Bulldogs Play Host To Alabama On "Senior Day" In Starkville
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STARKVILLE, Miss. - Closing out the regular-season conference schedule withdivisional foe Alabama for the third straight year, the Bulldogs ofMississippi State (14-14, 4-11) play host to the Crimson Tide (17-10, 10-5)for the second consecutive season on MSU's 'Senior Day' this Saturdayafternoon on the State campus. Tip-off for Saturday's 175th all-time seriesmeeting is set for 4 p.m. at Humphrey Coliseum. The contest can be heard onSIRIUS Satellite Radio (Channel 123) via MSU's radio broadcast.
During Saturday's pre-game activities, Bulldog seniors Wesley Morgan,Michael Boler and Jamall Edmondson will be honored for their respectivecontributions to the MSU hoops program.
Looking to secure the West's No. 4 seed in next week's SEC Tournament inNashville with a victory this weekend over Alabama (coupled with a possibleOle Miss loss at SEC Champion LSU), coach Rick Stansbury's Bulldogs enterthe final weekend of league play with a 14-14 overall record and 4-11conference mark after dropping an 80-70 decision at Arkansas this pastWednesday. Having reached double-figure home wins (10-5 at home thisseason) for the eighth time during the Stansbury era, the Bulldogs bring athree-game home winning streak into Saturday's regular-season finale againstAlabama.
Likely to be without the services of senior guard Jamall Edmondson(pneumonia) and junior swingman Dietric Slater (MCL sprain of left knee)this weekend, MSU will continue to rely on the potent tandem of sophomoreCharles Rhodes (13.9 ppg & 7.3 rpg) and freshman Jamont Gordon (13.8 ppg,6.6 rpg & 4.2 apg). All-SEC candidates Rhodes and Gordon enter the weekendwith current double-figure scoring streaks of 16 and 10 consecutive games,respectively. Freshman guard Reginald Delk averages 8.9 points per gameafter hitting 7-of-9 treys en route to a career-high, 27-point performancein this week's 10-point road loss to Arkansas.
Guided by eighth-year head coach Mark Gottfried, Alabama is 17-10 overalland 10-5 in league action after claiming a 71-61 home win over Auburn onWednesday. Having clinched the West's No. 2 seed, the Tide is led bysophomore guard Ronald Steele (14.1 ppg & 4.0 apg) and junior centerJermareo Davidson (14.0 ppg & 8.9 rpg). Freshman forward Richard Hendrixadds 9.5 points and 8.0 boards a game. Davidson and Hendrix rank third andfourth, respectively, among the SEC's rebounding leaders, while Steele andDavidson stand ninth and 11th, respectively, in the conference in scoring.
The Bulldogs are 5-2 in 'Senior Day/Night' games during the Stansbury era,having most recently lost to Alabama, 68-63, last year and previously beatenthe Crimson Tide, 92-70, during the 1999-2000 regular-season finale. MSUand Alabama have split the regular-season series nine times in the last 11seasons and 14 times over the prior 18 campaigns. In addition, seven of thelast eight State-Bama hardwood meetings have been decided by six points orless.
Mississippi State will next travel to Nashville's Gaylord EntertainmentCenter to participate in next week's (March 9-12) SEC Men's BasketballTournament. First-round action begins Thursday with the championship gameslated for Sunday afternoon.