Gameday: Five Things To Know MSU-South Carolina

Thursday, March 10

Tampa, Fla.

5 p.m.

Mississippi State

South Carolina

Gameday: Five Things To Know MSU-South Carolina

March 09, 2022 | Men's Basketball

WATCH: MSU vs. South Carolina (SECN)WATCH: Coach Howland Media Session Photo Gallery LISTEN: Hail State Plus Notes (PDF)

by Matt Dunaway, Director/Communications

TAMPA, Florida – Mississippi State turns its attention to the SEC Tournament and faces a familiar foe in South Carolina during Thursday's second round at Amalie Arena.

The two teams have already met twice this season with both programs protecting their respective home floors. The Bulldogs (17-14, 8-10 SEC) registered a 78-64 victory on Feb. 1 at the Hump, while South Carolina (18-12, 9-9 SEC) dialed up a 66-56 win on Feb. 23 in Columbia.

The two programs have split their four previous SEC Tournament meetings. The Gamecocks captured the first two meetings in 2001 and 2006 with State picked up wins during 2009 and 2013.

The last time the SEC Tournament was held in Tampa was in 2009 when the Bulldogs knocked off Georgia (79-60), South Carolina (82-68), No. 20 LSU (67-57) and Tennessee (64-61). Jarvis Varnado, the NCAA all-time leading shot blocker, along with Barry Stewart secured All-Tournament honors with Varnado winning the event's MVP. Mississippi State also has won the SEC Tournament title in 1996 under Richard Williams and in 2002 under Rick Stansbury.

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.

South Carolina has won five of its last seven outings to finish the regular season in a five-way tie for fifth place in the SEC standings. The Gamecocks have dropped four of their last five SEC Tournament openers.

The Matchup: Mississippi State (17-14, 8-10 SEC) vs. South Carolina (18-12, 9-9 SEC)
Where: Tampa, Florida – Amalie Arena
When: Thursday, March 10, 5:00 p.m. CT
Live Stats: StatBroadcast (https://hailst.at/MBKLiveStats)

TV: SEC Network (Watch ESPN App)
Talent: Tom Hart, Dane Bradshaw, Alyssa Lang
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
"It's do or die now. I'm very excited, and our players had a very good, spirited practice on Monday [in Starkville]. We'll have a very good effort Thursday night against South Carolina. Our guys want to have a chance to advance in this tournament and do something special."

"In the first game [against South Carolina], we really executed well offensively and played pretty good defense. In the second game, obviously, they played really well. [Jermaine] Cousinard made a huge difference. In the first game we played them, he wasn't playing to the level he's been playing at the past month. He and [Keyshawn] Bryant have really upped their play. Those were their two projected to be the best going into the season, and they're playing like it now. I would say that's a huge difference between those two games."

"Iverson [Molinar] means so much to me in terms of what a great kid he is, and how proud of him I am that I've had the opportunity to coach him and watch him grow. It's really all him. Iverson has one of the best work ethics and commitment to excellence of any player I've ever coached. This kid eats, sleeps and breathes basketball. He's unbelievable in terms of the amount of time he spends on his game in the gym. If you talked to our strength coach Collin Crane, he'd tell you what a phenomenal young man he is in that area. He's very consistent on a daily basis and is a great teammate."

"Iverson also embodies a student-athlete. When I got into the business 40 years ago, it was about helping kids reach their potential both as players and as students. They all want to be pros, but so few many of them become them. You've got to prepare for life after basketball, and he's really set up for that. He's a major in business administration with a minor in landscape architecture. He's very bright and is going to do well in life. He's also going to do well in basketball over the next decade."

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 SEC Tournament, Mississippi State holds top three marks on the league leaderboard in field goal percentage (45.7 – 2nd), rebounding margin (+5.8 – 2nd) and defensive rebounding percentage (74.0 – 2nd).

State sits at No. 36 in the ESPN BPI, checks in at No. 49 in the KenPom.com ratings and holds the No. 57 spot in the NCAA NET rankings.

10 of the 14 losses for the Bulldogs have come against NCAA Quad 1 opponents this season. Eight of the 10 losses have come on the road or at a neutral site with eight of the setbacks also have come by single digits.

2. Last time out, Mississippi State nearly overcome a 19-point second half deficit once again but ultimately fell at Texas A&M by a 67-64 margin.

Tolu Smith provided a team-leading 18 points on a flawless 8-for-8 shooting effort, while Iverson Molinar tacked on 15 points and four assists. Off the bench, Andersson Garcia turned in a career-high 14 points coupled with six boards, three assists and two steals.

State outrebounded the Aggies 32-30 and also outshot Texas A&M by a 46 percent to 43 percent.

3. Iverson Molinar, an All-SEC First-Team selection by the coaches and Bailey Howell Trophy recipient, 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 31-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). Indiana's Trayce Jackson-Davis, Illinois' Kofi Cockburn and Molinar are the only Power 5 players to accomplish the feat during the last two seasons.

Molinar is 21 points away of being able to pass Jerry Graves (1959-60-61) and Jack Bouldin (1970-71-72) to move into 23rd place on the program's all-time scoring list. 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. as two of seven Power 5 players to be ranked among the top 11 of their respective leagues in points (17.8 – 3rd), field goal percentage (46.2 – 5th) and assists (3.6 – 11th). The national list also includes Terrell Brown, Jr. (Washington), Adam Flagler (Baylor), Mike Miles, Jr. (TCU), Alondes Williams (Wake Forest) and Payton Willis (Minnesota).

Molinar is ranked among the SEC leaders in free throw percentage (87.0 – 2nd), and assist-to-turnover ratio (1.64 – 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 3rd in field goal percentage (57.9), tied for 12th in rebounds (6.2) and 12th in points (13.8).

Seven of Smith's top eight 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 13 of his 18 appearances in 2021-22 and in 33 of his 48 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 3,351 career points and 156 career games in double figures. The quartet has combined for 43.6 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 11 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) for last double-double.

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 of his last six 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 11 games total which includes the last seven outings due to an arm injury.

5. Andersson Garcia has chipped in 8.0 points, 7.5 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 2.0 steals per game over State's last six games. He has tallied seven of his top eight career scoring efforts versus SEC teams in 2021-22.

Garcia worked his way to a career-high 14 points at Texas A&M (03/05) after he hauled down a career-best 13 rebounds against No. 5 Auburn (03/02).

State is 9-3 when Garcia scores at least six points this season. He has turned in 12 games of 5-plus rebounds, 11 games of 2-plus steals and 10 games with 2-plus assists.

SERIES HISTORY
The Bulldogs have won seven of their last 10 outings with South Carolina since the 2017-18 season. State has won three of the last four in the series by 14, 16 and 21 points, respectively. Overall, the Maroon and White possesses a 26-17 series advantage.

Garrison Brooks got the Bulldogs rolling with 17 first-half points during State's 78-64 wire-to-wire win over the Gamecocks earlier this season. Iverson Molinar tacked on another 20-point effort fueled by a 10-for-10 clip at the free throw line.

The Bulldogs opened the contest going 11-for-17 from the floor and used an 18-2 flurry en route to a 45-23 halftime advantage.

KNOW YOUR OPPONENT
South Carolina heads into postseason play with three players averaging in double figures which include Jermaine Couisnard (12.2 PPG, 3.1 APG, 1.1 SPG), Erik Stevenson (11.4 PPG, 4.7 RPG, 1.0 SPG) and James Reese V (10.8 PPG, 1.9 APG, 1.1 SPG).

Couisnard comes into the game on a streak of five consecutive games in double figures, with three of those five coming off 20-plus point performances. Last time out against Mississippi State (02/23), Couisnard contributed 22 points which matched his second highest total of the campaign.

Stevenson enters on a hot streak of his own. He's nailed a trey in nine consecutive games. His last matchup without a three came against the Maroon and White on the road (02/01). Last time out, Stevenson knocked down three shots from behind the arc en route to 13 points and dished out four assists in a loss to No. 5 Auburn (03/05).

Reese V has dialed up 15.0 points per game over his last three outings fueled by an 18-point outing at No. 5 Auburn (03/05). He drained 29 of his 50 treys against SEC opponents and has hit multiple triples in his last three games.

South Carolina boasts an All-SEC Freshman Team member in Guard Devin Carter (9.0 PPG, 3.8 RPG, 1.9 APG). Four of Carter's top five scoring performances have come against SEC foes. Last time Carter and the Gamecocks faced the Bulldogs, Carter dished out five dimes.

On the interior, the Gamecocks rely on the duo of Keyshawn Bryant (8.8 PPG, 4.1 RPG, 0.9 SPG) and Wildens Leveque (6.8 PPG, 4.7 RPG, 1.0 BPG). Leveque has started in all but one game this season. His season-high is a 16-point performance against Kentucky (02/08), a tally only beaten by Bryant. Bryant went off for 18 points and 14 rebounds versus the Wildcats. In the last game against Mississippi State (02/23), he poured in 14 points.

UP NEXT
The winner of Thursday's second round contest will advance to face No. 2 seed and No. 9 ranked Tennessee during the quarterfinals on Friday. Tip time is slated for 5 p.m. CT televised by the 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.