Bulldogs Head To Arkansas Looking For First SEC Road Victory
* Game Notes (PDF)
STARKVILLE, Miss. - Concluding the road portion of their regular-seasonconference slate, the Bulldogs of Mississippi State (14-13, 4-10) head toFayetteville to take on the Arkansas Razorbacks (19-8, 8-6) Wednesdayevening. Tip-off for the 40th all-time meeting between these two SEC Westrivals is set for 7 p.m. CT at 19,200-seat Bud Walton Arena.Jefferson-Pilot Sports is slated to televise the contest regionally, but thegame is scheduled to be shown in the local Golden Triangle regional viewingarea on FSN South. The game can also be heard on SIRIUS Satellite Radio(Channel 111) via MSU's radio broadcast.
Bidding for their first SEC road win of the season and looking to recordtheir first back-to-back league victories overall on the year, coach RickStansbury's Bulldogs are 14-13 overall and 4-10 in SEC play heading into thefinal week of regular-season conference competition after claiming an 83-68home triumph over Georgia this past Saturday. MSU now owns a three-gamehome winning streak.
Coming off a career-high, 27-point performance against Georgia, sophomoreall-SEC candidate Charles Rhodes has taken over the team's current scoringlead at 13.8 points per game to rank 12th in the SEC. The Jackson nativealso stands eighth in the league in rebounding (7.4 rpg) and third infield-goal percentage (56.7%). SEC Freshman of the Year hopeful JamontGordon is averaging 13.6 points, 6.8 rebounds and 4.1 assists per contest onthe year, while junior swingman Dietric Slater has upped his season'sscoring and rebounding per-game averages to 10.5 and 5.1, respectively,after posting double-double efforts in each of his last three outings.
Guided by fourth-year head coach Stan Heath, Arkansas sports records of 19-8overall and 8-6 in league action and is currently riding a three-gamewinning streak after posting a 73-69 victory at SEC East champion Tennesseethis past weekend. Veteran guards Ronnie Brewer (18.2 ppg) and JonathonModica (15.5 ppg) rank second and sixth, respectively, among the SEC'sleading scorers. Looking to gain their first NCAA Tournament bid since the2000-01 season, the Razorbacks are 14-1 overall at home this season withtheir lone home setback of the year coming at the hands of SEC West championLSU, 63-58, back on Jan. 11. Wednesday's game against MSU will be 'SeniorNight' for Arkansas with Razorback seniors Modica, Eric Ferguson and DontellJefferson being honored during pre-game activities.
Having claimed the last five head-to-head meetings against Arkansas,including this year's 69-67 home win over the Hogs in their SEC seasonopener, the Bulldogs are bidding to complete a third straight season seriessweep of the Razorbacks. MSU has prevailed in Fayetteville each of the lasttwo seasons, winning at Bud Walton Arena, 57-55, last season and by a 77-70final tally two years ago.
Mississippi State will return home for its regular-season finale by playinghost to Alabama this Saturday afternoon on the MSU campus. With theBulldogs set to honor seniors Wesley Morgan, Michael Boler and JamallEdmondson during pre-game 'Senior Day' activities, tip-off for Saturday'sState-Bama hardwood clash is set for 4 p.m. at Humphrey Coliseum.