Gameday: Five Things To Know MSU-South Dakota

Thursday, November 17

Starkville

8:00 PM

Mississippi State

South Dakota

Tickets

STARKVILLE, MS - November 13, 2022 - Mississippi State Forward Tyler Stevenson (#14) during the game between the Arkansas-Pine Bluff Golden Lions and the Mississippi State Bulldogs at Humphrey Coliseum in Starkville, MS. Photo By Kevin Snyder

Photo by: Mississippi State Athletics

Gameday: Five Things To Know MSU-South Dakota

November 16, 2022 | Men's Basketball

WATCH: MSU vs. South Dakota [SECN]LISTEN LIVE: Hail State On-Demand Buy Tickets Fan Gameday Central Live Stats Game Notes (PDF)

by Matt Dunaway, Director/Communications

STARKVILLE – Mississippi State men's basketball program opens up another busy three-game stretch over a seven-day span as the Bulldogs play their first nationally-televised game of 2022-23 when South Dakota visits Humphrey Coliseum on Thursday evening.

State (3-0) holds the SEC's top spot in scoring defense (48.33) in addition to ranking inside the league's top four in nine additional categories which include field goal percentage defense (31.3 – 2nd), scoring margin (+23.67 – 2nd), rebounding margin (+13.00 – 2nd), assists (17.00 – 3rd), field goal percentage (47.2 – 3rd), rebounds (43.67 – 4th), steals (12.00 – 4th), three-point field goal percentage defense (23.7 – 4th) and assist-to-turnover ratio (1.21 – 4th).

The 48.33 points per contest also rank eighth nationally and is the lowest three-game average for the program in the modern era dating back to the 1955-56 season, which was Babe McCarthy's first season at State.

The 31.3 field goal percentage defense checks in 11th nationally and is the fourth-lowest clip for the program since 1955-56.

South Dakota (2-1) is led by A.J. Plitzuweit (19.0 PPG, 2.7 APG, 1.0 SPG), Kruz Perrott-Hunt (13.7 PPG, 2.3 APG) and Tasos Kamateros (11.3 PPG, 7.0 RPG). Plitzuweit has done a majority of his damage from three-point territory with 10 of his 16 bucks.

SERIES HISTORY
Thursday's meeting is the first between the Bulldogs and Coyotes on the hardwood. State is 6-2 versus Summit League opponents. The last time Mississippi State faced a Summit League foe was a 77-54 rout of Kansas City on Dec. 29. 2016.

The Matchup: Mississippi State (3-0, 0-0 SEC) vs. South Dakota (2-1, 0-0 The Summit League)
Where: Starkville, Mississippi – Humphrey Coliseum
When: Thursday, November 17, 8:05 p.m. CT
Live Stats: StatBroadcast (https://hailst.at/MBKLiveStats)
Fan Gameday Central: (https://hailst.at/BasketballGameday)

TV: SEC Network (ESPN App)
Talent: Kevin Fitzgerald and Jon Sundvold
Online: ESPN App (Cable Subscription Required)
(https://hailst.at/WatchESPN)

Radio: Mississippi State Sports Network – Powered by Learfield
Talent: Neil Price, Richard Williams
Affiliates: WKBB-FM 100.9 Starkville/West Point (Full List: https://hailst.at/MBKAffiliates)
Free Online Audio: Hail State On-Demand (https://hailst.at/MBKListen); The Varsity Network App

FROM THE LOCKER ROOM – COACH JANS
"They [South Dakota] can really shoot the ball overall if you look at their percentages from the field, from three and from the free-throw line. They're all really, really good. They're able to hold their own on the backboards as well. It'll be a different kind of team. It will be a different team than we've played thus far with a different style and with different kind of players which I love. The more things we can get thrown at us in the early season, the better prepared we'll be for when SEC play opens up."
"I've been in those locker rooms the majority of my life. It's something we have talked about a ton prior to the Akron game in practice. Heck, we talked about it before we entered the court in Philadelphia. I keep trying to get those kids to understand what it's like to be on the other team in these types of games. It's the best way for them to get recognized nationally in the fall … In order to get that kind of exposure on a national level, you have to be power five teams."
"I'm happy for him [Tolu Smith winning SEC Player of the Week]. He's a hard worker. He puts a lot of extra time into the game. He spends a lot of time in the training room keeping his body right. With his history, he understands that he needs to do that. You love when people who really pour their heart and soul into their craft get rewarded for it. Certainly, he's got much bigger individual goals and team goals than winning the player of the week honor. But it's still a nice little feather in the cap for him."

FIVE THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT MISSISSIPPI STATE
1. Chris Jans, one of the nation's premier bench bosses, leads State's program. He is assisted by James Miller, David Anwar and George Brooks. His New Mexico State program which Miller and Anwar were apart of became the Western Athletic Conference's (WAC) standard bearer after racking up four regular season championships, three NCAA Tournament appearances and three WAC Tournament titles.

Jans, a three-time WAC Coach of the Year, owns an impressive .768 winning percentage (146-44) in his seventh season as a NCAA Division I head coach. The .768 clip ranks third nationally among active NCAA head coaches which sits only behind Gonzaga's Mark Few (.835) and Kansas' Bill Self (.770).

As a junior college head coach, Jans won the 1997-98 NJCAA Division II National Championship at Kirkwood Community College in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. He also played a vital role as an assistant coach at Wichita State which was headed by a 2013 NCAA Final Four run, five NCAA Tournament trips and four Missouri Valley Conference regular season crowns.

2. Tolu Smith is one of nine players to capture All-SEC Preseason First-Team and secured the first SEC Player of the Week accolades in 2022-23. The Bulldogs have had a player secure preseason first-team honors during four of the last five seasons. Smith is joined by Quinndary Weatherspoon (2018-19), Reggie Perry (2019-20) and Iverson Molinar (2021-22), who each garnered All-SEC Preseason First-Team selections by the conference coaches.

Smith has started 53 of his 54 career appearances in the Maroon and White where he has amassed 730 points, 418 rebounds and connected on 58.4 percent of his field goal attempts. He has piled up 39 career outings in double figures, 14 double-doubles and registered seven of his 10 outings of 20-plus points versus SEC competition. For his career, the Bay St. Louis is 158 points shy of reaching the 1,000-point barrier.

Smith picked up this season where he finished the 2022-23 campaign. He has racked up 10 consecutive games in double figures dating back to last season and is the only SEC player to rank inside the league's top 5 in points (18.33 – Tied for 5th), rebounds (9.33 – 4th) and field goal percentage (76.7 – 1st) in 2022-23. Smith dialed up a non-conference career-best 26 points on an 11-for-13 shooting clip.

3. In addition to Smith, State's returning group is highlighted by D.J. Jeffries, Cameron Matthews and Shakeel Moore. The quartet combined to average 49.3 percent of the team's points, 48.4 percent of the team's rebounds, 43.9 percent of the team's assists, 52.9 percent of the team's steals and 46.9 percent of the team's blocks over 90 starts last season.

Jeffries heads into the South Dakota game 194 points shy of 1,000 for his career. He has provided double figures in back-to-back games and 44 career games where Mississippi State and Memphis has garnered a 34-10 record. Jeffries continues to showcase his versatility with 30 career games of 5+ rebounds, 20 career outings with 3+ assists, 17 career games with multiple steals and 15 career outings with multiple blocks. Jeffries fired in 10 of his season-high 15 points during the first half of the Akron game.

Matthews secured six of his top eight scoring performances in 2021-22. Like Jeffries, his high school teammate from Olive Brach where the duo won a state championship in 2017-18, he's a stat sheet stuffer. Matthews notched eight points, four rebounds, three assists, two steals and a block versus Arkansas-Pine Bluff last time out. He racked up a career-best five blocks versus Texas A&M Corpus-Christi in the 2022-23 opening act. For his career, Matthews has piled up 21 games with 2+ steals, 20 outings with 2+ assists and 19 performances of 5+ rebounds.

Moore has collected 13 of his 18 career games with 10-plus points in Maroon and White. Mississippi State and NC State are 14-4 when Moore secures double figures. He has tallied multiple steals in 31 of 62 career games and his 54 steals last season were the most by a MSU player since Lamar Peters in 2018-19. Moore turned in 11 points, four rebounds and three steals off the bench during the Texas A&M-Corpus Christi game.

4. The Bulldogs have brought in five talented transfers which include Dashawn Davis (Oregon State), Jamel Horton Jr. (UAlbany), Will McNair Jr. (New Mexico State), Eric Reed Jr. (Southeast Missouri) and Tyler Stevenson (Southern Miss).

Davis was the Pac-12's leader in assists with 5.5 dimes per game and a solid 2.2 assist-to-turnover ratio with Oregon State. The last Oregon State player to lead the Pac-12 was Gary Payton, a Naismith Hall of Famer and NBA 75th Anniversary Team member. Davis has been grinding his way through injury over the last week and has accounted for plus-minus ratio of +49 when on the floor.

Horton Jr., the 2022 America East Defensive Player of the Year, started 41 games over two seasons at UAlbany. He turned in 32 outings in double figures, 16 outings with 5+ assists and 12 outings with multiple steals. Horton Jr. was one of two America East players to rank among the league's top 11 in points (12.8 – 11th), assists (3.9 – 2nd) and steals (1.1 – 10th).
McNair Jr. improved his stat averages over his first three seasons under Coach Jans at New Mexico State. He has connected on 55.1 percent of his field goal attempts and started 27 games headlined by both NCAA Tournament games last season. McNair logged season's best with five points and seven rebounds versus Arkansas-Pine Bluff on Sunday.

Reed Jr., a 2022 All-Ohio Valley First-Team and NABC All-District 18 Second-Team pick, has started 54 of his 60 career games. He was the only OVC player to rank among the league's top 10 in points (16.1 – 6th), free throw percentage (81.5 – 3rd) and three-point percentage (36.2 – 10th). Reed Jr. has drained multiple triples in 37 career games and has 36 career games in double figures.

Stevenson registered 74 starts over four seasons where he notched 2021-22 All-Conference USA Honorable Mention and was a Bailey Howell Trophy finalist at Southern Miss. He was one of three USM players to pile up over 1,200 career points and 600-plus rebounds during the 2000s. Stevenson finished 2021-22 a fixture among the C-USA leaders in points (14.5 – 13th), rebounds (7.5 – 5th) and blocks (1.1 – 10th). His MSU bests are eight points against Arkansas-Pine Bluff followed by six rebounds versus Akron.

5. Mississippi State freshmen class includes redshirt freshman KeShawn Murphy coupled with true freshmen Kimani Hamilton, Martavious Russell and Shawn Jones Jr.

Hamilton and Murphy are ESPN top 100 prospects for their respective classes. Hamilton's father, Tang (1998-99-2000-01), sits among MSU's top 20 in points (1,307 – 20th) and rebounds (677 – Tied for 16th).

The Hamilton-Jones Jr.-Russell trio accounted for 21 points on 7-of-15 shooting in addition to five rebounds, five steals and blocks during the Pine Bluff game. Russell's one-handed flush inside the contest's final minute earned the No. 5 on SportsCenter's Top 10 on 11/14.

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.