Gameday: Five Things To Know MSU-No. 9 Tennessee

Tuesday, January 17

Starkville

6:00 PM

Mississippi State

#9 Tennessee

Tickets

Photo by: Mississippi State Athletics

Gameday: Five Things To Know MSU-No. 9 Tennessee

January 16, 2023 | Men's Basketball

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by Matt Dunaway, Director/Communications

STARKVILLE – Mississippi State men's basketball faces its fourth ranked opponent in conference play as the Bulldogs return home to meet No. 9 Tennessee on Tuesday at Humphrey Coliseum.

The only other time that the Bulldogs (12-5, 1-4 SEC) have faced four top 25 opponents during their opening six SEC games was in 2000-01.

State is in the midst of a stretch where four of its five opponents to conclude the January portion of its schedule are slated to be ranked inside the top 25. In total, the five ranked opponents would be the second-highest total in program history during a calendar month only behind the 1999-2000 squad, who faced six ranked foes in February that season.

Last time out, the Maroon and White battled No. 21 Auburn to a 69-63 decision on Saturday as the Tigers extended the nation's second-longest home winning streak to 28 straight games.

One of the staples of a Coach Jans team is all-out effort and a suffocating defense. Through 17 games, the Bulldogs are among the nation's best surrendering 57.5 points per game (2nd SEC • 5th nationally) on a 38.5 opponent field goal percentage (3rd SEC • 14th nationally).

Historically at State, the 57.5 points per game allowed is the program's second-lowest 17-game total in the modern era since the 1955-56 season, which was Babe McCarthy's first season with the Bulldogs.

The Maroon and White has dialed up 172 steals on a 10.1 per game clip (2nd SEC • 8th nationally) through 17 games. Both marks are second in program history only behind the 2003-04 SEC championship squad. State has averaged at least 10.0 steals per game through 17 games on three occasions going back to 1979-80.

According to KenPom, the Bulldogs are among the nation's top 35 in six additional categories which include steal percentage (15.3 – 4th), adjusted defensive efficiency (89.9 – 7th), defensive turnover percentage (24.7 – 10th), offensive rebounding percentage (36.3 – 15th), effective defensive field goal percentage (45.2 – 22nd) and two-point field goal percentage defense (44.2 – 24th).

State also possesses top 5 SEC marks with a +3.88 turnover margin (2nd), 16.29 turnovers forced per game (3rd) and a 1.17 assist-to-turnover ratio (4th). The Bulldogs also have dished out 14.47 assists per game (5th) and grabbed 38.82 rebounds per game (5th).

Tennessee (14-3, 4-1 SEC) has won four of its first five SEC outings and sit in a third-place tie with Auburn in the SEC standings. The Vols are coming off a 63-56 loss to Kentucky on Saturday.

Offensively, Tennessee's balanced attack is led by Santiago Vescovi (12.9 PPG, 4.1 RPG, 3.2 APG, 2.3 SPG). The Uruguay native has drained 40 of his 64 field goals from beyond the three-point line. He has amassed double figures in six straight games which includes a 14-point effort against Mississippi State.

Olivier Nkamhoa (11.1 PPG, 4.8 RPG, 2.4 APG) has chipped in three performances of 20-plus points on the season. He produced a season's best 21 points on 10-of-10 shooting at South Carolina.

Zakai Zeigler (9.8 PPG, 4.5 APG, 3.0 RPG, 2.2 SPG) and Julian Phillips (9.8 PPG, 5.3 RPG, 1.5 APG) are just below averaging double figures for the season. Zeigler turned in a solid effort with 11 points, 10 assists and 3 steals versus Mississippi State.

Tyreke Key (9.1 PPG, 2.7 RPG, 1.6 APG) and Josiah-Jordan James (8.4 PPG, 3.7 RPG, 2.0 APG, 1.0 SPG) give Tennessee six players averaging over eight points per contest. James returned to the lineup after an eight-game injury absence against Mississippi State. His SEC season's best is 12 points at South Carolina.

SERIES HISTORY VS. TENNESSEE
Tuesday's meeting marks the ninth time over the last 10 matchups since 2016-17 that the Bulldogs will take on a ranked Tennessee squad. The Vols have won all eight of those contests. State's last win in the series an 86-73 decision on 02/01/2020 when both schools were unranked.

Overall, Tennessee possesses an 89-44 series advantage. The last time the Bulldogs defeated a ranked Tennessee team was a 62-56 quarterfinal win at the 1999 SEC Tournament.

The Matchup: Mississippi State (12-5, 1-4 SEC) vs. No. 9 Tennessee (14-3, 4-1 SEC)
Where: Starkville, Mississippi – Humphrey Coliseum
When: Tuesday, January 17, 6:01 p.m. CT
Live Stats: StatBroadcast (https://hailst.at/MBKLiveStats)

TV: ESPN2
Talent: Tom Hart, Dane Bradshaw
Channel Lineup: Ch. 209 (DirecTV); Ch. 143 (Dish); Ch. 202 (C-Spire); Ch. 1024 (MaxxSouth)
Online: 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 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 .760 winning percentage (155-49) in his seventh season as a NCAA Division I head coach. The .760 clip ranks fourth nationally only trailing Gonzaga's Mark Few (.836), Kansas' Bill Self (.772) and Kentucky's John Calipari (.761).

Jans is the only men's basketball coach at State to win his opening 11 games. The previous mark was held by E.C. Hayes, who completed the 1911-12 season at 9-0 and won the opening game of the 1912-13 campaign.

The 11-0 start for the Maroon and White was the program's fourth start with at least 11 straight wins and the program's best start since the 2003-04 SEC regular season championship campaign began with a 13-0 mark.

Chris Jans was one of three coaches in SEC history to start his first season with at least 11 consecutive victories (John Calipari, Kentucky, 2009-10; Floyd Burdette, Alabama, 1946-47).

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 (14.0 PPG, 7.8 RPG, 1.6 APG) captured All-SEC Preseason First-Team. 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 has started 67 of his 68 career appearances in the Maroon and White where he has amassed 913 points, 522 rebounds and connected on 57.6 percent of his field goal attempts. The 57.6 shooting clip is sixth in program history among players who have made at least 300 field goals.

Smith has piled up 48 career outings in double figures, 16 double-doubles and registered 8 of his 13 outings of 20-plus points versus SEC competition. For his career, the Bay St. Louis native reached 1,000 career points versus Ole Miss (01/07) after he began his career with 112 during his freshman season at Western Kentucky.

Smith and UK's Oscar Tshiebwe are the only SEC players to rank inside the top 15 in points (14.00 – 13th) along with league's top 5 in rebounds (7.76 – Tied 5th) and field goal percentage (58.8 – 1st) in 2022-23.

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

Smith notched his first 20-10 game of 2022-23 and sixth career 20-10 outing with 20 points and 10 rebounds at No. 21 Auburn.

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 (9.4 PPG, 6.3 RPG, 1.9 APG, 1.4 SPG) heads into the Tennessee game 57 points shy of 1,000 for his career. He has provided double figures in 11 games, which is second on the team this season. The Olive Branch product has racked up 53 career games where Mississippi State and Memphis has garnered a 40-13 record.

Jeffries continues to showcase his versatility with 40 career games of 5+ rebounds, 23 career outings with 3+ assists, 23 outings with 2+ three-pointers made, 22 career games with multiple steals and 18 career outings with multiple blocks.

Jeffries tallied a season's best 15 points apiece during the Akron and Jackson State contests. He opened SEC action with his third career double-double fueled by a career-high 15 rebounds coupled with 11 points versus No. 8 Alabama.

Matthews (6.6 PPG, 4.9 RPG, 2.2 APG, 1.4 SPG, 0.9 BPG) has already secured 5 of his top 10 career scoring performances in 2022-23. He collected a season's best 14 points against South Dakota.

Matthews is the only SEC player in 2022-23 to have at least five blocks, five assists and five steals during a game this season. He racked up a career-best five blocks versus Texas A&M Corpus-Christi during the 2022-23 opening act. Matthews also notched career-highs of five assists and five blocks versus Jackson State.

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 10 of his 28 outings with 2+ assists, 8 of his 27 games with 2+ steals and 9 of his 27 performances of 5+ rebounds during the 2022-23 campaign.

Moore (7.2 PPG, 2.9 RPG, 2.5 SPG, 2.1 APG) has collected 15 of his 20 career games with 10-plus points in Maroon and White. Mississippi State and NC State are a combined 15-5 when Moore secures double figures.

Moore has tallied multiple steals in 39 of 74 career games and his 54 steals last season were the most by a MSU player since Lamar Peters in 2018-19. His 2.5 steals per contest are second on the SEC leaderboard this season. The North Carolina native's 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 a season-high 17 points and added four steals at Minnesota. The 17 points were two shy of his career-high and his highest scoring output since tallying a career-best 19 points against Detroit Mercy on 11/17/2021.

For his career, Moore has drained 2+ three-pointers in 24 games and handed out 3+ assists in 18 outings. His best SEC performance in 2022-23 was a 15-point and 4-steal effort at Georgia.

4. The Bulldogs have four talented transfers making contributions which include Dashawn Davis (Oregon State), 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 in 2021-22 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 (8.1 PPG, 3.1 APG, 1.7 RPG, 1.4 SPG) 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 treys against Utah during the second half.

Davis ranks among the SEC's top 5 in league contests with a 2.4 assist-to-turnover ratio (4th) and 3.8 assists per game (Tied 5th). He secured a SEC season-high 13 points at No. 21 Auburn.

For his career, Davis has turned in 19 games of 10+ points and 2 games of 20+ points to go along with 21 games of 5+ assists and 18 games of 2+ steals.

Reed Jr., a 2022 All-Ohio Valley First-Team and NABC All-District 18 Second-Team pick, has started 68 of his 74 career games between MSU and Southeast Missouri. He comes into the Tennessee game 127 points away from 1,000 for his career.

Reed Jr. (5.5 PPG, 2.7 RPG, 1.0 APG) came away with a season's best 15 points during the Marquette game, while his best SEC outing was 9 points and a career-high tying 8 rebounds against Ole Miss. He has drained multiple triples in 5 games in 2022-23 and in 42 career games.

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).

McNair Jr. improved his stat averages over his first three seasons under Coach Jans at New Mexico State. He has connected on 53.0 percent of his career field goal attempts.

McNair Jr. (3.9 PPG, 3.6 RPG) made his first career MSU starts versus Omaha. His MSU bests are 13 points versus Ole Miss followed by 10 points against No. 8 Alabama. The Philadelphia native has upped his averages to 5.4 points per contest during SEC action.

McNair Jr. has hauled down 7 rebounds versus Ole Miss, No. 8 Alabama and Arkansas – Pine Bluff. For the season, he's notched 7 efforts of 5+ points and 6 outings of 5+ rebounds in 2022-23.

McNair Jr. has amassed 13 games of 10+ points coupled with 33 games of 5+ rebounds, 11 games of 2+ blocks and 9 games of 2+ assists over his career.

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). He has made two starts in 2022-23, most recently at No. 8 Tennessee, where he racked up 14 of his season's best 15 points during the second half.

Stevenson (4.2 PPG, 2.6 RPG) hauled down a season-high seven rebounds versus Omaha. He has collected 6 outings of 5+ points and 3 efforts of 5+ rebounds in 2022-23.

For his career, Stevenson has 69 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).

Hamilton has notched 5+ points on four occasions in 2022-23, with a season's best 9 points at No. 8 Tennessee. His best all-around effort was 4 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists versus South Dakota.

Murphy has secured 5.5 points per game over his last six appearances headed by a career-high 11 points against No. 8 Alabama and a 10-point effort versus Drake. He has tallied 5+ points five times in addition to 2+ assists and 2+ three-pointers made in four games.

Jones Jr. has provided 5+ points on three occasions and has recorded a steal in seven of his eight appearances. His season's bests are 6 points during the Mississippi Valley State and Arkansas - Pine Bluff contests. Jones Jr. missed seven consecutive games due to injury before he returned at Georgia.

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 spot on SportsCenter's Top 10.

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