Gameday: Five Things To Know No. 23 MSU-Minnesota

Sunday, December 11

Minneapolis, Minn.

7:30 PM

Mississippi State

Minnesota

Photo by: Mississippi State Athletics

Gameday: Five Things To Know No. 23 MSU-Minnesota

December 10, 2022 | Men's Basketball

WATCH: MSU vs. Minnesota [BTN - 7:30 PM CT]LISTEN: Hail State On-Demand Game Notes (PDF)Live Stats

by Matt Dunaway, Director/Communications

MINNEAPOLIS, Minnesota – The time has come for the No. 23 Mississippi State men's basketball program to face its first true road test of the season when the Bulldogs visit Big Ten country and Minnesota on Sunday evening at Williams Arena.

State (8-0, 0-0 SEC) sits as the only unbeaten SEC team, one of three Power 5 schools and one of seven NCAA programs undefeated. Utah State plays Loyola Marymount late Saturday night.

Chris Jans is the only first-year coach in the country to remain unbeaten during the 2022-23 season after Missouri's loss to No. 6 Kansas earlier today.

Jans and Missouri's Dennis Gates are two of seven SEC coaches to start their first season at least 8-0 in the shot clock era dating back to 1985-86. Additional active SEC coaches on that list include Kentucky's John Calipari (19-0 in 2009-10) and Arkansas' Eric Musselman (8-0 in 2019-20).

One of the staples of a Coach Jans team is all-out effort and a suffocating defense. Through eight games, the Bulldogs are among the nation's best surrendering 49.6 points per game (1st SEC • 2nd nationally) on a paltry 34.5 opponent field goal percentage (2nd SEC • 5th nationally). Coach Jans is the first SEC coach in the shot clock era who team has allowed 55 points or fewer in each of their first eight career games.

Historically at State, the 49.6 points per game allowed and the 34.5 opponent field goal percentage is the program's lowest eight-game totals in the modern era since the 1955-56 season, which was Babe McCarthy's first season with the Bulldogs.

The Maroon and White also is among the SEC/NCAA leaders in 7 additional categories with a 41.0 offensive rebounding percentage (1st SEC • 1st nationally), 16.00 offensive rebounds per game (2nd SEC • 2nd nationally), 43.38 total rebounds per game (2nd SEC • 3rd nationally), 11.63 steals per game (3rd SEC • 4th nationally), a +10.88 rebounding margin (2nd SEC • 7th nationally) and a +20.50 scoring margin (2nd SEC • 15th nationally).

In 16 halves of hoops on the young season, State has allowed 25 points or fewer on 7 occasions and limited the opposition to under a 30 percent shooting clip 5 times.

The Bulldogs have notched a 1.45 assist-to-turnover ratio (3rd SEC), a +5.00 turnover margin (4th SEC), held the opposition to a 27.1 three-point percentage (4th SEC) and dished out 15.75 assists per game (4th SEC).

Minnesota (4-5, 0-2 Big Ten) will look to snap a four-game losing skid which includes setbacks to undefeated UNLV (71-62 on 11/23) along with Virginia Tech (67-57 on 11/28) during the ACC-Big Ten Challenge, Purdue (89-70 on 12/04) and Michigan (90-75 on 12/08).

The Golden Gophers three players averaging in double figures headed by Jamison Battle (13.2 PPG, 3.8 RPG, 1.8 APG), Dawson Garcia (13.2 PPG, 5.3 RPG, 1.2 APG) and Ta'lon Cooper (11.6 PPG, 6.9 APG, 4.4 RPG, 1.4 APG). Minnesota's top performer off the bench is Pharrel Payne (8.7 PPG, 5.4 RPG, 1.3 BPG).

SERIES HISTORY VS. MINNESOTA
Sunday's matchup with the Golden Gophers completes a home-and-home series. Minnesota claimed an 86-81 decision in Starkville last season. Iverson Molinar racked up 26 points, while Garrison Brooks secured a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds for the Maroon and White.

The Bulldogs nearly overcome a 14-point first-half deficit and 10-point hole over the contest's last 4:41. Molinar tied the score at 76-76 with 41 seconds left courtesy of an and-one layup. However, Minnesota's Payton Willis countered with the go-ahead triple on the next possession and two free throws down the stretch.

The Matchup: Mississippi State (8-0, 0-0 SEC) vs. Minnesota (4-5, 0-2 Big Ten)
Where: Minneapolis, Minnesota – Williams Arena
When: Sunday, December 11, 7:37 p.m. CT
Live Stats: StatBroadcast (https://hailst.at/MBKLiveStats)

TV: Big Ten Network
Talent: Cory Provus and Shon Morris
Channel Lineup: Ch. 610 (DirecTV); Ch. 1650 (AT&T U-Verse); Ch. 410 (Dish); Ch. 324 (C-Spire);
Ch. 165 (MaxxSouth)
Stream: FOX Sports App (Cable Subscription Required)
(https://hailst.at/FOXSportsGo)

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

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 .774 winning percentage (151-44) in his seventh season as a NCAA Division I head coach. The .774 clip ranks second nationally only trailing Gonzaga's Mark Few (.835).

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 (16.3 PPG, 10.0 RPG, 2.1 APG, 0.8 BPG, 0.8 SPG) is one of nine players to capture All-SEC Preseason First-Team and secured the first 2022-23 SEC Player of the Week accolades on 11/14.

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 is one of two SEC players and one of six Power 5 players to average a double-double. He is joined by Iowa's Kris Murray, Kentucky's Oscar Tshiebwe, North Carolina's Armando Bacot, Purdue's Zach Edey and Syracuse's Jesse Edwards.

Smith has started 58 of his 59 career appearances in the Maroon and White where he has amassed 805 points, 470 rebounds and connected on 57.9 percent of his field goal attempts. The 57.7 shooting clip is fifth all-time in program history for player who have made at least 300 field goals.

Smith has piled up 43 career outings in double figures, 15 double-doubles and registered 7 of his 11 outings of 20-plus points versus SEC competition.

For his career, the Bay St. Louis native is 83 points shy of reaching the 1,000-point barrier. Smith is 195 points away from becoming the 6th player since 2017-18 and the 42nd player overall at MSU to reach 1K points.

Smith picked up this season where he finished the 2021-22 campaign. He has provided double figures in 14 of his last 15 outings and is one of four SEC players to rank inside the league's top 10 in points (16.3 – 7th), rebounds (10.0 – 2nd) and field goal percentage (61.4 – 2nd) in 2022-23.

Smith dialed up a non-conference career-best 26 points on an 11-for-13 shooting clip versus Akron to claim the Barstool Sports Invite Most Outstanding Player. He also pulled down 16 rebounds against Marquette and Utah en route to Fort Myers Tip-Off MVP honors.

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 (9.8 PPG, 5.0 RPG, 1.6 APG, 0.8 SPG) heads into the Minnesota game 138 points shy of 1,000 for his career. He has provided double figures in 6 of his last 7 games and 48 career games where Mississippi State and Memphis has garnered a combined 38-10 record.

Jeffries continues to showcase his versatility with 32 career games of 5+ rebounds, 20 career outings with 3+ assists, 17 career games with multiple steals and 16 career outings with multiple blocks. Jeffries fired in 10 of his season-high 15 points during the first half of the Akron game.

Matthews (7.6 PPG, 4.9 RPG, 2.4 APG, 1.4 SPG, 1.0 BPG) has already secured 6 of his top 14 career scoring performances in 2022-23. He collected a season's best 14 points coupled with 6 rebounds and 3 assists against South Dakota. Matthews racked up a career-best five blocks versus Texas A&M Corpus-Christi in the 2022-23 opening act and his 2.1 offensive rebounds per contest are tied for 15th on the SEC leaderboard.
Like Jeffries, his high school teammate from Olive Brach where the duo won a state championship in 2017-18, Matthews is a stat sheet stuffer. For his career, Matthews has piled up 24 outings with 2+ assists, 23 games with 2+ steals and 21 performances of 5+ rebounds.

Moore (6.1 PPG, 3.4 RPG, 2.9 SPG, 2.4 APG) 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.

Moore has tallied multiple steals in 35 of 67 career games and his 54 steals last season were the most by a MSU player since Lamar Peters in 2018-19. His 2.9 steals per contest are 2nd among SEC players this season. The North Carolina natives 1.6 SPG were 12th in the SEC (2021-22), while his 1.4 SPG were 9th in the ACC (2020-21).

Moore turned in 11 points, four rebounds and three steals off the bench versus Texas A&M-Corpus Christi in the season opener. For his career, he has drained 2+ three-pointers in 22 games and handed out 3+ assists in 16 outings.

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 in 2022-23 and has accounted for plus-minus ratio of +69 when on the floor. He averaged 15.0 points per contest en route to Fort Myers Tip-Off All-Tournament Team honors. The New York native drained five of his career-high six trey en route 15 of his season's best 18 points against Utah during the second half.

For his career, Davis has turned in 17 games of 10+ points and 2 games of 20+ points to go along with 19 games of 5+ assists and 15 games of 2+ steals. He has missed State's last two games and three of the last four games due to injury.

Horton Jr., the 2022 America East Defensive Player of the Year, has started 44 games between MSU and UAlbany. He has distributed 8 assists over his last four outings and secured 3 points and 4 rebounds against Akron.

For his career, Horton Jr. has turned in 32 outings in double figures, 16 outings with 5+ assists and 12 outings with multiple steals. He 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). At State, he has distributed nine assists over his last five outings.

McNair Jr. improved his stat averages over his first three seasons under Coach Jans at New Mexico State. He has connected on 54.5 percent of his field goal attempts and started 27 games headlined by both NCAA Tournament games last season.

McNair Jr. tallied a season-high 8 points against Mississippi Valley State and hauled down a season's best 7 rebounds versus Arkansas – Pine Bluff. For his career, he has amassed 11 games of 10+ points coupled with 31 games of 5+ rebounds, 11 games of 2+ blocks and 9 games of 2+ assists.
Reed Jr., a 2022 All-Ohio Valley First-Team and NABC All-District 18 Second-Team pick, has started 59 of his 65 career games between MSU and Southeast Missouri. He comes into the Minnesota game 178 points away from 1,000 for his career and came away with a season's best 15 points aided by a 6-for-7 clip at the foul line during the Marquette game.

Reed Jr. was the only OVC player in 2021-22 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). He has drained multiple triples in 38 career games, has 37 career games in double figures, has 24 career games of 2+ assists and 11 career games of 2+ steals.

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 Omaha, South Dakota and Arkansas-Pine Bluff followed by seven rebounds versus Omaha.

For his career, Stevenson has 67 games of 10+ points, 20 games of 10+ rebounds, 18 double-doubles, 8 games of 20+ points and 10+ rebounds and 13 games of 2+ blocks.

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).

During the Omaha and Mississippi Valley State games, the freshmen quartet averaged 17.5 points, 8.5 rebounds, 4.0 steals, 2.5 assists and 2.0 blocks per contest.

Hamilton has scored all 22 of his PTS over the team's last 6 contests. Three times, he has notched 5+ points, with season-highs of 8 points and 2 steals versus Arkansas - Pine Bluff.

Jones Jr. has provided 5+ points on three occasions and has recorded a steal during all six of his appearances. His season's bests are 6 points during the Mississippi Valley State and Arkansas - Pine Bluff contests.

Murphy got rolling with season's bests of 8 points and 3 blocks against Omaha over 17 minutes of action. He added season-highs of 5 rebounds and 3 steals versus Mississippi Valley State.

Russell collected season-highs of 7 points and 2 steals against Arkansas - Pine Bluff. His one-handed flush inside the contest's final minute earned the No. 5 on SportsCenter's Top 10.

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.