Dawgs Bid Farewell To Seniors In Regular-Season Finale Against Tennessee
STARKVILLE, Miss. - Two very special players will walk onto the Humphrey Coliseum court for the final time on Saturday when Mississippi State battles No. 16 Tennessee in a 5 p.m. game televised by ESPN.
And it's two players that will depart with quite the impressive hardware - Barry Stewart and Jarvis Varnado.
Since their arrival four years ago, they've won three Western Division crowns and the 2009 SEC Tournament title.
Then there are the records.
Against Alabama on Feb. 24, Varnado became the NCAA career leader in blocked shots, and the Brownsville, Tenn., product enters the game against the Volunteers with 540, including 146 this year. He's also started more games than anyone in MSU history, while he and Stewart have appeared in a school-record 135 games.
Earlier this year, Varnado became the 31st player at Mississippi State to score 1,000 points and the first player in NCAA history to tally 1,000 points, 1,000 rebounds and 500 blocked shots.
Not to be outdone, Stewart has logged more minutes than any MSU player ever has and owns school records for 3-pointers made (268) and attempted (741), while his 157 steals rank fifth. As a junior, he became the 30th member to be inducted into the 1,000-point club.
Together, Varnado and Stewart have led the Bulldogs to 88 wins, the third-highest total in a four-year stretch.
"It's been a great four years," said Stewart, a guard from Shelbyville, Tenn., who has helped guide the Bulldogs to a 21-9 ledger, including a 9-6 mark in SEC play. "We've won a championship every year I've been here. I've been blessed."
Stewart and Varnado, the only current MSU student-athlete that holds an NCAA record, enter the game against Tennessee (22-7, 10-5) having started 100-consecutive games.
"It's been a great career," Varnado said. "I've had a lot of great teammates. It's hard to believe it's coming to an end."
Yet, it's not quite over, as there's still a lot to play for. With a win , the Bulldogs will win the West outright, plus improve their NCAA Tournament resume.
| SEC West Champs t-shirts are now available. |
"It's a big game," Stewart said. "It's our last game here, and we want to go out with a win."
Mississippi State, which sports a 12-2 home record this year, is led in scoring by junior Ravern Johnson's 13.8 average, followed by Varnado at 13.5. Also in double digits are Dee Bost (12.9), who is coming off a 25-point effort at Auburn, and Stewart (11.7).
The Volunteers, who have won their last two meetings at the Hump and lead the overall series 74-39, are paced by Scotty Hopson and Wayne Chism at 13.1 and 12.8 points, respectively.
It should also be noted that while there is a baseball double-header today, basketball parking takes top priority.
In addition, "2010 Western Division Champions" T-shirts (design show at right) are now on sale and can be purchased online at mstatestore.com or at local retailers in Starkville at Sports Center, The Lodge, Campus Bookmart and Barnes & Noble and in Madison at J.S. Iupe's.