Bulldogs Take On No. 2-Ranked Memphis In NCAA Second Round In Little Rock
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STARKVILLE, Miss. - Advancing to the second round of the NCAA Tournament for the fourth time in the last seven years, the eighth-seeded Mississippi State Bulldogs (23-10, 12-4 SEC) take on the top-seeded and second-ranked Memphis Tigers (34-1, 16-0 C-USA) Sunday afternoon in Little Rock, Ark., during second-round tournament action of the South Regional. Tip-off at the 16,060-seat Alltel Arena will be approxtimately 3:45 p.m. CT, with the winner of the MSU-UM contest earning the right to advance to next week's NCAA Sweet 16 set to be played in Houston, Texas.
All NCAA Tournament games will be televised by CBS Sports, with Ian Eagle and former Duke standout Jim Spanarkel scheduled to again call the action from
Winners of nine of their last 12 contests, coach Rick Stansbury’s 23-10 Bulldogs claimed their fourth SEC Western Division title in the last six seasons with this year’s 12-4 regular-season league mark. MSU won the SEC West by three games over runner-up
Entering postseason tournament play still ranked second in the nation in both field-goal percentage defense (.367) and blocked shots (7.88 bpg), the Bulldogs are paced by the first-team, all-SEC veteran tandem of junior guard/forward Jamont Gordon (17.1 ppg, 6.5 rpg & 4.9 apg) and senior forward Charles Rhodes (17.5 ppg, 7.7 rpg & 56% FGs). Defensively, SEC Defensive Player of the Year Jarvis Varnado (7.8 ppg & 7.9 rpg) continues to top the NCAA in blocks with 4.61 swats per contest.
Ranked second nationally in the AP poll and third in the ESPN/USA Today coaches poll, the Memphis Tigers are 34-1 overall after Friday’s 87-63 first-round win over Texas-Arlington. Guided by National Coach of the Year candidate John Calipari, in his eighth year at the