Gameday: Five Things To Know MSU-No. 18 Tennessee

by Matt Dunaway, Director/Communications

STARKVILLE – Mississippi State men's basketball team embarks on the second half of SEC action as No. 18 Tennessee visits Humphrey Coliseum on Wednesday evening.

The Bulldogs (14-8, 5-4 SEC) are looking for the program's second top 25 victory on the season. State knocked off then No. 24 Alabama, 78-76, on January 15. The Maroon and White are in the midst of four consecutive games and six of seven outings against NCAA NET quad one competition from Jan. 25-Feb. 16. State also has trips to LSU and Alabama over the next eight days.

The Bulldogs are in sole possession of fifth place in the SEC standings. State is a half-game clear of Florida and trails Arkansas and Tennessee by 1.5 games for the third spot.

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.

The Volunteers (16-6, 7-3 SEC) have dialed up victories in five straight SEC games and in five of their last six outings. Last time out, Tennessee buried 14 three-pointers en route to a 48-point second half and an 81-57 rout at South Carolina on Saturday.
In accordance with Mississippi State University's indoor mask requirement announced on Jan. 31, all individuals must wear face coverings inside all university buildings, including athletic facilities. The requirement applies to all fans attending basketball games at Humphrey Coliseum except while actively eating or drinking.

The Matchup: Mississippi State (14-8, 5-4 SEC) vs. No. 18 Tennessee (16-6, 7-3 SEC)
Where: Starkville, Mississippi – Humphrey Coliseum
When: Wednesday, February 8, 8:00 p.m. CT
Live Stats: StatBroadcast (https://hailst.at/MBKLiveStats)

TV: ESPN2 (Watch ESPN App)
Talent: Tom Hart, Jimmy Dykes
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 (47.1 – 2nd), rebounding margin (+7.5 – 2nd) and defensive rebounding percentage (75.8 – 3rd).

The +7.5 rebounding margin for State is 15th 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. 28 nationally with a 112.9 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. 24 in the ESPN BPI, checks in at No. 43 in the KenPom.com ratings and holds the No. 48 spot in the NCAA NET rankings. Five of the eight losses for the Bulldogs have come against NCAA Quad 1 opponents on the road or at a neutral site with four of those five setbacks coming by single digits.

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 (109), Tennessee (108), Arkansas (104) and LSU (102).

3. Last time out, Mississippi State dropped a hard-fought 63-55 road decision in-front of a capacity crowd against one of the SEC's hottest teams in Arkansas.

The Bulldogs faced a nine-point deficit during the final six minutes of the contest and was able to slice the margin down to one point inside two minutes. However, Arkansas fended off the Bulldogs for its eighth consecutive win.

Iverson Molinar fired in a team-leading 19 points followed by 12 points and 11 rebounds courtesy of Garrison Brooks. Tolu Smith returned to the starting five after a three-game absence to provide 11 points, six rebounds and three assists.

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 22-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 along with Alabama's Jahvon Quinerly are two of eight Power 5 players to be ranked among top 10 of their respective leagues in points (18.1 – 3rd), field goal percentage (49.1 – 3rd) and assists (4.0 – 8th). The list also includes Terrell Brown, Jr. (Washington), Mike Miles, Jr. (TCU), Isaiah Mobley (Southern Cal), Will Richardson (Oregon), Alondes Williams (Wake Forest) and Payton Willis (Minnesota).

Molinar is ranked among the SEC leaders in free throw percentage (88.8 – 1st), and assist-to-turnover ratio (2.02 – 4th). He has scored or assisted on 37.6 percent of MSU's points this season.

Molinar became the 41st player in MSU history and eighth during Howland's MSU tenure to eclipse 1,000 career points with a 20-point performance against Ole Miss (01/22). He enters this week's action 40 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 seven games this season. The seven games of 15-5 are tied for 3rd among Power 5 players with four players. The quartet trails only Baylor's James Akinjo and Syracuse's Joseph Girard.

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

If Smith qualified for the SEC leaderboard, he would rank 2nd in field goal percentage (57.7), 10th in rebounds (6.6) and 17th in points (12.9). 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 3,151 career points and 148 career games in double figures. Their teams have posted a combined 106-42 record when providing 10-plus points headed by Jeffries' 31-7 and Watts' 18-3 marks, respectively.

Brooks holds the top spot among SEC active players and is second among Power 5 players nationally with 944 career rebounds in addition to sitting fifth among SEC's active players with 1,526 career points. He has pumped in 10-plus points during five of his last seven outings.

Brooks matched his season's best with 18 points versus South Carolina (02/01). He has posted 17.0 points and 7.7 rebounds per game over his last three home outings which also includes a 16-point, 10-rebound effort against No. 24 Alabama (01/15).

Mississippi State is 10-2 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 3 games of 2-plus steals.

Moore has had 10 of 15 career games of 10-plus points come this season at MSU. He has registered double figures in two of his last three home appearances. 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 12 occasions this season and his 1.7 steals per game check in 12th on the SEC leaderboard. He has drained a team-leading 34 three-pointers at a 36.2 percent clip and has connected on multiple treys during five of his nine 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 his seven SEC appearances.

FROM THE LOCKER ROOM – HEAD COACH BEN HOWLAND
"Tennessee is shooting it really well. They've shot close to 50 percent from three in their last two conference games. They make more three's than anyone else in our conference at a little over nine a game. All four of their guards are shooting the ball at a very high clip right now. They're also stretching the floor and playing great defense. They're a top team in the conference right now in steals. They do a good job of pressuring and denying the ball."

"I thought we had a really good day of practice yesterday. That sense of urgency starts with me. It was very clear in the hour and 10-minute film session that there's a sense of urgency coming from the head coach in terms of effort, execution and desire. We have 27 days left in the regular season and nine games to play. There's not a lot of practice time left. We've got to clean up and be more efficient on both ends of the floor. There's definitely that sense of urgency. It's crunch time."

"We've played well at both ends of the floor at home. Tennessee is a good program and one of the hottest teams in our league. We have to play very well tomorrow if we want a chance to win. They're very tough and very physical. They rebound the ball well and do a good job sharing the ball. They have really talented kids; Josiah-Jordan James had a great game against South Carolina and looked like a NBA player. He's a five-star recruit coming out of high school and is coming into his own. With them losing their starting power forward, he'll play more minutes and play smaller at the four. That's a tough matchup for a team that stretches the floor so well."

SERIES HISTORY
Tennessee has won five of the six meetings going back to the 2017-18 season and holds an 86-44 overall series advantage.

The Bulldogs last win in the series was an 86-73 victory at Humphrey Coliseum on Feb. 1, 2020 when Reggie Perry racked up 24 points and 12 rebounds followed by a 20-point effort from D.J. Stewart Jr. fueled by four three-pointers.

KNOW YOUR OPPONENT
Tennessee is one of the SEC's top defensive units holding opponents to 63.1 points per game and posting 10.0 steals per contest. The Vols also headline the SEC with a +4.68 turnover margin.

Santiago Vescovi (13.9 PPG, 4.5 RPG, 3.2 APG, 1.9 SPG) and Kennedy Chandler (13.2 PPG, 5.0 APG, 2.3 SPG) headline the offense averaging in double figures. Vescovi has posted 10-plus points in all 10 SEC outings and has buried 36 of his team-leading 66 treys against SEC opponents. He leads the SEC with 3.0 three's per contest and is second with a 38.8 percent shooting clip.

Chandler came away with his second double-double of the season, 11 points and 10 assists, at South Carolina (02/01). His SEC season-high is 19 points at No. 21 LSU (01/08). Chandler's 2.3 steals are second, while his 5.0 assists are third on the SEC leaderboard.

Josiah-Jordan James (8.1 PPG, 5.7 RPG, 1.7 SPG, 1.1 BPG) has ripped off double figures in three straight games and is coming off a season's best 20 points at South Carolina (02/01).

Zakai Zeigler (8.0 PPG, 2.5 APG, 1.6 SPG) also has been hot of late with four consecutive games of double-digit points. He equaled his season-high with 18 points at South Carolina (02/01).

John Fulkerson (7.5 PPG, 4.8 RPG, 1.1 BPG) is slated to break the SEC's mark with his 153rd career appearance on Wednesday. Tennessee will be without Olivier Nkamhoua (8.6 PPG, 5.6 RPG, 1.1 BPG) due to injury.

UP NEXT
Mississippi State heads into the second half of four consecutive games against NCAA NET Quad 1 opponents with a road trip to LSU on Saturday. Tip time is slated for 7 p.m. CT from the Pete Maravich Assembly Center, televised by ESPN2 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-No. 18 Tennessee

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Players Mentioned

Garrison Brooks

D.J. Jeffries

Iverson Molinar

Shakeel Moore

Tolu Smith III

D.J. Stewart Jr.

Rocket Watts

Mississippi State University Athletics