MSU Travels To Georgia Midweek Looking To Snap Two-Game Losing Skid
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STARKVILLE, Miss. -- Seeking to bounce back from their first two-game losing skid since postseason tournament play two years ago, the Mississippi State Bulldogs (18-8, 6-6) travel to Athens to take on the Bulldogs of the University of Georgia (8-15, 2-10) Wednesday evening on the UGA campus. Tip-off at Stegeman Coliseum is set for 7:30 p.m. ET, and the 93rd all-time series renewal of the "Battle of the Basketball Bulldogs" will not be televised.
With last Wednesday's 80-72 home setback to LSU coupled with Saturday's 94-78 loss at third-ranked Kentucky, the Bulldogs have dropped back-to-back decisions for the first time since falling to Kentucky, 64-57, in the championship game of the 2003 SEC Tournament in New Orleans and then getting upset by Butler, 47-46, in the opening round of the NCAA East Regional played in Birmingham. Coach Rick Stansbury's Bulldogs currently sit at 18-8 overall on the year and 6-6 in conference play - two full games behind second-place LSU and four games behind divisional leader Alabama in the SEC Western Division standings.
Marking their final regular-season matchup versus an SEC Eastern Division opponent, Mississippi State enters Wednesday's Georgia contest leading the conference in rebounding (41.2 rpg), rebound margin (+8.9 rpg), offensive rebounds (14.2 orpg) and defensive rebounds (27.0 drpg). With Saturday's 42-36 rebound advantage over Kentucky, the Bulldogs have now outrebounded 22 of 26 opponents on the season, including 11 of 12 conference foes. Defensively on the year, MSU also ranks third among league leaders in both field-goal percentage defense (40.8%) and three-point field goal percentage defense (30.8%).
Entering the week ranked 15th nationally among the winningest NCAA Division I men's basketball programs over the past four seasons with a four-year composite record of 92-30, according to STATS, Inc., out of Chicago, Mississippi State is one win away from crowning new all-time co-winningest basketball players in the school's 93-year hoops history. Fourth-year seniors Winsome Frazier and Marcus Campbell are jointly one winshy of surpassing former two-time, all-SEC guard Timmy Bowers, who solely became MSU's all-time winningest men's basketball player (92-35) a year ago as well as becoming the first player in school history to have participated in four postseason tournaments, including three straight NCAA Tournaments, and be associated with three 20-win ballclubs.
Recovering from a bruised and strained right quadricep sustained in the second half of Saturday's Kentucky contest, senior forward Lawrence Roberts continues to pace the SEC in rebounding (11.0 rpg) and now ranks fourth in scoring (17.4 ppg) after being limited to just seven points and three rebounds during a season-low 19 minutes of action because of the second-half injury and first-half foul trouble against the Wildcats. The reigning SEC Player of the Year was most recently named to the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) Division I All-District 6 First Team for the second consecutive year. Senior swingman Shane Power (11.2 ppg) has now led the Bulldogs in scoring each of the last five games after scoring 14 points at Kentucky this past weekend. The reigning SEC Scholar-Athlete of the Year now ranks second in the SEC in three-point field goal percentage (50.0%) for conference games only after hitting 60 percent (21-of-35 treys) of his 3-pointers over his last seven outings.
Battling through the current season with just seven scholarship players on their roster, the Georgia Bulldogs are 8-15 overall on the year and now 2-10 in conference play after snapping their seven-game losing skid by claiming a 57-45 home victory over the Auburn Tigers this past Saturday. UGA's other league win this year also came at home against Vanderbilt (68-59) last month. Guided by second-year head coach Dennis Felton, the Bulldogs are led in scoring by sophomore guard Levi Stukes (15.3 ppg), who returned to action this past weekend after sitting out the previous three games due to a sprained ankle. Freshman guard Sundiata Gaines ranks second on the team in both scoring (12.0 ppg) and rebounding (5.0 rpg), while pacing Georgia in both assists (3.0 apg) and steals (2.3 spg). Fellow freshman guard Channing Toney, son of former Philadelphia 76ers guard Andrew Toney, averages in double figures at 10.1 points per game and shoots 92 percent from the charity stripe on the year.
Mississippi State returns home to play host to rival Ole Miss this Saturday evening in a 6 p.m. contest set to be televised by FSN South and Sun Sports. The Bulldogs will be seeking their eighth straight series win over the Rebels after winning in Oxford, 87-76, last month.