Gameday: Five Things To Know MSU-Texas A&M

BRYAN-COLLEGE STATION, TEXAS – Mississippi State's wraps up its SEC regular season slate with a trip to the Lone Star State and a matchup with Texas A&M on Saturday evening at Reed Arena.

State (17-13, 8-9 SEC) and Texas A&M (19-11, 8-9) are two of six teams that are separated by one game between 5th and 10th place in the SEC standings leading into next week's conference tournament in Tampa, Florida.

The two teams are joined by LSU in a three-way tie for 8th place. The trio trails Alabama, Florida and South Carolina who are locked in a three-way tie of their own for 5th place.

A balanced scoring effort has been key to Mississippi State's success this season. The Bulldogs have posted a 11-1 mark when at least four players register 10-plus points. State has accomplished that feat during five of its eight SEC victories.

The Aggies have won three straight and four of their last five highlighted by a convincing 87-71 road win at No. 25 Alabama last time out. Texas A&M began its 4-1 flurry with a 56-55 victory over Florida (02/08).

The Matchup: Mississippi State (17-13, 8-9 SEC) vs. Texas A&M (19-11, 8-9 SEC)
Where: Bryan-College Station, Texas – Reed Arena
When: Saturday, March 5, 7:30 p.m. CT
Live Stats: StatBroadcast (https://hailst.at/MBKLiveStats)

TV: SEC Network (Watch ESPN App)
Talent: Roy Philpott & 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 (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

FROM THE LOCKER ROOM – COACH HOWLAND
"Our players are great kids. They have high character, and they really love playing. We have a good group of guys. I think it's really difficult to give up or quit. If it's easy for someone to quit, that's someone you don't want to be around. You never quit, you never give up and you never stop battling no matter what. That's true in basketball and it's true in life."

"There's a guy [Tolu Smith] who's had to grind through a lot – four different stoppages between the broken foot, broken toe, COVID and dislocated patella. He's had to deal with so much, yet he continues to stay positive and keep grinding. I'm really proud of him and am happy for him that he's playing well now. He's playing as he's capable, but he still has a higher ceiling since he's missed so much time. I told people before the season, we have an all-league player. I thought we had two of them going in. That's why it hurt so much when he went through all the different situations he has. I'm glad to see him playing well and want to continue to see that going into Tampa next week."

"I'm really happy for him [Andersson Garcia] because he's such a hard worker. This is basically like his freshman year. Last year, he was just learning the language more than anything. I think he's got an incredibly bright future in the game. He's so tough and plays so hard. He plays with heart, toughness and poise. A lot of times when the ball goes up, players don't want to get their nose up there on the rebound. He's getting his whole head in there. He's afraid of nothing. That serves him well in the game."

FIVE THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT MISSISSIPPI STATE
1. 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.

Entering the final weekend of the regular season, Mississippi State holds top three marks on the SEC leaderboard in field goal percentage (45.7 – 2nd), rebounding margin (+6.0 – 2nd) and defensive rebounding percentage (74.2 – 2nd).

State sits at No. 34 in the ESPN BPI, checks in at No. 50 in the KenPom.com ratings and holds the No. 56 spot in the NCAA NET rankings.

Nine of the 13 losses for the Bulldogs have come against NCAA Quad 1 opponents this season. Seven of the nine losses have come on the road or at a neutral site with seven of the setbacks also have come by single digits.

2. Last time out, Mississippi State overcame a 19-point first half deficit and a 12-point halftime hole to grab a 5-point advantage in the second half. However, No. 5 Auburn emerged with an 81-68 overtime decision.

Tolu Smith matched a SEC season's best 22 points and grabbed a season-high 12 rebounds to collect his fourth career 20-10 outing. Iverson Molinar made it 30 consecutive games in double figures with a 14-point performance, while Garrison Brooks added 10 points and eight rebounds.

Off the bench, Andersson Garcia filled the box score with eight points, a career-best 13 rebounds, three assists and two steals.

The Maroon and White dominated paint points by a 50-24 margin and the battle of the boards, 50-32. A key for Auburn was a 10-for-26 clip from three-point territory.

3. Iverson Molinar is the only SEC player to score in double figures in every game his team has played in this season. He and Ohio State's E.J. Liddell are the only two players nationally to accomplish the feat.

The 30-game streak for Molinar is the longest for a MSU player to start a season in program history. Jeff Malone, the program's all-time leading scorer, held the previous mark with double figures in all 29 games of the 1982-83 season.

Molinar, a native of Panama, is one of four State players to register back-to-back seasons with over 500 points during the 2000s. The list includes Lawrence Roberts (2003-04 & 2004-05), Jamont Gordon (2006-07 & 2007-08) and Quinndary Weatherspoon (2017-18 & 2018-19). He and Indiana's Trayce Jackson-Davis are the only Power 5 players to accomplish the feat during the last two seasons.

Molinar is 36 points away of being able to pass three players on the program's all-time scoring list which would include Erick Dampier (1994-95-96), Jerry Graves (1959-60-61) and Jack Bouldin (1970-71-72) to move into 23rd place. He is one of five players during Coach Howland's tenure to eclipse 1,200 career points at State.

Molinar is joined by Vanderbilt's Scotty Pippen Jr. and Alabama's Jahvon Quinerly as three of eight Power 5 players to be ranked among the top 11 of their respective leagues in points (17.9 – 3rd), field goal percentage (46.7 – 5th) and assists (3.6 – 12th). The national 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 (87.3 – 2nd), and assist-to-turnover ratio (1.65 – 7th). He has scored or assisted on 37.1 percent of MSU's points this season.

Tolu Smith is the SEC's defending rebounding champion and racked up the most double-doubles among SEC players last season. If he qualified for the SEC leaderboard, Smith would rank 2nd in field goal percentage (55.6), 12th in rebounds (6.2) and 13th in points (13.5).

Six of Smith's top seven scoring efforts have come versus SEC opponents this season headlined by three consecutive 20-plus point efforts: 22 points against No. 5 Auburn (03/02), 22 points versus Vanderbilt (02/26) and 21 points at South Carolina (02/23),

Smith has garnered 10-plus in 12 of his 17 appearances in 2021-22 and in 32 of his 47 career games at State. Six of his eight career outings of 20-plus points have come against SEC opponents.

4. Mississippi State's transfer class of Garrison Brooks, D.J. Jeffries, Shakeel Moore and Rocket Watts has amassed 3,338 career points and 156 career games in double figures. The quartet has combined for 44.3 percent of State's points this season.

Brooks is the only active Power 5 player with over 1,500 career points and 1,000 career rebounds.
He has pumped in 10-plus points during seven of his last 10 outings headed by a SEC season-high 18 points against South Carolina (02/01).

Brooks has piled up 15 of his 19 career double-doubles versus Power 5 competition. Three of his four double-doubles have come against SEC opponents in 2021-22. He posted 11 points and 11 rebounds at LSU (02/12).

Mississippi State is 11-4 when Jeffries scores in double figures. He amassed a season's best 19 points against Winthrop (12/21) and his SEC season-high is 15 points at No. 25 Alabama (02/16). The Olive Branch product has fired in 10-plus points in 15 games with seven outings coming against SEC opponents this season.

Jeffries has showcased his versatility with 11 games of 5-plus rebounds, 8 games of 3-plus assists, 6 games of 2-plus steals and 5 games of 2-plus blocks.

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 in five consecutive games and on 18 occasions this season. His 1.7 steals per game check in 11th on the SEC leaderboard.

Watts tallied 53.0 percent of his points against SEC opponents but has missed 10 games total which includes the last six outings due to an arm injury.

5. Andersson Garcia has chipped in 6.8 points, 7.8 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 2.0 steals per game over State's last five games. Six of his top seven career scoring efforts have come against SEC opponents. The Bulldogs are 9-2 when Garcia scores at least six points this season.

Garcia earned the second half starting nod versus No. 5 Auburn (03/02) where he came away with a career-high 13 rebounds to go along with eight points, three assists and two steals.

For the season, Garcia has turned in 11 games of 5-plus rebounds coupled with 10 games of 2-plus steals and 9 games of 2-plus assists.

SERIES HISTORY
Mississippi State and Texas A&M have split its previous 16 meetings with both teams winning on each other's home floors last season. The Bulldogs hold a 5-4 edge with Ben Howland at the helm.

State collected a 63-57 victory in Bryan-College Station. Iverson Molinar and D.J. Stewart Jr. combined for 32 points, 10 rebounds and four assists. The duo buried a combined six triples. On the interior, Abdul Ado and Tolu Smith teamed up for 16 points on a cumulative 8-for-12 shooting clip.

KNOW YOUR OPPONENT
The Aggies have three players averaging in double figures headed by Quenton Jackson (14.4 PPG, 3.4 RPG, 1.7 APG, 1.6 SPG), Henry Coleman III (10.6 PPG, 6.2 RPG, 1.3 SPG) and Tyrece Radford (10.4 PPG, 5.6 RPG, 1.1 SPG).

Jackson has been inserted into the starting lineup during five of the team's last six games. He ripped off 10-plus points in 12 straight games fueled by 20 or more points during three of his last four outings. Jackson was a perfect 11-of-11 from the floor in a 31-point outburst versus Georgia (02/22) and did the heavy lifting with 28 points at No. 25 Alabama (03/02).

Coleman III has tucked away all four of his double-doubles over the team's last 10 games. He notched 18 points and 11 rebounds during the win at No. 25 Alabama (03/02). Coleman is hitting on 56.1 percent of his shot attempts highlighted by a 17-for-22 clip over the last three games.

Radford has bumped up his scoring average by over a point with double digit points in eight of his last nine appearances. He dialed up a season-high 22 points at No. 25 Alabama (03/02) aided by a quartet of treys. Radford has sank 14 of his 31 three's over the team's last seven games.

Playing well of late off the bench has been Hassan Diarra (5.7 PPG) who has pumped home 10-plus points in three of his last four outings. He provided 13 points apiece in road games at Vanderbilt (02/19) and Ole Miss (02/26).

UP NEXT
Mississippi State will play during Thursday's SEC Tournament Second Round hosted at Amalie Arena, the home of the two-time defending Stanley Cup Champion Tampa Bay Lightning. All four games on Thursday will be televised by SEC Network and available 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-Texas A&M

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Players Mentioned

Abdul Ado

Garrison Brooks

Andersson Garcia

D.J. Jeffries

Iverson Molinar

Shakeel Moore

Tolu Smith III

D.J. Stewart Jr.

Rocket Watts

Mississippi State University Athletics