Gameday: Five Things to Know About MSU-Florida

Tuesday, January 28

Gainesville, Fla.

6:00 PM

Mississippi State

Florida

Gameday: Five Things to Know About MSU-Florida

January 27, 2020 | Men's Basketball

WATCH: ESPN2 WATCH: Coach Howland Presser LISTEN: Hail State Plus Live Stats Game Notes (PDF)

by Matt Dunaway, Associate Director/Communications

GAINESVILLE, Florida – A pair of 12-7 squads return to their conference grinds after setbacks during the Big 12/SEC Challenge over the weekend as Mississippi State travels to Florida to conclude its January slate for a ESPN Family of Network Super Tuesday matchup from Exactech Arena at the Stephen C. O'Connell Center.

The Matchup: Mississippi State (12-7, 3-3 SEC) vs. Florida (12-7, 4-2 SEC)
Where: Gainesville, Florida – Exactech Arena at the Stephen C. O'Connell Center
When: Tuesday, Jan. 28, 6:00 p.m. CT
Live Stats: StatBroadcast (https://hailst.at/MBKLiveStats)

TV: ESPN2
Talent: Karl Ravech, Dick Vitale, Marty Smith
DirecTV: Ch. 209, Dish: Ch. 143, AT&T U-Verse: Ch. 1606, MaxxSouth: Ch. 1024, C Spire: Ch. 202
Online: WatchESPN App (https://hailst.at/MSUvsUF012820)

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/Internet: Ch. 384 (XM), Ch. 974 (Internet)

MSU-FLORIDA HARDWOOD SERIES
Mississippi State ended an eight-game losing streak to the Gators with a dramatic 71-68 victory last season in Starkville. Quinndary Weatherspoon hit the go-ahead driving layup and added a free throw with 3.6 seconds remaining. He scored five points inside the last 1:25 of the contest. Lamar Peters led the way with 16 points and six assists followed by Tyson Carter's 12 points on four three-pointers off the bench.

The Bulldogs will be looking to snap a six-game losing streak to Florida in Gainesville. MSU's last victory was a 68-59 decision on March 1, 2008. Ben Hansbrough pumped in 20 points, while Jarvis Varnado provided 11 points, 11 rebounds and seven blocks.

TICKETS/PROMOTIONS
General admission tickets for Mississippi State's next home game versus Tennessee on Saturday, February 1st are available for as low as $12 including fees at www.HailState.com/tickets or in person at the Mississippi State Athletics Ticket Office located on the first floor of the Bryan Building. The Humphrey Coliseum Box Office opens 90 minutes prior to tipoff on gameday.

Mississippi State also has a flex plan available where fans can purchase 10 general admission tickets for $75. The tickets can be redeemed at any remaining home game this season and used in any combination. For example, fans can use two tickets at five games or all 10 tickets at one game.

FIVE THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT MISSISSIPPI STATE
1. Mississippi State nearly overcame a 15-point first-half deficit and an 8-point halftime hole in a game it trailed the majority of the way before falling 63-62 to Oklahoma. The Bulldogs had an opportunity to win at the buzzer, but Robert Woodard II's midrange jumper misfired. Mississippi State had its three-game winning streak come to a close. Woodard II amassed a team-leading 15 points coupled with six rebounds followed by Tyson Carter's 14 points and two steals. D.J. Stewart Jr. fired in 10 of his 12 points during the second half and hauled down a career-best eight rebounds. The Bulldogs dropped to 8-1 on the season when Stewart Jr. has provided double figures. Reggie Perry was limited to seven points and six rebounds after he missed a majority of the first half due to foul trouble. He had his run of four straight games with a double-double, three consecutive via 20-point, 10-rebound efforts, come to a close. Nick Weatherspoon turned in six points, three rebounds and two assists whereas Abdul Ado and Iverson Molinar rounded out the scoring for MSU with four points apiece. Ado chipped in five rebounds and a block. The Bulldogs garnered a 43-33 rebounding advantage which marked the fifth straight game that MSU has won the battle of the boards by double figures.

2. Mississippi State will look to come out 0-3 SEC start and make the NCAA Tournament for the second straight season. The 2002-03 team also started the season with a 0-3 SEC record and ripped off an 8-2 mark over the next 10 games to make the NCAA's Big Dance. Current graduate assistant Derrick Zimmerman was the starting point guard on that squad. The SEC has had a team start at least 0-2 during conference play and make it to March Madness during four of the last five seasons … Mississippi State continues to do damage as one of the nation's best offensive rebounding teams. The Bulldogs not only lead the SEC but ranked second in the nation heading into this week's action with a 40.2 percent offensive rebounding percentage. The Bulldogs have secured 13.47 offensive rebounds per game which is first in the SEC, fourth among Power 5 teams and 13th nationally. Mississippi State also checks in first in the SEC, tied for fifth among Power 5 conference schools and tied for 10th nationally with a +8.5 rebounding margin.

3. Reggie Perry is a preseason All-America selection by Lindy's (First Team), Street & Smith (Second Team) and Athlon Magazines (Third Team) in addition to being named a consensus All-SEC First-Team honoree. He is coming off a sensational offseason where had the opportunity to attend the NBA Draft Combine and workout for several NBA franchises. Perry also captured a gold medal for the USA U19 Team and was the tournament's MVP at the 2019 FIBA World Cup in Greece. He was listed as a preseason candidate for six major awards which include the John R. Wooden, Karl Malone, Lute Olson, Naismith, NABC and Oscar Robertson. Perry, the SEC's Player of the Week for the week of 01/20, has amassed double figures in 17 of his last 19 games headed by 18.7 PPG and 10.9 RPG over his last 10 outings. He has piled up 20-plus points in five of those appearances and posted his top three scoring performances against SEC opponents with a career-high tying 26 points against Arkansas on 01/22, 23 points versus Missouri on 01/14 and 22 points during the Georgia game on 01/18. The last time a Mississippi State player compiled three consecutive games of 20-plus points and 10-plus rebounds was Rickey Brown who fired in six straight efforts to start the 1979-80 season. Overall, Perry's 16.4 points per game are tied for 6th, while his 10.1 rebounds per game headline the SEC. He has secured a SEC-leading 11 double-doubles this season highlighted by seven in his last nine games. Perry's 20 career double-doubles are tops among SEC active players, and the most by a MSU player during his freshman and sophomore seasons combined since Erick Dampier also compiled 20 during the 1993-94 and 1994-95 seasons. He is one of five Power Five conference players to average a double-double in 2019-20. The list includes Luke Garza (Iowa), John Mooney (Notre Dame), Daniel Oturo (Minnesota) and Xavier Tillman (Michigan State). MSU has had 11 players overall and three players average a season double-double during the 2000s. The 2000s list includes Lawrence Roberts (16.9 PPG, 10.1 RPG in 2003-04; 16.9 PPG, 11.0 RPG in 2004-05), Jarvis Varnado (13.8 PPG, 10.3 RPG in 2009-10) and Arnett Moultrie (16.4 PPG, 10.5 RPG) in 2011-12).

4. Tyson Carter has improved his points, rebounds, assists and steals average over his first three seasons at Mississippi State. The senior guard ranks inside the league's leaders in points (13.6 – 16th), assists (3.6 – 10th) and assist-to-turnover ratio (1.8 – 4th). Carter has regained his form en route to 14.3 PPG and 3.4 APG over his last four games, all coming off the bench. The Bulldogs are 35-10 since the start of 2017-18 when Carter scores 10 points or more and have won eight of 11 games when the Starkville native reaches the 20-point plateau. He heads into Tuesday's game with 1,180 career points and passed his father, Greg Carter, on the MSU scoring list during the Missouri game on 01/14. The Carter's are the SEC's only father-son tandem to score over 1,000 points apiece. Tyson's 1,180 points now rank 28th in program history, and he's 20 points points shy of passing Mario Austin (2001-02-03). He also are third among SEC active players only behind Ole Miss' Breein Tyree and LSU's Skylar Mays. Carter has canned 198 treys which is tops among SEC players. He moved into fifth place on the program list with two three's at Oklahoma on 01/25.

5. Nick Weatherspoon has been a welcomed addition back to the starting lineup where he has posted 13.0 points, 3.7 assists and 1.1 steals per game … He has started in 68 of 69 career games and secured double digit points in seven of his nine appearances sparked by a 20-point performance at Alabama on 01/08 … Mississippi State has won six of seven games during Weatherspoon's career when he has dished out five or more assists … His 4.5 APG against SEC opponents are fourth on the league leaderboard, and the Canton native has distributed 14 assists against two turnovers over his last two SEC games … Abdul Ado has secured two double-doubles and heads into the Florida game one rebound shy of 500 for his career … His last double-double was 12 points and 12 rebounds at LSU on 01/11 … Ado's season's bests are 17 points and 12 rebounds against Radford on 12/18 … Ado has been rated among the SEC's best shot blockers during each of the last three seasons … His 1.7 blocks per game in 2019-20 are good enough for a fifth-place tie on the SEC leaderboard … Ado has racked up 157 career blocks over 86 career games and has climbed to seventh place on MSU's all-time list … His 1.83 career BPG are third in program history only behind legendary shot blockers Jarvis Varnado (2007-08-09-10) and Erick Dampier (1994-95-96) … Robert Woodard II has provided 11.5 points, 7.5 rebounds and 1.4 steals per game on the season … The 7.5 RPG are 7th whereas the 1.4 SPG are tied for 10th on the SEC list … Woodard II and Perry possess two of the SEC's three 20-plus point, 15-plus rebound games this season, Florida's Kerry Blackshear Jr. registered 24 points and 16 rebounds against Alabama on 01/04 … Woodard II has already collected double figures in 11 games which is third on the team … He has registered 10-plus points in seven of his last 11 outings after having three games of 10-plus during the entire 2018-19 season … Iverson Molinar and D.J. Stewart Jr. have teamed for 14 games of 10-plus points during their freshman season … The Carter-Molinar-Stewart Jr. trio has accounted for 226 of the team's 308 bench points (73.4 percent) when coming off the bench … Stewart Jr. and Molinar provided SEC career-highs of 14 points and eight points, respectively, during the Arkansas game on 01/22 … Molinar's season-high is 21 points aided by four treys against Tulane on 11/21 whereas his SEC scoring-best is seven points at Alabama on 01/08 … The Bulldogs are 8-1 this season when Stewart Jr. secured 10-plus points … Stewart Jr. has secured 10-plus in back-to-back games four times this season … KeyShawn Feazell and Prince Oduro round out to MSU's rotation … Oduro's season-high is six points against Tulane on 11/21 and at Coastal Carolina on 11.24, while Feazell secured nine points versus New Orleans on 11/17.

KNOW YOUR OPPONENT
The Gators are coming off back-to-back losses at SEC frontrunner LSU in overtime and versus No. 1 Baylor during the Big 12 /SEC Challenge. The Mississippi State game begins a stretch for Florida of seven consecutive games against teams they're ahead of in the SEC standings.

The Gators floor general is Andrew Nembhard (11.3 PPG, 6.2 APG) who has 10 games of five or more assists on the season. He has distributed 118 of the team's 221 assists this season which includes 39 of 74 during SEC action. Nembhard has a pair of double-doubles in conference play, most recently a 15-point, 10-assist performance at LSU on 01/21.

Kerry Blackshear Jr. (14.5 PPG, 8.4 RPG) has pumped in double figures during 16 of 19 games. However, one of the three outings was a 9-point effort against Baylor last time out. Blackshear Jr. has collected eight double-doubles, six coming in non-conference action. His last double-double was 11 points and 16 rebounds in UF's upset of then No. 4 Auburn on 01/18.

Keyontae Johnson (13.1 PPG, 6.6 RPG, 1.1 SPG) has registered 10-plus points during six of his last eight appearances. He has upped his scoring mark to 19.0 PPG in his last two games headed by his third 20-plus point outing against top-ranked Baylor. Johnson has tucked away a trio of double-doubles and notched 10 points and 12 rebounds versus Alabama on 01/04 in the SEC opener.

Noah Locke (10.1 PPG) has dialed up 46 of his 66 field goals from three-point territory and has hit multiple triples in 15 straight games, while Omar Payne (5.1 PPG, 4.5 RPG, 1.2 BPG) has broke into the starting five for the Gators in seven of the last eight games. He exploded for career-highs of 19 points and 11 rebounds during the Auburn win.

Florida's top options off the bench have been Scottie Lewis (8.1 PPG, 1.6 BPG, 1.3 SPG), Ques Glover (5.3 PPG) and Tre Mann (5.1 PPG). Lewis made an impact with nine points and six rebounds at LSU.

UP NEXT
Mississippi State has back-to-back Saturday home games to begin its February schedule as the Bulldogs tangle with Tennessee. Tip time is slated for 1 p.m. CT from Humphrey Coliseum. The game will be televised by ESPNU and carried online courtesy of the Watch ESPN 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
January 27, 2020

Head Coach Ben Howland
Q: How do you talk to your team about bouncing back and not giving up after having back-to-back losses by one point on the road?
BH: "We watch the film, and we talk about it. It came down to a one-point game, and we had the ball [at Oklahoma]. The last time, we were up one with 4.5 seconds left [at LSU]. They had to go the full-length of the court and do a spin-dribble to an unbelievable shot that they made. This one, we had a chance. I was really proud of how we fought back. We were down big during the first half [at Oklahoma], and we had Reggie [Perry] with three fouls. It showed a lot of character the way we fought back. So, I was really pleased with our effort especially defensively, to hold that good of an offensive team to 38 percent."

"You just have to move to the next one, learn from that and have it be something that motivates you to be better. There are so many plays that add up during the game. If we would have done better, we wouldn't have been in that situation. We have to give them [Oklahoma] credit."

"There was a shot with about 3:30 left that [Austin] Reaves made that D.J. [Stewart Jr.] couldn't have defended any better. He [Reaves] was 3-for-14, and it was one of his three baskets. It was over an outstretched contest [on defense]. He made it when we had the lead up 58-57. It was a bad shot. It's a shot you say, 'Oh yeah, we want him to take that shot,' if you're the coach. Credit to him, he made it. So, obviously, that was tough."

Q: How much of an impact did Kobe Bryant have on the sports world, and what are your thoughts about the legacy he is going to leave on the world?
BH: "I was really shocked and saddened. We were actually about to hit the floor, and we were in the weight room as a team when I was made aware of what happened. I went in to bring our team together and tell them what happened. We had a moment of silence and a prayer for his family. Obviously, most importantly for him and his daughter and the other seven people involved."

"I had the chance to meet Kobe a number of times being in L.A. when he was with the Lakers. Bryan Shaw, who is one of my recruits that I had as an assistant at UCSB [UC Santa Barbara] and that played in the NBA, was actually close with Kobe because he knew him since he was nine years old. He played with his dad in Italy after his first year with the Celtics and became very, very close with Kobe having played with him every day as a nine-year-old. Then, he [Shaw] became his teammate and his coach. It's just awful."

"He was such an international figure. He did so much in Asia. For example, the most popular player in China is Kobe Bryant. It's not Yao Ming, it's Kobe. He was the player that everyone loved. He did a lot of promoting of basketball in Asia. It's just surreal, 41 years old and your 13-year-old daughter. I was just really hallow the rest of the day. I feel terrible. It also makes you realize you never know when God is going to call you home. You have to enjoy and be thankful for every day – be secure in your belief in the Almighty, and His son who came to save us."

Q: What matchups stick out to you for Florida?
BH: "We have a number of important games coming up. Obviously, Florida is a really good team. They're coming off of two losses in a row against two really good teams in LSU and Baylor. They had a chance at the end at LSU. They had a layup to tie the game with 0.5 seconds left, and they waved it off. It was heck of a play, Florida is really good on their out-of-bounds plays. They were right there and put it into overtime. Baylor is the number one team in the country, and they're obviously not going to want to lose three in a row. We know we're going to get their very best game tomorrow."

"[Andrew] Nembhard is the whole key to their team, and he's absolutely phenomenal. He has half their assists and has the ball in his hands the entire time. When you look at the assists on the season, he has 118 out of their 221. So, he has over half of their assists. When you go to conference, it is even more astounding. In conference, he is 39 and the next closest guy has nine. So, he has 39 of their 74 assists. He has the ball all the time, and he makes great decisions. He is a phenomenal floor leader, and they have really good players around him."

"[Noah] Locke is shooting 54 percent from three in conference, that's unbelievable. I think that [Kerry] Blackshear [Jr.] is a great player. He really does a lot of things well for them which includes passing. When I look at [Keyontae] Johnson, he's shooting the ball so much better than he did a year ago. He's really improving his game. He was the MVP of the Charleston Tournament that they won [in November] the same time we were down in South Carolina. He is an outstanding player. He takes 26 percent of his shots from three and shoots 41 percent, but he's a really good athlete and finisher around the basket."

"They have a number of freshmen. This kid, [Omar] Payne, who starts for them on the inside. I watched them on film against Auburn. He has 19 points in that game. He was 9-for-9 in the field. He's a beast. He's really a good player. They have Scottie Lewis that is projected in the [NBA Draft] first round and doesn't even start for them. He's a five-star guy and a big-time player. [Tre] Mann also is a very good player."

Q: One of Reggie's [Perry] best games was against Georgia and their talented freshman Anthony Edwards. Now playing against [Kerry] Blackshear [Jr.], do you think he's going to have a little bit extra to prove how good he is on a day to day basis again?
BH: "Yeah, I think that goes every day. I don't even think of it like that. Maybe a kid does. Every day, you have to bring your best. He [Perry] has a bulls-eye on his chest. That's the main thing, everyone is looking at him, MVP of the USA 19-and-under team. He had a terrific homestand in our last three games. Obviously, the foul trouble was really problematic for us and the technical in the last game kept him out most of the first half and the beginning of the second half. He only played 22 minutes, which I'm assuming is a season low by far. So, obviously, we need him in there. It's about us beating Florida, not about Reggie beating Blackshear. I know Reggie gets that."