Gameday: Five Things To Know MSU-LSU

by Matt Dunaway, Director/Communications

BATON ROUGE, Louisiana – Mississippi State's men's basketball continues to fight its way through its challenging SEC slate as the Bulldogs return to the road for another NCAA NET Quad 1 matchup versus LSU on Saturday at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center.

The Bulldogs (14-9, 5-5 SEC) are in the midst of playing four straight quad 1 games, three away from home, and six of seven outings versus quad 1 competition. The Bulldogs also have a trip to Alabama on the horizon.

State sits in sole possession of sixth place in the SEC standings. The Bulldogs are a half-game back of Florida and a half-game up on three teams which include its next opponent in LSU. Six of State's nine losses have come against NCAA NET Quad 1 foes. Five of the six setbacks have come either on the road or at a neutral site. Five of the six outings also have come by single digits.

A balanced scoring effort has been key to Mississippi State's success this season. The Bulldogs have posted a 10-1 mark when at least four players register 10-plus points. State has accomplished that feat during four of its five SEC victories.

After falling in three consecutive games and six of their last seven, the Tigers (17-7, 5-6 SEC) returned to the win column courtesy of a 76-68 road victory over Texas A&M. LSU has posted an 11-2 mark at home with its lone setbacks coming in league play to Arkansas (65-58 on 01/15) and to Ole Miss (76-72 on 02/01).

The Matchup: Mississippi State (14-9, 5-5 SEC) at LSU (17-7, 5-6 SEC)
Where: Baton Rouge, Louisiana – Pete Maravich Assembly Center at Dale Brown Court
When: Saturday, February 12, 7:00 p.m. CT
Live Stats: StatBroadcast (https://hailst.at/MBKLiveStats)

TV: ESPN2 (Watch ESPN App)
Talent: Paul Sunderland, Daymeon Fishback
DirecTV: Ch. 209, Dish: Ch. 143, AT&T U-Verse: Ch. 1606, MaxxSouth: Ch. 1024, C Spire: Ch. 202
Online: Watch 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 Plus (https://hailst.at/MBKListen); The Varsity Network App

FIVE THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT MISSISSIPPI STATE
1. Entering this week's action, Mississippi State holds top three marks on the SEC leaderboard in field goal percentage (47.2 – 2nd), rebounding margin (+7.3 – 2nd) and defensive rebounding percentage (75.7 – 3rd).

The +7.3 rebounding margin for State is 18th nationally. The Bulldogs have rated among the nation's top 20 in rebounding margin during each of the last three seasons.

The Maroon and White is rated No. 27 nationally with a 112.6 offensive efficiency rating according to KenPom.com. The Bulldogs have finished among the nation's top 30 in that category during three of the last four seasons.

State sits at No. 28 in the ESPN BPI, checks in at No. 49 in the KenPom.com ratings and holds the No. 56 spot in the NCAA NET rankings.

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, who is entering its 10th season under Bob Huggins.

Howland and his staff piled up three consecutive 20-plus win seasons from 2017-18 to 2019-20 and has totaled 100 victories since the start of 2017-18. The 100 wins are sixth among SEC teams behind Auburn (116), Kentucky (110), Tennessee (109), Arkansas (105) and LSU (103).

3. Last time out, the Bulldogs were on the cusp of another NCAA NET Quad 1 victory before ultimately dropping a 72-63 decision to No. 19 Tennessee.

State held a 59-58 advantage at the five-minute mark before the Volunteers closed the contest with 15 of the game's last 19 points.

Iverson Molinar notched 16 points and five assists followed by Garrison Brooks with 15 points, eight rebounds and two blocks. D.J. Jeffries collected 13 points and three steals to give the Maroon and White three players in double figures.

Keys for Tennessee included a 30-22 advantage in paint points, a 20-14 edge in points off turnovers and scoring 17 of the game's 23 bench points.

4. Iverson Molinar is the only SEC player to score in double figures in every game his team has played in this season. He is one of four players nationally to accomplish the feat joined by Jovan Blacksher Jr. (Grand Canyon), E.J. Liddell (Ohio State) and Mark Sears (Ohio).

The 23-game streak for Molinar is the longest for a MSU player to start a season since Tony Watts scored 10+ PTS during all 28 games in 1991-92.

Molinar is the only SEC player and one of six Power 5 players to be ranked among the top 10 of their respective leagues in points (18.1 – 3rd), field goal percentage (49.2 – 4th) and assists (4.0 – Tied for 8th). The list also includes Terrell Brown, Jr. (Washington), Mike Miles, Jr. (TCU), Will Richardson (Oregon), Alondes Williams (Wake Forest) and Payton Willis (Minnesota).

Molinar is ranked among the SEC leaders in free throw percentage (88.6 – 1st), and assist-to-turnover ratio (1.88 – 5th). He has scored or assisted on 37.8 percent of MSU's points this season.

Molinar became the 41st player in MSU history and eighth during Coach Howland's tenure to eclipse 1,000 career points with a 20-point performance against Ole Miss (01/22). He enters this week's action 24 points shy of being able to pass three additional players on the program's all-time scoring list and move into 32nd place.

Molinar has amassed at least 15 points and five assists in eight games this season. The eight games of 15-5 are tied for 2nd among Power 5 players with three players. The quartet trails only Baylor's James Akinjo who has nine 15-5 performances.

Tolu Smith is the SEC's defending rebounding champion and racked up the most double-doubles among SEC players last season. He has garnered 10-plus in seven of his 10 appearances this season.

If Smith qualified for the SEC leaderboard, he would rank 2nd in field goal percentage (56.4), 12th in rebounds (6.2) and 20th in points (12.4). He has tallied a pair of double-doubles in 2021-22, headed by a 22-point, 11-rebound performance against Richmond (11/27).

5. Mississippi State's transfer class of Garrison Brooks, D.J. Jeffries, Shakeel Moore and Rocket Watts has amassed 3,184 career points and 150 career games in double figures. Their teams have posted a combined 106-44 record when providing 10-plus points headed by Jeffries' 31-8 and Watts' 18-3 marks, respectively.

Brooks holds the top spot among SEC active players and is second among Power 5 players nationally with 952 career rebounds in addition to sitting fifth among SEC's active players with 1,541 career points. He has pumped in 10-plus points during six of his last eight outings.

Brooks matched his season's best with 18 points versus South Carolina (02/01). He has posted 16.5 points and 7.8 rebounds per game over his last four home outings which also includes a 16-point, 10-rebound effort against No. 24 Alabama (01/15). Of his 18-career double-doubles, 14 have come against Power 5 competition.

Mississippi State is 10-3 when Jeffries scores in double figures. He amassed a season's best 19 points against Winthrop (12/21) and his SEC season-high is 13 points at Ole Miss (01/08). The Olive Branch product has fired in 10-plus points in three of his last five games.

Jeffries has showcased his versatility with 9 games of 5-plus rebounds, 6 games of 3-plus assists, 5 games of 2-plus blocks and 4 games of 2-plus steals.

Moore has had 10 of 15 career games of 10-plus points come this season at MSU. The North Carolina native provided a SEC's season's best 18 points at Florida (01/19) coupled with a pair of 15-point efforts during SEC victories over Arkansas (12/29) and No. 24 Alabama (01/15).

Moore has collected multiple steals on 13 occasions this season and his 1.7 steals per game check in 12th on the SEC leaderboard. He has drained a team-leading 35 three-pointers at a 35.7 percent clip and has connected on multiple treys during five of his 10 SEC outings.

Watts tallied back-to-back games in double figures at No. 13 Texas Tech (01/29) and against South Carolina (02/01) for the first time this season. His season-high is 15 points versus Lamar (12/02), and he's scored 53.0 percent of his points during SEC action.

FROM THE LOCKER ROOM – HEAD COACH BEN HOWLAND
"I watched the film of a dominant road win against Texas A&M. That was the first game since [Xavier] Pinson got hurt that he's been looking like his full self. He's closer to being back to full strength than he has in weeks. They're a very good team when they're healthy. As a point guard, he's a key guy. He has a lot of experience. We know him well from his years at Missouri. They've got to feel good after seeing how both he and the whole team played on the road at A&M. They're going to be very motivated to get back to their early season form where they were one of the most dominant teams in the country."

"We're not that far out from a [NCAA] tournament bid. We've just got to break through and get a win versus a Quad-One team be that at home or away. This game is the next opportunity. LSU is a tournament team, and we should be very motivated because they're in and we're not."

"Of course, the guys were upset right after the game [against Tennessee]. They were somber because we were right there with another great opportunity and didn't capitalize. That being said, we came back yesterday to lift, watch film and talk together as a team. We had a good meeting talking about what we need to do to accomplish our goal and how to finally break through and get it done. I think we'll have a really good practice today. These kids bounce back from losses well. It's a blessing because we have very good, high character players. I trust and believe in these guys. I'm confident we'll bounce back and play our hearts out on Saturday night."

"I don't think there's a certain key [to why we haven't won on the road yet]. It's just about getting it done and finding a way to win. The last time we were on the road against Arkansas, we had it very close and just couldn't get a key stop. These games are coming down to single possessions. We've got to find it in ourselves individually and collectively to get the job done."

SERIES HISTORY
LSU has won three straight and holds a 113-102 series edge over the Bulldogs. State's last win in the series was 80-77 at the 2018 SEC Tournament in St. Louis, Missouri. The last meeting in Baton Rouge came down to the wire, a 60-59 buzzer-beating win for the Tigers from Skylar Mays.

KNOW YOUR OPPONENT
The Tigers are one of the nation's elite defensive units holding their opponents to 61.0 points per contest, a 37.3 field goal percentage and a 28.2 percent clip from three-point territory. All three marks headline the SEC and rank inside the nation's top 20. LSU's 85.3 defensive efficiency rating from KenPom is second in the country.

Offensively, Tari Eason (16.3 PPG, 7.0 RPG, 1.9 SPG, 1.1 BPG) does a majority of his damage off the bench and is a frontrunner for the SEC's Sixth Man of the Year award. Eason has pieced together eight straight games with 10-plus points, six double-doubles and three 20-10 outings. Last time out, he stuffed the stats sheet with 25 points, 12 rebounds, three blocks and three steals at Texas A&M (02/08).

Darius Days (13.2 PPG, 7.8 RPG, 1.5 SPG) has piled up double-doubles in three of his last four outings and has six double-doubles of his own on the season. He has connected for a team-leading 48 treys and multiple three-pointers on 10 occasions.

Xavier Pinson (9.8 PPG, 4.0 APG, 1.7 SPG) has returned to the starting lineup during LSU's last two games after missing some time due to injury. He has dished out five-plus assists in seven games. The Tigers are 15-1 with Pinson in the starting five this season.

Brandon Murray (10.2 PPG, 1.8 APG) and Eric Gaines (10.1 PPG, 3.4 APG, 2.2 SPG) have been solid throughout the season to give LSU four players averaging in double figures. Murray has provided double figures in five of his last seven outings, while Gaines has tallied six of his 11 performances of 10-plus points versus SEC opponents. Both Murray's season-high of 21 points and Gaines' season's best of 16 points were against Texas A&M (01/26).

UP NEXT
Mississippi State closes out its span of four consecutive games against NCAA NET Quad 1 opponents with a return trip to Alabama on Wednesday. Tip time is scheduled for 6 p.m. CT from Coleman Coliseum, televised by ESPN2 or ESPNU and streaming online courtesy of the ESPN app and www.ESPN.com/watch.

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.

Gameday: Five Things To Know MSU-LSU

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Players Mentioned

Garrison Brooks

D.J. Jeffries

Iverson Molinar

Shakeel Moore

Tolu Smith III

Rocket Watts

Mississippi State University Athletics