Fast Facts: Ten Things to Know for the SEC Women’s Basketball Tournament

Friday, March 8

Greenville, S.C. (Bon Secours Wellness Arena)

11:00 AM

Mississippi State

Tennessee

Buy Tickets

Fast Facts: Ten Things to Know for the SEC Women’s Basketball Tournament

March 07, 2019 | Women's Basketball

Live Video Online Audio Radio Info Live Stats Game Notes SEC Tournament Bracket

GREENVILLE, S.C. – Mississippi State's fifth-ranked women's basketball team will begin play in the 2019 SEC Tournament as the No. 1 seed on Friday against Tennessee. The Bulldogs will meet the No. 8 seed Lady Vols at 11 a.m. CT on SEC Network with Courtney Lyle, Tamika Catchings 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.

The Bulldogs (27-2, 15-1 SEC) have played in the tournament's final game in each of the past three years, but have yet to win a tournament title. State has won back-to-back SEC regular-season titles and will be presented with this year's trophy prior to Friday's contest.

Tennessee eliminated LSU on Thursday to advance to the tournament quarterfinals against MSU. The Bulldogs boast a 3-1 record all-time in the quarterfinals.

MSU has met the Lady Vols five times in the SEC Tournament with their last meeting coming in the semifinals of the 2016 tournament. State won that meeting 58-48 to advance to its first championship game since 2000.

The winner of Friday's game will advance to play in the semifinals at 4 p.m. on Saturday with that game airing on ESPNU.

GAME INFORMATION

Opponent: Tennessee
Location: Greenville, South Carolina (Bon Secours Wellness Arena)
Time: Friday, 11 a.m. CT
Watch: SEC Network (PxP – Courtney Lyle; Analyst – Tamika Catchings; Sideline – Steffi Sorensen)
Listen: MSU Radio Network and HailState.com/Plus (PxP – Jason Crowder; Analyst – Charlie Winfield)

SERIES HISTORY

Overall: UT leads 37-5
At MSU: UT leads 18-2
At UT: UT leads 15-2
Neutral Sites: UT leads 4-1
Last Meeting: MSU, 91-63 (1/10/19 in Starkville)

10 THINGS TO KNOW

The Bulldogs won their second straight SEC regular-season title on Sunday, becoming the first women's team in MSU history to achieve the feat and the first team since men's golf in 1996-97.
Seniors Jazzmun Holmes and McCowan have tied the MSU record with 126-career wins, the 4th-most in the nation since 2015-16. Their 98 wins since 2016-17 are 2nd only to UConn (100) in that span.
McCowan was named SEC Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year by the league's coaches on Monday as well as being selected to the All-SEC First Team and All-Defensive Team.
Vic Schaefer was named SEC Coach of the Year for the 2nd straight year. He is just the sixth coach in SEC history to win the coaches' voting for the honor 3 times, joining four Hall of Famers.
State has been in the AP poll 92 straight weeks, including 56 weeks in a row in the Top 10.
Mississippi State has led at halftime in all but one game this season. In fact, the Bulldogs have trailed by more than three points in just 6 games all year and only trailed by double digits twice.
McCowan is averaging 18.6 ppg and 12.0 rpg over her last 5 contests with 4 double-doubles in that span
One reason teams struggle inside the arc against MSU is because it is 9th in the nation in blocked shots, rejecting 164 on the season. In comparison, only 2 MSU teams have blocked more shots in a season.
She scored in double figures in 3 games last year, but has done so in 24 of 29 contests this season, including five 20-point efforts.
McCowan scored 36.3 percent (103-of-284) of her points in conference play off 100 offensive rebounds. That equates to 6.4 ppg off second chances.

LAST TIME OUT FOR MSU...

MSU won its 2nd straight SEC regular season championship with a 68-64 victory at No. 14/15 South Carolina. State trailed at halftime for the first time this year.
State used a 17-4 run out of halftime to regain a 49-43 lead. The Gamecocks were able to cut the lead to as few as 2 points, but MSU never trailed again.
The win was Vic Schaefer's first in Columbia and marked MSU's first consecutive wins in the series since the 2009 and 2010 seasons. It also snapped a 7-year Senior Day win streak for South Carolina.
MSU held a 51-37 edge in rebounding and held the Gamecocks to 35.3 percent from the field.

GET TO KNOW THE OPPONENT…

Tennessee earned the No. 8 seed with an 18-11 record and 7-9 mark in conference play. UT is led by Evina Westbrook's 14.9 ppg and Rennia Davis' 7.9 rpg.
The Lady Vols met the Bulldogs once this season. MSU handed the program its largest conference loss ever with a final score of 91-63, and the 28-point game was tied for UT's 2nd-largest margin of defeat ever.
Davis was named Second Team All-SEC and Zaay Green made the All-Freshman team.