Friday, March 22
Starkville
approx. 8:30 PM
Mississippi State
vs
Southern
Fast Facts: Ten Things to Know as State Opens NCAA Tournament Play
March 21, 2019 | Women's Basketball
by Brian Ogden, Assistant Coordinator/Communications
STARKVILLE – Mississippi State takes its No. 1 seed to the floor on Friday when the Bulldogs open the NCAA Tournament against Southern. Tipoff will be 30 minutes following the conclusion the first game of the day between No. 8-seed South Dakota and No. 9-seed Clemson at approximately 8:30 p.m. CT. The game will air on ESPN2 with Paul Sunderland and Steffi Sorensen on the call.
Fans can listen to the action on the MSU Radio Network and online via HailState.com/Plus and the TuneIn app. Doors will open at 5 p.m. ahead of the first game of the day at 6 p.m.
The Bulldogs (30-2, 15-1 SEC) are looking to advance to their third consecutive Final Four. MSU has been in the Associated Press Top 25 poll for 94 straight weeks, including a 58-week run inside the Top 10.
The Bulldogs lead the nation in scoring margin (+29.2) and boast the No. 2 scoring offense (86.1 ppg) in the country. They top the SEC in field goal percentage (49.2 percent), assist/turnover ratio (1.3), assists (16.6 apg), rebound margin (+12.9) and offensive rebounding (17.3 rpg).
Solid defense, a trademark of all Schaefer squads, has also been on display as the Dawgs ranked second in points allowed in the SEC (57.8 ppg). MSU forced 19.6 turnovers per game and boasted the eighth-best turnover margin in the nation.
The winner of Friday's game will advance to play on Sunday at a time to be announced against the winner of the South Dakota-Clemson matchup.
Location: Starkville, Mississippi (Humphrey Coliseum)
Time: Friday, approx. 8:30 p.m. CT
Watch: ESPN2 (PxP – Paul Sunderland; Analyst –Steffi Sorensen)
Listen: MSU Radio Network and HailState.com/Plus (PxP – Jason Crowder; Analyst – Charlie Winfield)
At MSU: MSU leads 6-0
At SU: MSU leads 2-0
Neutral Sites: N/A
Last Meeting: MSU, 69-46 (12/18/03 in Starkville)
STARKVILLE – Mississippi State takes its No. 1 seed to the floor on Friday when the Bulldogs open the NCAA Tournament against Southern. Tipoff will be 30 minutes following the conclusion the first game of the day between No. 8-seed South Dakota and No. 9-seed Clemson at approximately 8:30 p.m. CT. The game will air on ESPN2 with Paul Sunderland and Steffi Sorensen on the call.
Fans can listen to the action on the MSU Radio Network and online via HailState.com/Plus and the TuneIn app. Doors will open at 5 p.m. ahead of the first game of the day at 6 p.m.
The Bulldogs (30-2, 15-1 SEC) are looking to advance to their third consecutive Final Four. MSU has been in the Associated Press Top 25 poll for 94 straight weeks, including a 58-week run inside the Top 10.
The Bulldogs lead the nation in scoring margin (+29.2) and boast the No. 2 scoring offense (86.1 ppg) in the country. They top the SEC in field goal percentage (49.2 percent), assist/turnover ratio (1.3), assists (16.6 apg), rebound margin (+12.9) and offensive rebounding (17.3 rpg).
Solid defense, a trademark of all Schaefer squads, has also been on display as the Dawgs ranked second in points allowed in the SEC (57.8 ppg). MSU forced 19.6 turnovers per game and boasted the eighth-best turnover margin in the nation.
The winner of Friday's game will advance to play on Sunday at a time to be announced against the winner of the South Dakota-Clemson matchup.
GAME INFORMATION
Opponent: SouthernLocation: Starkville, Mississippi (Humphrey Coliseum)
Time: Friday, approx. 8:30 p.m. CT
Watch: ESPN2 (PxP – Paul Sunderland; Analyst –Steffi Sorensen)
Listen: MSU Radio Network and HailState.com/Plus (PxP – Jason Crowder; Analyst – Charlie Winfield)
SERIES HISTORY
Overall: MSU leads 8-0At MSU: MSU leads 6-0
At SU: MSU leads 2-0
Neutral Sites: N/A
Last Meeting: MSU, 69-46 (12/18/03 in Starkville)
10 THINGS TO KNOW
- Seniors Jazzmun Holmes and Teaira McCowan along with junior Zion Campbell broke the MSU career wins record with their 127th career victory. They now boast 129 career wins, the 4th-most in the nation since 2015-16. Their 101 wins since 2016-17 are 2nd only to UConn (103) in that span.
- Holmes led the nation with a 4.53 assist/turnover ratio entering the SEC Tournament. She only has 4 games this year with 3 or more turnovers against 20 contests with 5 or more assists.
- McCowan and Anriel Howard were named All-Region finalists for the WBCA Coaches' All-America team on Thursday.
- Vic Schaefer was named a finalist for the Naismith Coach of the Year award on Thursday. He is looking to be just the third coach to win the award in consecutive seasons.
- McCowan was named an ESPNW All-American last week. It was her fourth such honor in the past two seasons.
- MSU has trailed for a total of 105:01 out of 1,280 minutes this season. In the last 10 games (400 minutes), State has only trailed for a combined 44:32.
- Mississippi State is the only school in the nation this year to have its football team make a bowl game while both basketball programs earned a top-5 seed in their respective NCAA Tournaments. The Dawg's also currently boast top-15 teams in baseball, men's tennis and men's track.
- McCowan and Howard's 109 combined double-doubles are the most among a pair of teammates in the nation. State is 9-0 when they record double-doubles in the same game.
- The Dawgs have now broken last year's school-record of four 100-point efforts in a single year with seven such games this season (last vs. Arkansas - March 10).
- One reason teams struggle inside the arc against MSU is because it is 9th in the nation in blocked shots, rejecting 174, which is tied for the 2nd-most in a season in MSU program history.
LAST TIME OUT FOR MSU...
- State won its first SEC Tournament championship in dominant fashion with a 101-70 victory against Arkansas.
- The Bulldogs shot 62.5 percent from the field (40-of-64) and 66.7 percent (8-of-12) from the arc, breaking the previous MSU records for the SEC Tourney.
- Andra Espinoza-Hunter set an SEC Tournament record with 8 three-pointers for 24 points. Jazzmun Holmes dished a dozen assists, breaking MSU's SEC tournament record.
- Holmes, Anriel Howard and Teaira McCowan made the all-tournament team.
GET TO KNOW THE OPPONENT…
- Southern (20-12, 14-4 SWAC) won the SWAC tournament to earn an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament after also winning the regular-season title.
- The Jaguars are led by first-year head coach Carlos Funchess who spent the previous 13 seasons as an assistant coach at Southern.
- Southern makes its 5th NCAA Tournament appearance and first since 2010. The Jaguars are 0-4 all-time in the tournament.
- Skyla O'Bear (9.2 ppg) and Alyric Scott (9.1 ppg) lead the Jaguars in scoring.
Players Mentioned
C
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's Basketball
F
/ Women's Basketball
C
/ Women's BasketballWOMEN'S BASKETBALL | Sam Purcell SEC Tip-Off | 10/15/25
Wednesday, October 15
WOMEN'S BASKETBALL | Select Players Media Session
Wednesday, October 08
WOMEN'S BASKETBALL | Sam Purcell Media Session - 6/17/25
Tuesday, June 17
WOMEN'S BASKETBALL | NCAA TOURNAMENT | Second Round Post Game Press Conference vs. USC 03/24/25
Tuesday, March 25