Photo by: Roger Steinman Photos
Gameday: Five Things to Know about MSU-North Alabama
November 09, 2021 | Men's Basketball
by Matt Dunaway, Director/Communications
STARKVILLE – Mississippi State embarks on the 2021-22 season as the Bulldogs open a four-game homestand versus North Alabama on Wednesday at Humphrey Coliseum.
The Matchup: Mississippi State (0-0, 0-0 SEC) vs. North Alabama (0-0, 0-0 A-Sun)
Where: Starkville, Mississippi – Humphrey Coliseum
When: Wednesday, November 10, 7:00 p.m. CT
Live Stats: StatBroadcast (https://hailst.at/MBKLiveStats)
Stream: SEC Network+ (Watch ESPN App Only)
Talent: Bart Gregory, Charlie Winfield
Online: Watch ESPN App (Cable Subscription Required)
(https://hailst.at/WatchESPN)
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); The Varsity Network App
Sirius/XM: Ch. 138 (Sirius), Ch. 201 (XM), 964 (Internet)
FIVE THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT MISSISSIPPI STATE
1. Mississippi State has piled up three consecutive 20-plus win seasons from 2017-18 to 2019-20 and have made three consecutive postseason appearances. The 86 total victories for the Bulldogs since the start of 2017-18 is tied for fourth-highest in the SEC with Arkansas and LSU. The Bulldogs trail only Auburn, Kentucky and Tennessee.
2. Mississippi State's coaching staff led by Ben Howland along with assistant coaches George Brooks, Korey McCray and Ernie Zeigler are in their seventh season together in Starkville during the 2021-22 season. The Bulldogs coaching quartet is second-longest tenured group at the Power 5 level only behind the West Virginia staff entering its 10th season under Bob Huggins.
3. Iverson Molinar and Tolu Smith are State's top returnees from last season. Molinar has been showered with numerous preseason accolades as a consensus All-SEC Preseason First-Team selection. He also earned a spot on the Wooden Award Preseason Watch List.
Molinar heads into the 2021-22 season with 684 points and 109 assists during 61 career games. He has racked up 31 games in double figures and fired in 10-plus points during 30 of his 37 starts. The Bulldogs are 8-1 when Molinar has amassed 20-plus points.
Molinar was among the SEC leaders in 16.7 points per game (4th), 47.8 field goal clip (5th), seven games of 20-plus points (T-7th) and 80.4 foul line mark (12th). His 500 total points was eighth-highest for a sophomore in program history.
Smith will be sidelined at the start of the season due to injury. He is the defending SEC rebounding champion and also paced the conference in double-doubles last season. Smith's top performance last season with a 27-point, 14-rebound effort against Florida.
4. Mississippi State added a quartet of impact transfers in Garrison Brooks (North Carolina), D.J. Jeffries (Memphis), Shakeel Moore (North Carolina State) and Rocket Watts (Michigan State). The four players
amassed 2,388 career points at their previous stops.
Brooks was a 2019-20 All-ACC Second-Team selection and was named the 2019-20 ACC's Most Improved Player of the Year. He was ranked among the ACC's top five in points (16.8 – 4th), rebounds (8.5 – 5th) and field goal percentage (53.5 – 2nd) that season.
Brooks scored 1,276 points, grabbed 798 rebounds and started 108 games over his four seasons at North Carolina. He has amassed 43 of his 60 games in double figures, headed by 12 of his 13 outings of 20-plus points over the last two seasons.
Jeffries was a 2020-21 preseason All-AAC Second-Team pick. He secured 482 points and 26 games in double figures over his two seasons at Memphis He was rated the nation's No. 25 prospect by ESPN.com and named the state of Mississippi's top prospect for the Class of 2019.
Moore collected 75.3 percent of his points, 76.2 percent of his rebounds, 72.1 percent of his assists and 68.6 percent of his steals against ACC opponents during his freshman season at NC State. He collected double figures on five occasions, all against ACC foes.
Watts tallied 460 points, 121 assists and collected 2019-20 All-Big Ten Freshman Team honors during his time at Michigan State. He piled up 67.4 percent of his points and recorded 12 of his 18 games in double figures against Big Ten opponents.
Watts had a knack for saving his best scoring performances against ranked opponents. Three of his top five scoring efforts were during wins over top 10 competition last year. He poured in 20 points at No. 6 Duke, provided 21 points versus No. 2 Michigan and garnered 15 points at No. 5 Illinois.
5. Mississippi State's roster also features Derek Fountain, Anderrson Garcia and Cameron Mathews who each had solid moments during their freshmen seasons and will look to continue to grow in their roles as sophomores. The three-member freshmen class in Alden Applewhite, Cam Carter and KeShawn Murphy.
FROM THE LOCKER ROOM – HEAD COACH BEN HOWLAND
"Our guys are excited. We had an intersquad scrimmage on Saturday … Our guys looked good at times on Saturday, and we've been building towards this moment. The bottom line is that once you start playing games on Wednesday, you never stop. We play Wednesday, Saturday, Wednesday, Sunday and then we're off to the Bahamas. We've got a lot of hard work ahead of us and a lot of opportunity."
"We set our goals at the beginning of every year. Of course, our goal is to get into the NCAA Tournament. That is always the number one goal, and I think that is the goal for every team in America. There are only 68 spots that are invited at the end of the year to the NCAA Tournament so we want to be one of those. That's always our number one goal."
SERIES HISTORY & SEASON OPENERS
Mississippi State has won the previous three meetings with the Loins, most recently a 102-61 decision during the 2008-09 season. Jarvis Varnado nearly secured a triple-double with 16 points, 14 rebounds and seven blocks, while Barry Stewart also tacked on 16 points for the Bulldogs.
The Bulldogs have won seven of their last eight season openers and will look to return to the win column after falling 52-42 to Clemson last season.
KNOW YOUR OPPONENT
North Alabama is a four-year member of the Atlantic Sun Conference at the Division I level and is coming off its first D1 winning season with a 13-11 mark last season.
Jamari Blackmon (10.1 PPG) and Payton Youngblood (10.1 PPG) are the team's leading returning scorers. The Lions appeared in the A-Sun Championship game before falling to Liberty, 79-75.
UP NEXT
Mississippi State faces off with Montana from the Big Sky Conference on Saturday. Tip time is scheduled for 6 p.m. CT carried online by SEC Network+ and the Watch ESPN app.
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.
STARKVILLE – Mississippi State embarks on the 2021-22 season as the Bulldogs open a four-game homestand versus North Alabama on Wednesday at Humphrey Coliseum.
The Matchup: Mississippi State (0-0, 0-0 SEC) vs. North Alabama (0-0, 0-0 A-Sun)
Where: Starkville, Mississippi – Humphrey Coliseum
When: Wednesday, November 10, 7:00 p.m. CT
Live Stats: StatBroadcast (https://hailst.at/MBKLiveStats)
Stream: SEC Network+ (Watch ESPN App Only)
Talent: Bart Gregory, Charlie Winfield
Online: Watch ESPN App (Cable Subscription Required)
(https://hailst.at/WatchESPN)
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); The Varsity Network App
Sirius/XM: Ch. 138 (Sirius), Ch. 201 (XM), 964 (Internet)
FIVE THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT MISSISSIPPI STATE
1. Mississippi State has piled up three consecutive 20-plus win seasons from 2017-18 to 2019-20 and have made three consecutive postseason appearances. The 86 total victories for the Bulldogs since the start of 2017-18 is tied for fourth-highest in the SEC with Arkansas and LSU. The Bulldogs trail only Auburn, Kentucky and Tennessee.
2. Mississippi State's coaching staff led by Ben Howland along with assistant coaches George Brooks, Korey McCray and Ernie Zeigler are in their seventh season together in Starkville during the 2021-22 season. The Bulldogs coaching quartet is second-longest tenured group at the Power 5 level only behind the West Virginia staff entering its 10th season under Bob Huggins.
3. Iverson Molinar and Tolu Smith are State's top returnees from last season. Molinar has been showered with numerous preseason accolades as a consensus All-SEC Preseason First-Team selection. He also earned a spot on the Wooden Award Preseason Watch List.
Molinar heads into the 2021-22 season with 684 points and 109 assists during 61 career games. He has racked up 31 games in double figures and fired in 10-plus points during 30 of his 37 starts. The Bulldogs are 8-1 when Molinar has amassed 20-plus points.
Molinar was among the SEC leaders in 16.7 points per game (4th), 47.8 field goal clip (5th), seven games of 20-plus points (T-7th) and 80.4 foul line mark (12th). His 500 total points was eighth-highest for a sophomore in program history.
Smith will be sidelined at the start of the season due to injury. He is the defending SEC rebounding champion and also paced the conference in double-doubles last season. Smith's top performance last season with a 27-point, 14-rebound effort against Florida.
4. Mississippi State added a quartet of impact transfers in Garrison Brooks (North Carolina), D.J. Jeffries (Memphis), Shakeel Moore (North Carolina State) and Rocket Watts (Michigan State). The four players
amassed 2,388 career points at their previous stops.
Brooks was a 2019-20 All-ACC Second-Team selection and was named the 2019-20 ACC's Most Improved Player of the Year. He was ranked among the ACC's top five in points (16.8 – 4th), rebounds (8.5 – 5th) and field goal percentage (53.5 – 2nd) that season.
Brooks scored 1,276 points, grabbed 798 rebounds and started 108 games over his four seasons at North Carolina. He has amassed 43 of his 60 games in double figures, headed by 12 of his 13 outings of 20-plus points over the last two seasons.
Jeffries was a 2020-21 preseason All-AAC Second-Team pick. He secured 482 points and 26 games in double figures over his two seasons at Memphis He was rated the nation's No. 25 prospect by ESPN.com and named the state of Mississippi's top prospect for the Class of 2019.
Moore collected 75.3 percent of his points, 76.2 percent of his rebounds, 72.1 percent of his assists and 68.6 percent of his steals against ACC opponents during his freshman season at NC State. He collected double figures on five occasions, all against ACC foes.
Watts tallied 460 points, 121 assists and collected 2019-20 All-Big Ten Freshman Team honors during his time at Michigan State. He piled up 67.4 percent of his points and recorded 12 of his 18 games in double figures against Big Ten opponents.
Watts had a knack for saving his best scoring performances against ranked opponents. Three of his top five scoring efforts were during wins over top 10 competition last year. He poured in 20 points at No. 6 Duke, provided 21 points versus No. 2 Michigan and garnered 15 points at No. 5 Illinois.
5. Mississippi State's roster also features Derek Fountain, Anderrson Garcia and Cameron Mathews who each had solid moments during their freshmen seasons and will look to continue to grow in their roles as sophomores. The three-member freshmen class in Alden Applewhite, Cam Carter and KeShawn Murphy.
FROM THE LOCKER ROOM – HEAD COACH BEN HOWLAND
"Our guys are excited. We had an intersquad scrimmage on Saturday … Our guys looked good at times on Saturday, and we've been building towards this moment. The bottom line is that once you start playing games on Wednesday, you never stop. We play Wednesday, Saturday, Wednesday, Sunday and then we're off to the Bahamas. We've got a lot of hard work ahead of us and a lot of opportunity."
"We set our goals at the beginning of every year. Of course, our goal is to get into the NCAA Tournament. That is always the number one goal, and I think that is the goal for every team in America. There are only 68 spots that are invited at the end of the year to the NCAA Tournament so we want to be one of those. That's always our number one goal."
SERIES HISTORY & SEASON OPENERS
Mississippi State has won the previous three meetings with the Loins, most recently a 102-61 decision during the 2008-09 season. Jarvis Varnado nearly secured a triple-double with 16 points, 14 rebounds and seven blocks, while Barry Stewart also tacked on 16 points for the Bulldogs.
The Bulldogs have won seven of their last eight season openers and will look to return to the win column after falling 52-42 to Clemson last season.
KNOW YOUR OPPONENT
North Alabama is a four-year member of the Atlantic Sun Conference at the Division I level and is coming off its first D1 winning season with a 13-11 mark last season.
Jamari Blackmon (10.1 PPG) and Payton Youngblood (10.1 PPG) are the team's leading returning scorers. The Lions appeared in the A-Sun Championship game before falling to Liberty, 79-75.
UP NEXT
Mississippi State faces off with Montana from the Big Sky Conference on Saturday. Tip time is scheduled for 6 p.m. CT carried online by SEC Network+ and the Watch ESPN app.
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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