Bulldogs Host Rebels Saturday Looking For Win No. 20 On The Season
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STARKVILLE, Miss. - Looking to eclipse the 20-win mark for the fourth consecutive season, the Mississippi State Bulldogs (19-8, 7-6) play host to the Rebels of the University of Mississippi (13-13, 4-9) Saturday evening on the MSU campus. Tip-off for the 231st all-time hardwood meeting between these two in-state hoops rivals is set for 6 p.m. at MSU's Humphrey Coliseum. The contest will be televised live by FSN South/Sun Sports, with Dave Neal calling the play-by-play action, former SEC head coach Eddie Fogler providing the color analysis and Jenn Hildreth handling the sideline reporting duties.
Having posted a school-record third straight 20-win campaign with last year's 26-4 record, the Bulldogs had never previously topped the 20-win mark for three consecutive years until last year's SEC Championship season. Previously, MSU posted records of 21-10 in 2002-03 and 27-8 the year prior in 2001-02. Mississippi State's composite record of 93-30 (.756) over the past four seasons ranks tied for 13th nationally among the winningest NCAA Division I men's basketball programs, according to STATS, Inc., out of Chicago.
Coach Rick Stansbury's Bulldogs enter the weekend sporting a 19-8 overall record and 7-6 SEC mark after snapping their five-game road losing skid with Wednesday's crucial 76-62 road win over Georgia. In addition to ranking as MSU's first win in Athens since the 1994-95 campaign, this week's 14-point triumph at Georgia marked State's first SEC road victory since claiming an 87-76 win at Ole Miss last month (Jan. 8). Bouncing back from last week's successive setbacks to LSU (80-72 in Starkville) and then-No. 3 Kentucky (94-78 in Lexington), the Bulldogs are now seeking to post back-to-back victories for the first time since knocking off Auburn and Ole Miss to begin this year's conference slate during the first week of January.
As a team, Mississippi State continues to dominate the Southeastern Conference in the rebounding department, pacing the league in every rebounding statistical category. Having outrebounded 23 of 27 overall opponents on the season, including 12 of 13 conference foes, the Bulldogs (+9.3 rpg) are averaging better than two rebounds per contest more than their nearest conference competitor (Florida; +7.0 rpg), as they pursue their unprecedented fifth consecutive SEC rebound margin team statistical title. On the defensive end of the court, MSU ranks second in the SEC in three-point field goal percentage defense (30.5%) and third in field-goal percentage defense (40.8%) behind divisional leaders Kentucky and Alabama.
Individually, reigning SEC Player of the Year Lawrence Roberts maintains his league lead in rebounding (11.0 rpg), while ranking third behind Florida's Anthony Roberson (18.5 ppg) and Kennedy Winston of Alabama (17.7) among the SEC's scoring leaders at 17.4 points per contest. MSU's All-American continues to rank as the nation's leader among active Division I players with 53 career double-doubles, including an SEC-best 15 double-double efforts on the year, after Wednesday's 19-point, 12-rebound performance at Georgia. Set for his fourth game back after sitting out eight contests with a fracture of the fifth metatarsal in his left foot sustained Jan. 8 at Ole Miss, senior guard Winsome Frazier (12.9 ppg) has hit for double figures coming off the State bench in each of his three games since returning from the foot injury. Fellow senior Shane Power, bidding for a second straight SEC Scholar-Athlete of the Year honor, continues his sparkling play on the court in having averaged 16.8 points per game over his last half-dozen outings to lift his season's scoring average to 11.3 points a contest.
The University of Mississippi Rebels come to Starkville with a break-even 13-13 overall record and 4-9 conference mark after halting a three-game losing streak with last Saturday's 60-58 home triumph over Tennessee. UM's other league wins this season have come at home to both Georgia and Auburn as well as Auburn on the road. Guided by seventh-year head coach and former Ole Miss standout guard Rod Barnes, the Rebels are led in scoring by senior forward Tommie Eddie, who is averaging 11.4 points per game on 57 percent field-goal shooting as well as pulling down 4.2 rebounds an outing. Junior Londrick Nolen paces Mississippi in rebounding (4.8 rpg) and narrowly trails Eddie for the team's scoring lead at 11.3 points per contest.
The Bulldogs own a 129-101 all-time lead in this series rivalry that dates back to the 1913-14 campaign, including a current streak of seven consecutive series wins over Ole Miss. State has not fallen at home to the Rebels since Stansbury took over as MSU's head coach in 1998.