedes, Len Elmore, Steve Smith, Ros Gold-Onwude
Online: https://hailst.at/LUvsMSU0322
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);
Sirius/XM: Ch. 138 (Sirius), Ch. 207 (XM), Ch. 974 (Internet)
Talent: Chris Carrino, Mike Montgomery

FIVE THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT MISSISSIPPI STATE
1. Mississippi State became the fifth SEC team over the last five seasons to turn a 0-2 conference start into a NCAA Tournament bid. Both SEC regular season co-champion Tennessee along with Texas A&M accomplished the feat last season … The Bulldogs have faced 11 teams among the NCAA Field of 68 and won three of their four non-conference decisions against Cincinnati (70-59 – Dec. 15), Wofford (98-87 – Dec. 19) and Saint Mary's (61-57 – Nov. 21) … With MSU's selection to March Madness, Ben Howland became the 15th coach in NCAA history to lead four programs to the tournament. Coach Howland teams enter the weekend with a 102-29 (.779) mark during his fourth season at the helm of a program as head coach. Pittsburgh in 2002-03 and UCLA in 2006-07 made the NCAA Sweet 16 and NCAA Final Four, respectively … Coach Howland has posted a 10-0 record in NCAA Tournament games played in the state of California. All three of UCLA's final four runs under Howland began in the Golden State which includes wins over Pittsburgh and Kansas during the 2007 NCAA Sweet 16/Elite 8 Rounds in San Jose.

2. Quinndary Weatherspoon, an All-SEC First-Team performer, is the back-to-back recipient of the Bailey Howell Trophy which is awarded to the state of Mississippi's top collegiate player. He is one of 13 players in program history and the first since Dee Bost from 2010-12 to claim three All-SEC selections during his career. The SEC's active leading scorer heads into NCAA Tournament action 15 points shy of reaching 2,000 career points. He would join Jeff Malone (1980-81-82-83) and Bailey Howell (1957-58-59) as the only players to accomplish the feat. Weatherspoon has worked his way to 19.9 points, 2.7 assists and 1.9 steals with eight of his 15 games of 20-plus points during February and March. For the season, Weatherspoon has compiled double figures in 30 of 33 games and 104 times in his career The Bulldogs are 27-4 overall and have won 19 of 21 games over the last two seasons when Weatherspoon piles up 20 or more points.

3. Reggie Perry extended Mississippi State's streak to four straight years with an All-SEC Freshman Team member under fourth-year coach Ben Howland. The others are teammates Quinndary Weatherspoon (2015-16), Lamar Peters (2016-17) and Nick Weatherspoon (2017-18). Perry has dialed up 13.1 points and 8.9 rebounds per game over his last 15 appearances. He has come away with six of his eight top scoring performances and eight of his nine double-doubles during the 15-game run. Perry's 7.1 rebounds per game are ninth overall and second among SEC freshmen. He upped the mark to 9.0 per game in SEC games, third overall and tops among freshman on the SEC leaderboard.

4. Tyson Carter has racked up 14.8 points and 2.4 assists per game during his last nine games as a member of MSU's starting five. He has provided 20 games in double figures, tied for second on the team with Lamar Peters and only behind Quinndary Weatherspoon. The Starkville native has registered 10-plus points in seven of those nine games. The Bulldogs have posted a 27-6 record over the last two seasons and won 15 of 20 games this season when Carter comes away with double digit points.

5. Aric Holman and Lamar Peters eclipsed 1,000 career points during the regular season finale versus Texas A&M on March 9 … The duo became the 38th and 39th players in program history to accomplish the feat … The only other time in program history that MSU has had three 1,000-point scorers on the roster at the same time was in 2015-16 with Craig Sword, Fred Thomas and Gavin Ware … Peters is one of seven major conference players in the NCAA Tournament to pile up at least 350 points and 150 points on the season, according to Stat Pass … The Bulldogs have notched a 16-4 record when Peters dishes out five-plus assists this season … On the defensive end, Peters has tallied multiple steals in 12 of his last 14 games with his 1.9 steals per game ranked third in SEC games … MSU is 37-14 when Holman reaches double figures … He exploded for 20 points aided by a 5-for-5 shooting clip from three-point territory against No. 8 Tennessee at the SEC Tournament on March 15 … The 20-point outburst was his best since a 20-point outing at South Carolina during the SEC opener on Jan. 8 … Holman has four of his six games of 20-plus points in 2018-19 … Abdul Ado's 2.1 block per game was tied for second in the SEC rankings for conference games … His 121 career blocks over 65 career games is eighth in the MSU record book … Ado had his streak of 63 consecutive starts to begin his career come to a close versus Texas A&M, Holman earned the Senior Day start in his place … Robert Woodard II has garnered 7.0 points per game over his last 13 games which includes seven of his 13 outings with seven or more points on the season … He equaled a career-best 10 points at No. 5 Tennessee on March 5 … Nick Weatherspoon is sixth on the team with 9.6 points per game … He is scheduled to miss his 10th straight game after being suspended indefinitely from game competition for a violation of team rules on Feb. 16.

KNOW YOUR OPPONENT
The Flames (28-6) captured a co regular season championship with Lipscomb in the Atlantic Sun Conference and defeated the Bison on the road during the finals of the A-Sun Tournament.

Liberty is making its fourth NCAA Tournament appearance, and the No. 12 seed is the program's best after being a No. 16 seed in its previous three trips. The Flames earned a 15-point road win at UCLA (Dec. 29) and dropped a pair of 9-point decisions to Vanderbilt (Nov. 19) and Alabama (Dec. 18) during the regular season.

Scottie James (13.1 PPG, 8.8 RPG) and Caleb Homesley (12.0 PPG, 5.5 RPG, 2.6 APG) took home Atlantic Sun All-First Team and All-Tournament honors with James securing the A-Sun Championship MVP.

James has ripped off double figures in 11 consecutive games highlighted by a season's best 24 points against North Florida in the A-Sun Semifinals on March 7. Homesley has dialed up 10-plus points during 13 of his last 15 games. His two best scoring performances were 23 points versus Alabama and 21 points at UCLA, respectively.

Lovell Cabbil (11.5 PPG, 2.5 APG), Elijah Cuffee (7.9 PPG), Darius McGhee (7.7 PPG) and Georgia Pacheco-Ortiz (7.3 PPG) have combined to knock down 203 of the team's 300 three-pointers on the season. Cabbil has poured in double digit points in 12 of his last 14 outings and exploded for a career-high 30 points at North Alabama on Feb. 16, while Pacheco-Ortiz came away with a pair of 16-point efforts during the A-Sun Tournament.

UP NEXT
A Mississippi State win on Friday would secure the Bulldogs spot in Sunday's NCAA Round of 32 and a matchup with either No. 16 Virginia Tech or Saint Louis. Sunday's tip time would be announced following the completion of Friday's action by the NCAA. The game would be televised by CBS, TBS, TNT or tru TV.

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 17, 2019 – Humphrey Coliseum

Head Coach Ben Howland
Opening Statement
BH: "We're really excited to be in the tournament and a number 5 seed. Liberty is a very, very good team. I know their coach well. We actually coached against each other, Ritchie McKay and I, back in the Big Sky [Conference] when he was at Portland State and I was at Northern Arizona. He's also been the head coach at the University of New Mexico, and he was at Oregon State. This guy really knows what he's doing. They have an outstanding team that won their conference tournament and tied for their conference championship in the Atlantic Sun which is a very good conference."

"I'm really excited for our entire team. This is what everybody has been working for in our program this entire year. For Aric [Holman] and Q [Quinndary Weatherspoon] who have been working toward this moment for four years … It's really thrilling to break through and get back to the tournament for the first time in a decade here at Mississippi State."

"We're really, really happy for our fans and for all our supporters. We appreciate so much everyone here in the state of Mississippi that's been out to watch us play and consistently been there supporting these kids. I'm so appreciative of them and happy for them because so many fans love this program and are excited to see it back in the tournament."

Q: How big is this specifically for guys like Quinndary Weatherspoon and Aric Holman who came here four years ago with this moment in mind?
BH: "We talked about that a little after the game the other night. When we started our together, the three of us four years ago, we had a lot of work to do to reach this point and this goal. It's something we've talked about. I'm really proud of Aric and Q for their leadership, and how they've been great leaders for the others in our program. They have worked incredibly hard to help get this team and this program to this point again – A long time of being void getting into the NCAA Tournament … It took a lot of hard work, determination and good graces of God to stay healthy and to continue to stay healthy as we go into this tournament."

"I remember these guys [when they came to Mississippi State]. Aric [Holman] was a 178-pound freshman coming in, now he's 220 pounds. I remember Q [Quinndary Weatherspoon] in the weight room for the very first time – How much they both have improved. When you look at their games, individually, how far they've improved, that's what's so gratifying as a coach: When you watch players keep getting better every year. These guys have long careers ahead of them, beyond Mississippi State. They're going to keep getting better in the years to come, and that's the key to being a really good player and getting it. You have to constantly be moving forward and improving. I couldn't be happier for both of them and their families, they both come from wonderful families."

Q: What do you think of the overall draw for your team in the NCAA Tournament?
BH: "I think it seems incredibly difficult. Again, I'm only thinking about Liberty. I've always done this because of the turnaround, but I have two assistants who have already headed down to the office downloading games from Liberty's [season]. We will also start with one assistant focusing on at Virginia Tech and the other focusing on Saint Louis so that if we are fortunate enough to get past the first round on Friday, we will have a head start in preparation for Sunday's game against whoever ends up winning that other game."

"This is the greatest sporting event in all of sport in America. There's so much excitement about the NCAA Tournament. One of the big reasons is that there are so many upsets. You see the little guy so often, more than we would ever expect beating a top team. Just last year, the UMBC win over Virginia was unbelievable. It was the first time it's ever happened, a 16-1 [seed] upset. That's what makes this so exciting. It includes of all levels in Division I. It's just thrilling for us to be a part of that. The reason you want that high seed is because you want that seeding to come true. It doesn't always, that's the whole point of what I'm saying, but we want to have a chance to play multiple games in this tournament. That means we have to beat Liberty, and I know Liberty is going to be really tough. They are very sound at both ends of the floor, and we're looking forward to studying them and watching them on film."

Forward Aric Holman
Q: How special is it to be in the NCAA Tournament?
AH: "Obviously, it's a great moment just because – I've said this plenty of times, Q [Quinndary Weatherspoon] and I came here with a goal. We knew that the program was struggling when we first got here, but we kept our word and we stayed true to our grind. We promised that we were going to get it back on top. We're proud of each other, our team, our coaches and everyone that believed in us to help us get back to this stage."

Guard Quinndary Weatherspoon
Q: What are your emotions like now that you know where you are going and who you are playing?
QW: "Knowing that we got in, things like that. We just had our emotional [moment] so that's over with now. It's time to get down to practicing, seeing what Liberty does and trying to get ready to win a game."

Gameday: Five Things to Know About MSU-Liberty

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Players Mentioned

Abdul Ado

Tyson Carter

Aric Holman

Reggie Perry

Lamar Peters

Nick Weatherspoon

Quinndary Weatherspoon

Robert Woodard II

Mississippi State University Athletics