Schaefer Named AP SEC Coach of Year, Vivians 2nd Team All-SEC
STARKVILLE, Miss. – A day after Mississippi State celebrated its first NCAA Tournament berth since 2010, Vic Schaefer was named Associated Press SEC Coach of the Year while freshman Victoria Vivians was tabbed second team All-SEC.
Tuesday’s honor comes after Schaefer was named SEC Co-Coach of the Year by league coaches.
Vivians earned second team All-SEC and all-freshman team laurels from the conference coaches prior to the SEC Tournament.
The pair helped Mississippi State earn a No. 5 seed, the second highest in school history, in the NCAA Tournament’s Spokane Regional.
The Bulldogs head to Durham, N.C., Friday for an opening-round showdown against 12th-seeded Tulane. Tip from Cameron Indoor Stadium is set for 1:30 p.m. CT on ESPN2.
Schaefer has led Mississippi State to one of the biggest turnarounds in the country. In three seasons his squad has made a 13-win improvement to post a 26-6 overall record and 11-5 SEC mark. Both are program records for victories.
"This is an award that I certainly share with my staff because you can't do it by yourself. I told Scott (Stricklin) when I came here, 'I'll come to Mississippi State but you have to help me get the right staff in here,' and he did,” Schaefer said. “I also share this honor with my players. It has been a tremendous year and we're not done. I'm very humbled and very honored. I appreciate the confidence and trust, and I look forward to the rest of the season."
Behind a team that has over 70 percent of its scoring and minutes coming from underclassmen, the Bulldogs claimed 11 SEC victories and finished third in the league standings after winning just 10 the previous two years combined.
MSU tied for the best conference finish in school history after finishing in the bottom four the last four seasons.
State’s sensational campaign has kept the Bulldogs in the Associated Press Top 25 17-straight weeks, the second-longest run in school history.
Mississippi State currently ranks 12th in the AP poll and 14th in the USA Today Coaches Poll after rising as high as No. 11 this season.
Schaefer’s squad reeled off a program-best 18-straight wins to begin the year and became the first Division I men’s or women’s team to reach the 22-win mark.
Vivians has been a key spark in the Bulldogs’ historic season, leading the team and SEC with a 15.1 scoring average that is fifth nationally among rookies.
In conference games, the Carthage, Miss., native was the top rookie and seventh overall with a 13.8 average.
She has been hot down the stretch for the Bulldogs, averaging 18.8 ppg the last six contests and scoring double figures in 10 of her last 11 outings.
Vivians scored 19 points in State’s SEC Tournament setback to Kentucky after she tallied an MSU freshman record 39 points in the regular-season matchup in Lexington.
That performance tied for the most points by a freshman in the nation this season.
She has been outstanding against ranked foes this season, scoring at a 17.9 clip.
A four-time SEC Freshman of the Week and MSU’s first USBWA National Freshman of the Week, Vivians hit a number of clutch buckets for the Bulldogs, including the go-ahead 3-pointer in overtime against No. 13 Texas A&M and the decisive basket in the team’s road victory at Alabama.
2015 ASSOCIATED PRESS ALL-SEC AWARDS
FIRST TEAM
u-Tia Faleru, Mississippi, F, 6-1, Sr.
Tiffany Mitchell, South Carolina, G, 5-9, Jr.
Makayla Epps, Kentucky, G, 5-10, So.
A'ja Wilson, South Carolina, F, 6-5, Fr.
Courtney Walker, Texas A&M, G, 5-8, Jr.
___
SECOND TEAM
Isabelle Harrison, Tennessee, C, 6-3, Sr.
Victoria Vivians, Mississippi State, F, 6-1, Fr.
Danielle Ballard, LSU, G, 5-9, Jr.
Cierra Burdick, Tennessee, F, 6-2, Sr.
t-Alaina Coates, South Carolina, C, 6-4, So.
t-Jessica Jackson, Arkansas, F, 6-3, So.
t-Aleighsa Welch, South Carolina, F, 6-0, Sr.
___
HONORABLE MENTION
Jordan Frericks, Missouri, F, 6-1, So.
Jennifer O'Neill, Kentucky, G, 5-6, Sr.
Courtney Williams, Texas A&M, F, 6-1, Jr.
___
PLAYER OF THE YEAR - Tiffany Mitchell, South Carolina
COACH OF THE YEAR - Vic Schaefer, Mississippi State
FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR - A'ja Wilson, South Carolina
u - unanimous selection
t - tied for final spot on the second team