Gameday: Five Things to Know About MSU-No. 15 Kentucky

Tuesday, February 4

Lexington, Ky.

8:00 PM

Mississippi State

#15 Kentucky

Gameday: Five Things to Know About MSU-No. 15 Kentucky

February 03, 2020 | Men's Basketball

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

by Matt Dunaway, Associate Director/Communications

LEXINGTON, Kentucky – Mississippi State will look to build on its SEC five-game winning streak when the Bulldogs head to the Bluegrass for an ESPN Super Tuesday matchup with No. 15 Kentucky at Rupp Arena.

The Matchup: Mississippi State (14-7, 5-3 SEC) vs. No. 15 Kentucky (16-5, 6-2 SEC)
Where: Lexington, Kentucky – Rupp Arena
When: Tuesday, Feb. 4, 8:00 p.m. CT
Live Stats: StatBroadcast (https://hailst.at/MBKLiveStats)

TV: ESPN
Talent: Karl Ravich, Jimmy Dykes, Marty Smith
DirecTV: Ch. 206, Dish: Ch. 140, AT&T U-Verse: Ch. 1602, MaxxSouth: Ch. 1023, C Spire: Ch. 200
Online: WatchESPN App (https://hailst.at/MSUvsUK020420)

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. 381 (XM), Ch. 971 (Internet)

MSU-KENTUCKY HARDWOOD SERIES
The Wildcats have won 13 straight in the series under John Calipari after Mississippi State strung together a three-game run during the 2006-07, 2007-08 and 2008-09 seasons before his arrival in Lexington.

The Bulldogs sliced an 18-point second-half deficit down to as close as one point and had an opportunity to tie the contest inside the final 15 seconds. However, Kentucky was able to get a defensive stop and walk away with the 71-67 decision. Quinndary Weatherspoon and Lamar Peters, who are now in the NBA G League, scored 26 of their 30 combined points fueled by seven three-pointers during the second half.
Mississippi State's last victory in the series was a 66-57 triumph at Rupp Arena on Feb. 3, 2009. The Bulldogs buried 14 three-pointers courtesy of Dee Bost, Ravern Johnson, Barry Stewart and Phil Turner who each finished in double figures. Jarvis Varnado added six points, 12 rebounds and seven blocks.

TICKETS/PROMOTIONS
General admission tickets for Saturday's matchup versus Vanderbilt 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.

Fans are encouraged to wear white for Saturday's "White Out" of the Commodores. The first 500 students will receive a special edition 1994-95 replica jersey tank in honor of the 1994-95 Sweet 16 team who will be honored during the game. Other promotions include 350 Hail State Rewards points for students, 150 points for Bully's Kids Club members and an opportunity to win $500 for any Hail State Rewards member.

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 made it five consecutive SEC victories behind another dynamite second-half performance as the Bulldogs knocked off Tennessee, 86-73, to end a four-game losing streak to the Volunteers. State erased its second consecutive halftime deficit, its fourth halftime hole of the season and its 19th overall under fifth-year coach Ben Howland. D.J. Stewart Jr. exploded for 16 of his career-high 20 points aided by a career-best four treys during the second half. The redshirt freshman was 6-of-9 from the field and knocked down a back-to-back triples 27 seconds apart to cap an 18-5 spurt midway through the second half which rallied the Bulldogs from a five-point deficit to an eight-point advantage. Reggie Perry compiled his SEC-leading 12th double-double of his sophomore campaign and the 21st of his career en route to a game-leading 24 points and 12 rebounds. He was extremely active on the interior and hit on 12-of-15 at the free throw line. The Thomasville, Georgia, native has posted 20-plus point performances in five of the last six games. Nick Weatherspoon turned in another strong all-around performance from the point guard position. He nearly garnered a triple-double with 11 points on 4-of-5 shooting coupled with a career-high nine assists and a career-best eight rebounds. Robert Woodard II dialed up 14 points on 7-of-10 shooting to collect his ninth double-digit scoring performance in his last 13 outings. Tyson Carter and Abdul Ado worked their way to eight and six points, respectively. Ado chipped in six rebounds whereas Carter tacked on a pair of assists. Mississippi State held a 36-24 rebounding advantage and has outrebounded its opponents in 16 of 21 games overall highlighted by seven of eight SEC opponents. MSU has won the battle of the boards by double figures in six of its last seven games.

2. Mississippi State has played the SEC's third toughest schedule and 24th toughest slate in the nation. The Bulldogs played five non-conference opponents who won at least a share of their 2018-19 conference regular season crown. In addition to its strength of schedule, Mississippi State has played among the fewest games in the nation against opponents who are ranked outside the NET's top 200. The SEC possesses four of the 10 teams who have played two or fewer games against teams ranked above 200 in the NET which include Mississippi State, Alabama, Arkansas and Florida. Those four are joined by California, Duke, Georgia Tech, Minnesota and Oregon. West Virginia leads the nation and has played only one game versus a team with a 200-plus NET ranking … 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 39.9 percent offensive rebounding percentage. The Bulldogs have secured a +8.4 rebounding margin which is first in the SEC, fifth among Power 5 teams and eighth nationally. Mississippi State also checks in second in the SEC, fifth among Power 5 teams and 16th nationally with 13.05 offensive rebounds per game.

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 preseason 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, reigning Naismith Trophy National Player of the Week and two-time SEC Player of the Week, has amassed double figures in 19 of his last 21 games headed by 20.3 PPG and 110 RPG over his last 10 outings. He has piled up 20-plus points in seven of those appearances and posted his top five scoring performances against SEC opponents during the run fueled by a career-high 27 points at Florida on 01/28, 26 points against Arkansas on 01/22, 24 points versus Tennessee on 02/01, 23 points against Missouri on 01/14 and 22 points during the Georgia game on 01/18. Perry also added 10-plus rebounds in the Missouri, Arkansas and Georgia games from 01/14 to 01/22 to become the first MSU player to compile three consecutive performances of 20-plus points and 10-plus rebounds since Rickey Brown who fired in six straight efforts to start the 1979-80 season … Overall, Perry's 17.2 points per game are 4th, while his 10.0 rebounds per game headline the SEC. He has secured a SEC-leading 12 double-doubles this season highlighted by eight in his last 11 games. Perry's 21 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 (13.3 – T-20th), free throw percentage (86.8 – 3rd) and assist-to-turnover ratio (1.8 – 4th). Carter has regained his form and dialed up 10-plus points in five of his last six games coming off the bench. He has piled up 77 of MSU's 116 bench points (66.4 percent) during that span. The Bulldogs are 36-10 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 1,200 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 1,200 points now rank 27th in program history, and he's 20 points shy of passing Leland Mitchell (1961-62-63) and Dave Williams (1966-67-68). He also are fourth among SEC active players behind Ole Miss' Breein Tyree, LSU's Skylar Mays and Tennessee's Jordan Bowden. Carter has canned 199 treys which is tops among SEC players. He moved into fifth place on the program list with a pair of three-balls at Oklahoma on 01/25.

5. Nick Weatherspoon has been a welcomed addition back to the starting lineup where he has posted 12.2 points, 4.5 assists and 1.1 steals per game … He has started in 70 of 71 career games and secured double digit points in nine of his 11 appearances sparked by a 20-point performance at Alabama on 01/08 … Mississippi State has won eight of nine games during Weatherspoon's career when he has dished out five or more assists … His 5.5 APG against SEC opponents are third on the league leaderboard, and the Canton native has distributed 33 assists against seven turnovers over his last five games … Weatherspoon filled the box score 11 points coupled with career-best of nine assists and eight rebounds during the Tennessee game … Abdul Ado became the 36th player in program history to surpass 500 career rebounds at Florida on 01/28 … He enters Tuesday's action in 31st place on the MSU's all-time list and his 6.8 rebounds are 12th on the SEC list … Ado has a pair of double-doubles, the last double-double was 12 points and 12 rebounds at LSU on 01/11 … His 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 fourth place on the SEC leaderboard … Ado has racked up 160 career blocks over 88 career games and has climbed to seventh place on MSU's all-time list … His 1.82 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 11.9 points, 7.1 rebounds and 1.3 steals per game on the season … The 7.1 RPG are 9th whereas the 1.3 SPG are just outside the SEC's top 10 … 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 13 games which is tied for second on the team … He has registered 10-plus points in nine of his last 13 outings after having three games of 10-plus during the entire 2018-19 season … Woodard II has a trio of double-doubles on the season, his last was 12 points and 12 rebounds against No. 8 Auburn on 01/04 … Iverson Molinar and D.J. Stewart Jr. have teamed for 15 games of 10-plus points during their freshman season … The Carter-Molinar-Stewart Jr. trio has accounted for 246 of the team's 331 bench points (74.3 percent) when coming off the bench … The Bulldogs are 9-1 this season when Stewart Jr. secures 10-plus points … Stewart Jr. has upped his averages to 12.5 PPG and 4.8 RPG over his last four games (01/22-02/01) … He has amassed three of his top 5 scoring performances over that span … Stewart Jr. exploded for a season's best 20 points aided by 16 points on four treys during the second half versus Tennessee on 02/01 … Molinar provided a SEC career-high eight points 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 … 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 Wildcats have won eight of their last 10 games with their lone losses on the road to South Carolina (81-78 on 01/15) and to Auburn (75-66 on 02/01). Kentucky has ripped off 11 consecutive victories inside Rupp Arena since an early-season 67-64 setback to Evansville on 11/12.

Immanuel Quickley (14.3 PPG, 4.3 RPG), Nick Richards (14.0 PPG, 8.2 RPG, 2.3 BPG), Tyrese Maxey (13.6 PPG, 4.1 RPG) and Ashton Hagans (12.8 PPG, 7.0 APG, 4.0 RPG, 2.1 SPG) lead a balanced offensive attack for Big Blue.

Quickley has pumped in 10-plus points in 10 straight games and in 16 of 20 games overall. He has fired in 20-plus points four times during his 10-game streak, most recently a 21-point effort at Texas Tech on 01/25 and a season-high tying 23 points at Auburn on 02/01. Quickley has drained a team-leading 36 treys and his 91.3 percent clip on free throws is seventh nationally.

Richards has hit on 65.9 percent of his field goals which ranks eighth nationally and compiled nine double-doubles which is second on the SEC leaderboard only behind MSU's Reggie Perry. He turned in a career-best performance with 25 points, 14 rebounds and four blocks during the Texas Tech game. Richards has tucked away 10-plus points in nine of his last 10 outings, the lone exception was a 7-point effort at Auburn last time out.

Maxey, a three-time SEC Freshman of the Week honoree, has put forth his best performances in the big games for UK averaging 19.4 PPG versus ranked opponents. He racked up a career-best 27 points versus No. 3 Louisville on 12/28 and came away with a SEC season's best 22 points at No. 17 Auburn on 02/01.

Hagans, a midseason finalist for the Bob Cousy Award given to the nation's top point guard, is eighth nationally with 7.0 assists per game. He had his streak of 17 consecutive with five-plus assists come to a close at No. 17 Auburn where he battled foul trouble. Hagans has notched 10-plus points in six of his last eight appearances headed by 23 points versus Georgia on 01/21.

Kentucky's top performers off the bench has been Nate Sestina (6.2 PPG) and Keion Brooks Jr. (5.0 PPG). Sestina has connected on 16 of his 37 field goals from beyond the three-point arc, while Brooks Jr. provided a boost with 10 points during UK's win at Arkansas on 01/18.

UP NEXT
Mississippi State returns home to meet Vanderbilt on Saturday. Tip time is slated for 7:30 p.m. CT from Humphrey Coliseum. The game will be televised by SEC Network 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
February 3, 2020

Q: What are you preparing for in order to get a win at Rupp Arena?
BH: "We're preparing for their team. They're obviously a great team and really well-coached. A Hall of Fame coach [in John Calipari], excellent back court. I think [Ashton] Hagans is really special. He'll be up for defensive player of the year. His hands are just lethal. He's so good at anticipating and creating havoc with his defense on and off the ball. [Immanuel] Quickley is playing unbelievably. He's shooting 48 percent from three in the conference which is mind boggling. [Tyrese] Maxey is an NBA player with incredible talent. Those three guards are incredibly difficult to match up with because they all drive it and shoot it. They're really good in transition."

"Then, Nick Richards has been an unbelievable story in terms of his growth as a player and how dominant he's been over the course of the last dozen games or so. He's a special talent and obviously a huge factor for them offensively. Both not only on the block, but he can face up and make 15-17 foot-shots which I didn't know he could do until this year. He looks really good doing it. He's an animal on the offensive glass. Every time the man guarding him goes to block, he's going to dunk it if they miss unless you're unbelievably good at rotating down and blocking him out. He's a great rim protector. [E.J.] Montgomery is a really good player and really long. He's a good defender playing very well. They've got really good minutes coming off their bench. [Nate] Sestina is a really good shooter. He stretches the floor. He's a graduate transfer that they picked up from Bucknell. They have a lot of talent and a lot of ability."

Q: Is the factor of the team playing better in the second half based on your halftime adjustments, or is it more the players seeing what works versus what doesn't work?
BH: "I thought we got off a good starts in our first two games in our three game homestand against both Missouri and Georgia. From that point, it's been a slow start it seems like [the last four games since then]. We've got no chance tomorrow unless we play 40 consecutive minutes of really good basketball. That's what we've got to do as a team moving forward."

Q: When you have a matchup between two stars like Reggie Perry and Nick Richards, is it difficult for the player sometimes to keep his focus?
BH: "I think you guys [the media] are making it more of a big deal than they do. This is something that is a great story, but Reggie is trying to win the game for Mississippi State. Nick Richards is trying to win the game for the University of Kentucky. I don't think they're going into this game thinking, 'I'm going against Reggie Perry,' or 'I'm going against Nick Richards.' It is what it is. There is someone really good on that team every night, and it's about us winning. Again, that's a media driven story, versus anything coming from any of those players."

Q: Is there any advantages that most of your guys have played in Rupp Arena before?
BH: "Yeah, I think that obviously when you have experience of having to been through it or been somewhere before, that helps you. At the end of the day, it's a basketball court. They've got a great home court advantage. You've got to play really well to beat anybody on the road, much less Kentucky which has the best home court advantage in our conference. It's just a great atmosphere for basketball on a national level. I don't know if there's any better home court in the entire country."

Q: How rare is it to have a player like D.J. Stewart Jr. who is so good at defense this early in his career?
BH: "D.J. is a great on-ball defender, but D.J. has got to get better off the ball. If you're really watching the game, and I'm telling him this all the time, he's not rotating down when our bigs are going over. He had eight defensive rebounds for us at Oklahoma, but he's got to be more consistent on that end."

"On the ball, he's terrific. Contesting shots, he's unbelievable. Staying in front of the ball and pressuring the ball, he's great. But he's got to become a much better basketball player defensively off the ball. With his length and his anticipation, he can be really special that way as well. He has a lot of growth and a much higher ceiling on the defensive level that he's going to be able to reach as he continues to learn and continues to grow."