Field Update for Men's Hoops at Space Coast Challenge
November 09, 2020 | Men's Basketball
by Matt Dunaway, Associate Director/Communications
MELBOURNE, Florida – The Mississippi State men's basketball program will open its 2020-21 season at the Space Coast Challenge, formally Cancun Challenge, announced Monday by tournament organizers.
The season opener for the Bulldogs with Clemson is not affected and is set for approximately a 7:30 p.m. CT tipoff on Wednesday, November 25 from Titan Field House, located on the campus of Eastern Florida State College in Melbourne, Florida.
Liberty, the defending two-time Atlantic Sun regular season champions, has replaced Illinois State in the four-team tournament field and will draw Purdue at 5 p.m. CT on Wednesday, November 25.
Tournament action concludes on Thursday, November 26 with the championship game at approximately 7:30 p.m. CT preceded by the third place game at 5 p.m. CT. All four games from the Space Coast Challenge will be televised by CBS Sports Network.
Triple Crown Sports also announced Monday that no fans are being allowed to attend the event due to a series of established protocols, which include daily COVID-19 testing to protect the health of the student-athletes, coaches, officials and staff attending the Space Coast Challenge.
"I am grateful for our teams, their support, their collaboration, and especially their communication. Re-imagining how this event might look for 2020 required patience from our event partners, and we're thrilled to have games on the horizon," event director Sarah Sullivan said. "I know it has been difficult to plan, and those plans have changed a million times, but our facility, hotels, restaurants, tourism/community, and medical partners have all stuck by us and worked daily to get everything figured out."
Mississippi State won 11 of its last 15 SEC games to earn a top four finish in the conference standings last season, the program's highest overall regular season finish since 2010-11. The Bulldogs have tucked away three consecutive 20-plus win seasons under sixth-year coach Ben Howland. The last time the program accomplished that feat was the 2007-08, 2008-09 and 2009-10 seasons. The 68 victories also are the fourth-highest total in program history for a three-year span.
Mississippi State will look to punch its return ticket to March Madness in 2020-21 led by returnees Abdul Ado, Iverson Molinar and D.J. Stewart Jr. The trio will be joined by talented transfers in Javian Davis, Jalen Johnson and Tolu Smith along with a skillful freshmen class headed by Derek Fountain, Andersson Garcia, Cameron Matthews, Keondre Montgomery and Deivon Smith.
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.
MELBOURNE, Florida – The Mississippi State men's basketball program will open its 2020-21 season at the Space Coast Challenge, formally Cancun Challenge, announced Monday by tournament organizers.
The season opener for the Bulldogs with Clemson is not affected and is set for approximately a 7:30 p.m. CT tipoff on Wednesday, November 25 from Titan Field House, located on the campus of Eastern Florida State College in Melbourne, Florida.
Liberty, the defending two-time Atlantic Sun regular season champions, has replaced Illinois State in the four-team tournament field and will draw Purdue at 5 p.m. CT on Wednesday, November 25.
Tournament action concludes on Thursday, November 26 with the championship game at approximately 7:30 p.m. CT preceded by the third place game at 5 p.m. CT. All four games from the Space Coast Challenge will be televised by CBS Sports Network.
Triple Crown Sports also announced Monday that no fans are being allowed to attend the event due to a series of established protocols, which include daily COVID-19 testing to protect the health of the student-athletes, coaches, officials and staff attending the Space Coast Challenge.
"I am grateful for our teams, their support, their collaboration, and especially their communication. Re-imagining how this event might look for 2020 required patience from our event partners, and we're thrilled to have games on the horizon," event director Sarah Sullivan said. "I know it has been difficult to plan, and those plans have changed a million times, but our facility, hotels, restaurants, tourism/community, and medical partners have all stuck by us and worked daily to get everything figured out."
Mississippi State won 11 of its last 15 SEC games to earn a top four finish in the conference standings last season, the program's highest overall regular season finish since 2010-11. The Bulldogs have tucked away three consecutive 20-plus win seasons under sixth-year coach Ben Howland. The last time the program accomplished that feat was the 2007-08, 2008-09 and 2009-10 seasons. The 68 victories also are the fourth-highest total in program history for a three-year span.
Mississippi State will look to punch its return ticket to March Madness in 2020-21 led by returnees Abdul Ado, Iverson Molinar and D.J. Stewart Jr. The trio will be joined by talented transfers in Javian Davis, Jalen Johnson and Tolu Smith along with a skillful freshmen class headed by Derek Fountain, Andersson Garcia, Cameron Matthews, Keondre Montgomery and Deivon Smith.
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.
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