MSU Hosts No. 19 Alabama On Senior Day Saturday In Front Of CBS Cameras
Having already secured the No. 3 seed in the SEC's Western Division for next week's SEC Tournament in Atlanta, coach Rick Stansbury's Bulldogs will honor a half-dozen senior players during 'Senior Day' festivities prior to Saturday's key intra-divisional battle against Alabama. Making their final home appearances this weekend at 'The Hump' will be All-American Lawrence Roberts, all-star candidates Winsome Frazier and Shane Power, as well as Ontario Harper, Marcus Campbell and walk-on Seth Cannon.
Owners of a current three-game win string, including recent narrow victories at Arkansas (57-55) earlier this week and at home versus rival Ole Miss (71-68) last Saturday, the Bulldogs enter the final weekend of the regular season sporting a 21-8 overall record and 9-6 league mark. MSU has already extended its school-record streak of consecutive 20-win seasons to four and will now aim at obtaining a school-first fourth straight NCAA Tournament berth.
Statistically as a team, the Bulldogs are well on their way to claiming an unprecedented fifth consecutive SEC rebound margin statistical title. Entering the week ranked fourth nationally in that category, Mississippi State is outrebounding its opposition by nearly 10 boards per contest on the season at +9.9 caroms per outing - more than three rebounds a game better than its nearest competitor (Florida; +6.7 rpg). Having outboarded each of their last three opponents by double figures, the Bulldogs have now outrebounded all but four of their 2004-05 opponents on the season and all but one (Alabama) of their 15 previous foes in conference play. In addition, State presently rates second in the SEC in three-point field goal percentage defense (30.9%) and fourth in overall field-goal percentage defense (40.9%).
Making a strong bid to become the first repeat winner of the SEC's Player of the Year honor since Arkansas' Corliss Williamson in 1994 and 1995, State All-American Lawrence Roberts continues to power the Bulldogs by leading the league in rebounding (11.1 rpg) and double-doubles (17), along with ranking as the SEC's fourth-leading scorer (17.4 ppg). Leading all active NCAA Division I players with 55 career double-doubles, the former Baylor transfer needs 25 more points to become Mississippi State's 27th member of the 1,000-point club in just two seasons in Starkville. On the perimeter, the Bulldogs are receiving 12.5 and 11.3 points per game, respectively, from seniors Winsome Frazier and Shane Power, while the veteran tandem has also combined to hit exactly 100 three-point field goals thus far this season.
Heading into the final game of the regular season tied with LSU for top team honors in the SEC's Western Division standings with identical 11-4 league records, the 19th-ranked Crimson Tide owns a 22-6 overall mark after posting a 94-53 home triumph over rival Auburn this past Wednesday in Tuscaloosa. Guided by seventh-year head coach and former Alabama standout guard Mark Gottfried, the Tide is led in the scoring department by the potent offensive tandem of junior forward Kennedy Winston and senior guard Earnest Shelton, who rank second (18.0 ppg) and sixth (16.6), respectively, among the league's top point producers. Winston paces the SEC in three-point accuracy (48.3%), while fellow junior forward Chuck Davis ranks first in field-goal percentage (59.2%) and freshman point guard Ronald Steele leads all SEC playmakers in assists (4.96 apg). Sophomore Jermareo Davidson and Davis stand sixth and seventh among the league's best rebounders at 7.7 and 6.9 boards per contest, respectively. As a team, Alabama leads the league in three-point percentage (39.5%) and free throw percentage (74.0%), while ranking second in scoring (76.9 ppg), field goal percentage (48.8%) and field-goal percentage defense (40.7%).