Gameday: Five Things To Know MSU-Kentucky

Wednesday, February 15

Starkville

7:30 PM

Mississippi State

Kentucky

Tickets

FAYETTEVILLE, AR - February 11, 2023 - Mississippi State Forward Tolu Smith (#1) during the game between the Arkansas Razorbacks and the Mississippi State Bulldogs at Bud Walton Arena in Fayetteville, AR. Photo By Mike Mattina

Photo by: Mississippi State Athletics

Gameday: Five Things To Know MSU-Kentucky

February 14, 2023 | Men's Basketball

WATCH: MSU vs. Kentucky [SECN]LISTEN: Hail State On-Demand Buy Tickets Fan Gameday Central Live Stats Game Notes (PDF)

by Matt Dunaway, Director/Communications

STARKVILLE – Another pivotal February matchup awaits Mississippi State men's basketball as the Bulldogs square off with Kentucky in-front of another anticipated sellout crowd on Wednesday evening at Humphrey Coliseum.

The Bulldogs (17-8, 5-7 SEC) bring a five-game winning streak, while Kentucky (16-9, 7-5 SEC) has drop back-to-back decisions after ripping off a 6-1 mark from Jan. 14 to Feb. 4.

One of the staples of a Coach Jans team is all-out effort and a suffocating defense. State is the nation's only program to rank inside the top 11 in scoring defense (58.7 – 2nd SEC • 5th nationally), opponent field goal percentage (38.8 – 3rd SEC • 7th nationally) and steals (9.46 – 2nd SEC • 11th nationally).

Historically at State, the 58.7 points per game allowed is the program's second-lowest average through 25 games in the modern era since 1955-56, which was Babe McCarthy's first season with the Bulldogs. This year's team is only behind the 1981-82 led by Bob Boyd at 58.3 points per contest.

The Maroon and White has dialed up 234 steals on a 9.4 per game clip through 25 games. Both marks are third in program history only behind the 1991-92 squad coached by Richard Williams and the SEC championship 2003-04 team led by Rick Stansbury.

According to KenPom, the Bulldogs are among the nation's top 20 in six additional categories which include steal percentage (14.2 – 4th), adjusted defensive efficiency (89.5 – 4th), defensive turnover percentage (23.4 – 15th), effective defensive field goal percentage (45.5 – 16th), offensive rebounding percentage (34.9 – 19th) and two-point field goal percentage defense (45.1 – 20th).

State also possesses top 5 SEC marks with a +2.92 turnover margin (3rd), forced opponents into 15.40 turnovers per game (3rd), collected 12.76 offensive rebounds per game (3rd), compiled a 1.17 assist-to-turnover ratio (4th), grabbed 37.48 rebounds per game (5th), limited opponents to a 30.6 three-point percentage (5th) and dished out 14.56 assists per game (5th).

Kentucky's multi-talented offense has four players in double figures headlined by reigning National Player of the Year Oscar Tshiebwe (15.7 PPG, 13.3 RPG, 1.6 APG, 1.6 SPG, 1.0 BPG). He has amassed a SEC-leading 14 double-doubles in 2022-23 and 54 career double-doubles. Tshiebwe had a performance for the ages with 37 points and 24 rebounds against Georgia. He is coming off a 20-point, 14-rebound outing at Georgia.

Antonio Reeves (13.2 PPG, 1.1 APG) has done a majority of his damage coming off the bench during SEC action although he was inserted into UK's starting five last time out at Georgia. He has dialed up double figures in 10 of his last 11 outings and sank a team-leading 57 triples for the season. Reeves has notched six 20-plus point performances which includes a 20-point effort at Georgia.

Jacob Toppin (11.7 PPG, 6.6 RPG, 2.2 APG) has strung together eight consecutive games with 10+ points fueled by a trio of double-doubles. He notched 17 points and 10 rebounds versus Florida to start February to secure his last double-double.

Cason Wallace (12.0 PPG, 3.7 APG, 2.0 SPG) is the latest impact freshmen to leave his mark on the Kentucky program. He ripped off a SEC season's best 24 points against Arkansas during last week's action. The three-time SEC Freshman of the Week has provided double-digit points in six of his last seven outings.

The Wildcats played their last outing without C.J. Fredrick (7.3 PPG, 1.6 APG) and Sahvir Wheeler (7.7 PPG, 5.6 APG) due to injury.

SERIES HISTORY VS. KENTUCKY
Kentucky has won 16 of the last 17 meetings over the Bulldogs with John Calipari at the helm. State's lone victory over the 13-season span was a 74-73 victory at the 2021 SEC Tournament in Nashville. Overall, the Wildcats hold a 100-21 series advantage.

The Matchup: Mississippi State (17-8, 5-7 SEC) vs. Kentucky (16-9, 7-5 SEC)
Where: Starkville, Mississippi – Humphrey Coliseum
When: Wednesday, February 14, 7:35 p.m. CT
Live Stats: StatBroadcast (https://hailst.at/MBKLiveStats)

TV: SEC Network
Talent: Roy Philpott, Mark Wise
Channel Lineup: Ch. 611 (DirecTV); Ch. 404/408 (Dish); Ch. 220 (C-Spire); Ch. 1026 (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 .755 winning percentage (160-52) in his seventh season as a NCAA Division I head coach. The .755 clip is tied for fourth nationally with San Diego State's Brian Dutcher and trials only Gonzaga's Mark Few (.835), Kansas' Bill Self (.769) and Kentucky's John Calipari (.760).

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 (14.6 PPG, 8.3 RPG, 1.8 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, a two-time SEC Player of the Week in 2022-23, has started 75 of his 76 career appearances in the Maroon and White where he has amassed 1,039 points, 598 rebounds and connected on 57.3 percent of his field goal attempts. The 57.3 shooting clip is sixth in program history among players who have made at least 300 field goals.

Smith and Kentucky's Oscar Tshiebwe are the only SEC players in 2022-23 to rank among the league's top 10 in points (14.56 – 10th) along with league's top 5 in rebounds (8.32 – 3rd) and field goal percentage (57.4 – 1st).

Smith has piled up 56 career outings in double figures, 20 double-doubles and registered 9 of his 15 outings of 20-plus points versus SEC competition. He became the sixth MSU player since 2017-18 and the 42nd player overall to reach 1,000 points with a SEC season's best 25 points during the Missouri game.

Smith has stepped it up with 16.2 points and 9.6 rebounds per game over his last nine outings sparked by five double-doubles. He dialed up a career-high tying 27 points on an 11-for-13 shooting clip and grabbed 13 rebounds versus No. 11 TCU. Overall, Smith has piled up eight career 20-10 outings.

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 (9.0 PPG, 6.0 RPG, 1.8 APG, 1.2 SPG) reached 1,000 career points in-style with a season's best 18 points ignited by a career-high five treys versus LSU.

So far, Jeffries has amassed 10.7 points, 6.7 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game over his three February outings. He has provided double figures in 13 games, which is second on the team this season. The Olive Branch product has racked up 55 career games where Mississippi State and Memphis has garnered a 42-13 record.

Jeffries continues to showcase his versatility with 44 career games of 5+ rebounds, 25 outings with 2+ three-pointers made, 24 career outings with 3+ assists, 23 career games with multiple steals and 19 career outings with multiple blocks.

Matthews (6.9 PPG, 5.3 RPG, 2.0 APG, 1.7 SPG) has already secured 6 of his top 10 career scoring performances in 2022-23. He collected a season's best 14 points against South Dakota, secured his first career double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds versus No. 11 TCU and matched his SEC career-high with 10 points during the Missouri and Arkansas games.

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

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, he has piled up 17 of his 35 outings with 2+ assists, 14 of his 33 games with 2+ steals and 14 of his 32 performances of 5+ rebounds during the 2022-23 campaign.

Moore (9.2 PPG, 3.1 RPG, 2.3 APG, 2.0 SPG) has collected 21 of his 26 career games with 10-plus points in Maroon and White. Mississippi State and NC State are a combined 19-7 when Moore secures double figures.

Over his last eight games, Moore has accounted for 12.9 points per contest. He ripped off a career-high 22 points on 9-of-11 shooting at South Carolina followed by a 20-point performance versus No. 9 Tennessee.

Moore is one of three SEC players joining Kentucky's Tshiebwe and Tennessee's Zakai Zeigler and one of 15 players nationally on the Naismith Defensive Player of the Year Watch List.

Moore has tallied multiple steals in 42 of 82 career games and his 2.0 steals per contest are tied for 4th 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).

Both Moore and Matthews have gone over the century mark in steals for their careers. The last time State had two players on its roster with 100-plus steals at the same time was Quinndary Weatherspoon and Lamar Peters during the 2018-19 season.

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 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 (8.3 PPG, 3.5 APG, 1.6 SPG) ranks among the SEC's top 10 in league contests with a 2.0 assist-to-turnover ratio (5th), 3.9 assists per game (7th) and 1.8 steals per game (Tied 5th). He secured a SEC season-high 17 points at Arkansas and posted a 16-point outing during State's win over No. 11 TCU.
Earlier this season, Davis 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.

For his career, Davis has turned in 22 games of 10+ points and 2 games of 20+ points to go along with 25 games of 5+ assists and 24 games of 2+ steals. He has equaled his season's best with six assists three times in SEC play: at No. 8 Tennessee, versus Missouri and against LSU.

Reed Jr., a 2022 All-Ohio Valley First-Team and NABC All-District 18 Second-Team pick, has started 70 of his 82 career games between MSU and Southeast Missouri.

Reed Jr. (4.2 PPG, 2.2 RPG) 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 amassed 14 games of 10+ points coupled with 35 games of 5+ rebounds, 12 games of 2+ blocks and 10 games of 2+ assists over his career.

McNair Jr. (3.9 PPG, 3.4 RPG) has piled up his top 3 scoring efforts in Maroon and White all against SEC opponents: 13 points versus Ole Miss followed by 10 points against No. 8 Alabama in the SEC opener and 10 points versus Florida. The Philadelphia native is averaging 6.7 points per game over six SEC home appearances.

McNair Jr. has hauled down 7 rebounds versus Ole Miss, No. 8 Alabama and Arkansas – Pine Bluff. For the season, he's notched 11 efforts of 5+ points and 8 outings of 5+ rebounds in 2022-23.

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 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. He ripped off double figures in three consecutive games while scoring 19 of his 32 points against No. 11 TCU, at South Carolina and versus Missouri during the second half.

Stevenson has collected 9 outings of 5+ points and 3 efforts of 5+ rebounds in 2022-23. He hauled down a season-high seven rebounds versus Omaha.

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 came away with 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 handed out 2+ assists on four occasions and made 2+ three-pointers in three games.

Jones Jr. has provided 5+ points on five occasions highlighted by SEC season's best and career-high tying 6 points against LSU. Defensively, he recorded a steal in seven of his first eight appearances before his missed seven consecutive games due to injury.

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.

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.