Gameday: Five Things to Know about MSU-Auburn

Saturday, March 6

Auburn, Ala.

12:00 PM

Mississippi State

Auburn

Photo by: Mississippi State Athletics

Gameday: Five Things to Know about MSU-Auburn

March 05, 2021 | Men's Basketball

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by Matt Dunaway, Associate Director/Communications

AUBURN, Alabama – The Mississippi State men's basketball team will look to continue to build momentum leading into next week's SEC Tournament as the Bulldogs travel to the Plains of Auburn for their regular season finale on Saturday.

Mississippi State (14-12, 8-9 SEC) has won three of its last four outings and holds sole possession of eighth place heading into the SEC standings. The Bulldogs are a half-game clear of Kentucky, while trailing Missouri and Ole Miss by one game for a share of the sixth spot.

Over its last five victories, State has limited the opposition to 55.2 points per game and a collective 32.9 shooting percentage. The Bulldogs also held SEC regular season champion Alabama to SEC lows of 64 points and a 32.3 percent shooting clip on 02/27.

A balanced offensive attack has been a successful formula for State in 2020-21 as the Bulldogs has won eight of their 10 games in 2020-21 record when four players or more reach double figures.

Mississippi State has won the battle of boards against 20 of its 26 opponents in 2020-21, highlighted by a +10 rebounding margin in nine games.

The Bulldogs are ranked inside the SEC's top three in opponent field goal percentage (39.8 – 1st), opponent rebounds (32.0 – 1st), rebounding margin (+6.8 – 1st) and three-point field goal percentage (35.3 – 3rd).

In league action, State holds a top two spot in opponent points per game (66.6 – 1st), rebounding margin (+4.4 – 1st), opponent field goal percentage (40.2 – 2nd) and opponent rebounds (33.4 – 2nd).

Mississippi State is 6-1 when committing 12 turnovers or less and has won eight of its nine outings when knocking down at least eight three-pointers this season.

The Bulldogs are third among SEC teams in paint points (844) and fourth in second-chance opportunities (317) on the season.

MSU-AUBURN HARDWOOD SERIES
The Tigers have won the last two and four of the last five in the series dating back to the 2016-17 season. State's lone win was a 92-84 decision between two ranked teams on 01/26/2019 in Starkville.

Quinndary Weatherspoon ripped 20 of his game-leading 27 points during the second half, while Lamar Peters turned in his first career double-double with 16 points and 10 assists. Nick Weatherspoon added 12 points, three assists and three steals. Reggie Perry secured 10 points and 11 rebounds off the bench.

Overall, Auburn holds a 78-70 series edge highlighted by a 48-23 advantage on the Plains. The Bulldogs last victory at Auburn was a 78-71 triumph on 01/21/2015.

The Matchup: Mississippi State (14-12, 8-9 SEC) vs. Auburn (12-14, 6-11 SEC)
Where: Auburn, Alabama – Auburn Arena
When: Saturday, March 6, 12:00 p.m. CT
Live Stats: StatBroadcast (https://hailst.at/MBKLiveStats)

TV: SEC Network
Talent: Mike Morgan, Mark Wise
DirecTV: Ch. 611, Dish: Ch. 404/408, AT&T U-Verse: Ch. 1607, MaxxSouth: Ch. 1026, C Spire: Ch. 220
Online: Watch ESPN app & Watch ESPN online (Cable Subscription Required)
(http://hailst.at/MSUvsAU030621)

Radio: Mississippi State Sports Network – Powered by Learfield IMG College
Talent: Neil Price
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: Ch. 387 (XM), Ch. 977 (Internet)

FIVE THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT MISSISSIPPI STATE
1. Mississippi State has garnered 20+ overall wins in three straight seasons and captured 10+ SEC victories during back-to-back campaigns under sixth-year coach Ben Howland. The Bulldogs have amassed 82 victories since the start of the 2017-18 season which is tied for the fourth-most with LSU in the SEC and only behind Auburn (93), Tennessee (90) and Kentucky (89).

Howland along with assistant coaches George Brooks, Korey McCray and Ernie Zeigler are in their sixth season together in Starkville during the 2020-21 season. The Bulldogs coaching quartet of head coach and three assistants is one of eight staffs in the country to remain together at the same school for the last six seasons. The other staffs include Michigan State (11th) led by Tom Izzo, West Virginia (9th) led by Bob Huggins, UAlbany (9th) led by Will Brown, Kansas (7th) led by Bill Self, Oregon (7th) led by Dana Altman, Vermont (7th) led by John Becker and Bradley (6th) led by Brian Wardle.

2. Iverson Molinar, Tolu Smith and D.J. Stewart Jr. are etching their names among the notable freshmen-to-sophomore jumps at Mississippi State, under Ben Howland and in the SEC over the last decade.
The trio has piled up 59 games in double figures, headed by 15 outings of 20-plus points. The Bulldogs are 10-1 when each member of the trio scores at least 10 points this season.

Molinar, Smith and Stewart Jr. have racked up 45.1 points per game, which is third-most in the SEC. It also marks the highest MSU scoring trio since Ravern Johnson, Dee Bost and Renardo Sidney piled up 47.1 points per game during the 2010-11 season.

Stewart Jr. (16.4 PPG, 3.1 RPG, 2.8 APG, 1.4 SPG) has captured nine of his top 10 career scoring performances in 2020-21. He pumped home a SEC career-high 29 points and added three steals at South Carolina (02/06). Stewart Jr. exploded for a career-best 32 points on 13-of-22 shooting versus Dayton (12/12). The Bulldogs have posted a 25-11 record over the last two seasons when he scores 10-plus points.

The Grace, Mississippi, native has already surpassed his 2019-20 total with 22 games in double figures, highlighted by a 12 consecutive games to start the season. He piled up 24 points during the second half of State's 78-63 win over No. 13 Missouri (01/05). Stewart Jr.'s 16.4 points per game are fifth, his 42.6 percent shooting clip is 12th, his 79.2 free throw percentage is 12th and his 1.4 steals is 13th among SEC leaders. He and Molinar are two of 10 SEC players to have at least six games of 20-plus points this season.

Molinar (16.3 PPG, 3.9 RPG, 2.6 APG, 1.1 SPG) has notched double figures in 20 of his 23 outings and during 24 of his 31 career starts. He secured a 20-point outing, his sixth of the season, versus Iowa State (01/30). MSU has racked up a 17-8 record when Molinar provides 10-plus points in his career. His 16.3 points are sixth, his 47.1 field goal percentage is seventh and his 81.6 percent free throw percentage is eighth on the SEC leaderboard. Molinar amassed career-highs with 24 points at Vanderbilt (01/09) and at Georgia (12/30). The Panama native has piled up nine of his top 10 career scoring efforts this season.

Molinar's 10.4 points per game improvement from his freshmen to his sophomore season is second among SEC players only behind Auburn's Allen Flanigan this season and tied for eighth-highest in the SEC over the last decade. Current Toronto Raptors and former Ole Miss guard Terence Davis from the 2015-16 to 2016-17 season holds the decade's top spot at a 13.1 points per game improvement.

Smith (12.4 PPG, 8.5 RPG, 1.2 APG) has collected 17 games in double figures during his first season with the Maroon and White. Prior to his time at MSU, his previous career-high was nine points against West Virginia (11/16/2018) while at Western Kentucky.

Smith is tied for first in the SEC with seven double-doubles on the season, most recently with 12 points and 13 rebounds versus No. 6 Alabama (02/27). He has rattled off two 20-10 performances in 2020-21 headlined by career-bests 27 points and 14 rebounds came against Florida (01/16). Smith tallied 17 of his 27 points, eight of his 14 rebounds and hit on all six of his shot attempts.

Smith's 3.3 offensive rebounds per contest headline the SEC, while his 8.6 rebounds per game are second in the league rankings. His nine games of 10-plus boards also are first, while his 5.2 defensive rebounds per game is fifth in the SEC. Smith has provided a 78-of-122 shooting clip (64.3 percent) over his last 16 outings.

3. Abdul Ado (5.6 PPG, 6.3 RPG, 2.0 BPG), the SEC's active leader in blocks and rebounds, is scheduled to make his 124th career start during Saturday's Auburn game. The 124 starts are a program record, the previous mark was 122 starts by Dee Bost (2009-10-11-12). He ranks first among Power five players and third overall among NCAA active players in blocks followed by a 10th place showing among active Power 5 players in rebounds.

Ado has ranked among the SEC's top 10 in blocks shots during all four seasons and his 2.0 blocks per game is third this season. Overall, Ado has piled up 235 career blocks, which ranks third in program history. His 1.89 career blocks per game also is third in program history, only behind NCAA all-time leader Jarvis Varnado and Erick Dampier. The Nigeria native has amassed 68 career games with multiple rejections.

Ado tops Mississippi State's all-time field goal percentage leader heading into the Auburn contest among players with at least 275 baskets made. He came away with a SEC season's best with 11 points against Florida (01/16) and hauled down a season-high 12 rebounds at No. 18 Tennessee (01/26). Ado's 745 career rebounds sit 11th on MSU's all-time list and is nine rebounds away from passing Jack Houston (1952-53-54-55).

4. Mississippi State's roster features a talented group of newcomers. The freshmen class is ignited by Derek Fountain (5.1 PPG, 2.8 RPG), Deivon Smith (5.0 PPG, 3.5 RPG, 3.1 APG) and Cameron Matthews (2.2 PPG, 2.5 RPG, 0.8 SPG). Smith and Matthews became the first true freshmen tandem to start a MSU season opener since Tyson Carter and Mario Kegler during the 2016-17 season.

Fountain fired in season's best 20 points and seven rebounds versus LSU (02/10) off the bench. Over his last nine appearances, he has provided 6.6 points and 3.8 rebounds per game. The 20-point game put Fountain in elite company with 1,000-point scorers Tyson Carter (2018-19-20-21), Lamar Peters (2017-18-19) and Quinndary Weatherspoon (2016-17-18-19) as the only four freshmen to secure 20-plus points coming off the bench during the Howland era. In fact, Fountain is one of seven MSU freshmen since 1988-89 to score 20-plus points during a SEC game off the bench.

Smith, the eighth ESPN top 100 signee to play with the Bulldogs under Howland, exploded for a career-best 13 points. He also handed out three assists and added two steals in his home state at Georgia (12/30). Smith has tallied five-plus points in 11 of his 17 SEC games and dished out three or more assists in 12 of his 17 SEC outings. He has distributed 51 of his 81 assists (62.9 percent) over his last 13 appearances since the Florida game (01/16) and set a new career-high with nine dimes versus Iowa State (01/30).

Matthews has impacted the game on the defensive end with steals in 13 appearances and registered multiple steals on six occasions. He secured the game-clinching steal on Vanderbilt's Scotty Pippen Jr. during the closing seconds in Nashville (01/09). Matthews came away with a SEC season's best of six points and a career-high seven rebounds at No. 18 Alabama (01/23).

MSU's freshmen class also features Keondre Montgomery, who coupled with Fountain and Matthews, are the state of Mississippi's top three prospects for the Class of 2020.

5. The Bulldogs also have received solid contributions from Jalen Johnson (5.2 PPG, 1.7 RPG), Javian Davis (2. 7 PPG, 3.6 RPG) and Quinten Post (3.0 PPG, 2.3 RPG).

Johnson has piled up 1,186 points and 536 rebounds over 123 career games with his previous stops being at Saint Louis and Louisiana-Lafayette. He has amassed 58 career outings of 10-plus points and 11 outings of 20-plus points. Johnson has knocked down at least one trey in 15 of his 24 appearances and multiple three's in six outings during the 2020-21 campaign.

Davis posted 6.0 points and 3.8 rebounds per game over his 31 appearances as a redshirt freshmen at Alabama in 2019-20. His top Bama performance was a 20-point, 10-rebound effort against South Carolina (02/29/2020). Davis chipped in SEC season-high of five points, seven rebounds and two assists versus Kentucky (01/02) and returned to the rotation after a four-game absence against Ole Miss (01/19).

Post fired in a career-best 10 points versus Mississippi Valley State (12/21) to claim his first career game in double figures. He came away with a SEC season's best six points at Arkansas (02/02) and at Texas A&M (03/03). Post also collected a career-best 10 rebounds, two blocks and two steals at No. 18 Tennessee (01/26). The Netherlands native has scored in 19 of his 32 career appearances at Mississippi State.

KNOW YOUR OPPONENT
The Tigers have lost four of their last five and played the last three games without leading scorer and the SEC's top assist man in Sharife Cooper (20.2 PPG, 8.1 APG, 4.3 RPG, 1.0 SPG). Auburn's lone win was a 77-72 decision over then No. 25 Tennessee (02/27).

Cooper has ripped off double figures in all 12 of his appearances and piled up 25-plus points on five occasions. He has dialed up a trio of double-doubles, the last one being a 15-point, 14-assist effort versus Ole Miss (02/06).

Auburn's offense packs a punch with three additional players averaging in double figures headed by Allen Flanigan (14.0 PPG, 5.6 RPG, 2.9 APG). He has strung together double figures in nine of his last 11 outings sparked by a trio of 20-plus point performances. Overall, Flanigan has amassed 10-plus points in 21 of the team's 26 games. He dialed up 23 points and seven rebounds against Tennessee (02/27).

Jaylin Williams (10.7 PPG, 4.7 RPG, 2.0 APG, 1.5 SPG) has piled up at least 15 points during eight of the 15 times he reached double figures in 2020-21. He has reached the 20-plus point barrier twice with 24 at Ole Miss (01/06) and 21 against Georgia (02/02).

JT Thor (9.3 PPG, 4.9 RPG, 1.3 BPG) and Jamal Johnson (9.2 PPG) have been solid contributors throughout the season for the Tigers. Thor posted a season's best 24 points on 8-of-11 from the floor fueled by five triples and grabbed nine rebounds at Kentucky (02/13). Johnson has collected three straight games in double figures since being reinserted back into Auburn's starting five.

FROM THE BENCH – COACH HOWLAND MEDIA SESSION
Q: How fortunate were you to get through the season healthy for the most part?
BH: "You know what, it's amazing that I think us and Auburn; I know Auburn didn't miss a game either … Coach Pearl and I were talking about that the other day. The only game we missed was because of weather with them [Auburn]."

"I was talking earlier that [missing the Auburn game] really helped us. Missing that game was a really important thing I thought for us to bounce back. Getting a couple of days off away from basketball, letting our bodies heal, mentally getting away and we've won three of our last four since that point."

"But getting through this year has been amazing. You think about when we started a year ago, to having to not be able to go all the way in Nashville. Then, turning around and going home because we were not allowed to compete any longer. It was brutal. That was rough. So, it's just special at all to be able to play this year, number one."

"I thought our players – I'm so proud of our guys the way they've handled all the testing they've had to go through and the safe distancing they've had to follow ... taking care of themselves and masking up wherever they go. They've been phenomenal."

Q: Have you ever had a player like Derek Fountain in your career where he wasn't playing at all during conference to where he is now?
BH: "I actually did. I had a kid named Jaron Brown who was at the University of Pittsburgh out of Lexington, Kentucky. He went on to be a two-time All-BIG EAST player and played on three championship teams. He was a great player who is now coaching up in Lexington. But the same situation. Hardly played, played more than Derek did but not much more. Played some minutes but not much more. Same type of deal. I inserted him late in the year, I think last one or two conference games. Then, in the BIG EAST Tournament, I started him. It was a total difference for us. We went from being very average to getting the BIG EAST Championship game and then going to the NIT that year. So, to answer your question, I have had one. If he even gets as close to Jaron Brown, he'll be really happy and so will everybody else."

Q: What do you see from Auburn, and what do you expect from a matchup like that?
BH: "They're very talented. We're under the impression from what we've been told that Sharife Cooper is going to play tomorrow. He's missed their last couple of games. He's a huge difference in their team when he plays. He had missed the first nine or 10 games. Then, when he was inserted into the lineup, he changed everything for them. He led the league in assists and led the league in scoring. Great player, everything runs for him offensively. So, that really poses a lot of problems with him playing tomorrow. We've got to do a great job defensively on getting back in transition. We've got to do a great job of trying to stay in front of him on the ball screens and all the things they do to get him penetrating. We've got to keep them off the glass."

"They're a great offensive rebounding team. They've got very good personnel. [Allen] Flanigan, left hand shooter, whose dad was actually an assistant here for three years under Rick Ray. His son is now playing at Auburn, and he's following in his dad's footsteps. The kid's a great player. He's a potential pro down the road. They have another young man who I think is really special. [Devan] Cambridge, who's a sophomore as well out of Tennessee. They're a very young team. [Jaylin] Williams is a really good three-point shooter who starts at the five for them. JT Thor who's 6-10, really long and can really shoot it. They have a lot of guys that can shoot the three."

"Jamal Johnson, who started at the point [guard] when they beat Tennessee without Cooper two games ago. They beat a very good team in Tennessee without Cooper. They lost to Alabama with a close game when they played Alabama tough without Cooper. Now, he's expected to back tomorrow for their last game of the year because they're not eligible for the [SEC] tournament this year."

Q: How big of a deal is to get a win at Auburn and keep the momentum rolling into the SEC Tournament next week?
BH: "It'd be huge. It's really what we're shooting for obviously. We are excited about the opportunity. They're a very good team, and it's going to be a very hard game. We've got to take care of the basketball. They really get out and pressure you and switch everything. They switch ball screens and switch a lot of different things [on defense]. They are really do a good job of that. We're really going to have to execute well offensively to be successful because they're so athletic and so quick."

"Just the point of we've got five road wins in the conference right now. I think we're 5-3 on the road. If we had taken care of business at home, we'd be in a better situation than we are. But this will give us a chance to get six road wins in the conference, which would be amazing."

UP NEXT
Mississippi State's opponent is to be determined for its second round matchup at the 2021 SEC Tournament on Thursday from Bridgestone Arena in Nashville. All four second round contests will be televised by SEC Network and available online courtesy of 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.