MSU Hosts Alabama Sunday Bidding For SEC West Title And No. 1 SEC Tourney Seed
With Dave Baker set to call the play-by-play action and former MSU basketball letterman Joe Dean Jr., slated to provide the color commentary for Lincoln Financial Sports, Sunday's State-Bama hoops contest can also be heard on SIRIUS Satellite Radio Channel 119.
As part of Sunday's pre-game 'Senior Day' festivities, the Bulldogs will honor senior players Dietric Slater and Piotr Stelmach, along with senior managers Talvis Franklin and Andy King.
Looking for their first SEC West title since the team's SEC championship season of 2003-04, coach Rick Stansbury's Bulldogs enter their regular-season finale at 16-12 overall and tied with Ole Miss, Alabama and Auburn for first place in the division with identical 7-8 league marks.After winning five of their first six February contests, the Bulldogs have since dropped league road decisions to both Georgia (86-73) and Arkansas(67-58) within the past week. Ranked second in the SEC and 10th nationally in blocked shots (6.29 bpg), this year's State squad has established a new single-season school standard with 176 blocks, breaking the previous mark of175 rejects set by MSU's 1995-96 Final Four club.
Having most recently combined for 45 of the team's 58 points at Arkansas earlier in the week, all-SEC candidates Jamont Gordon (16.0 ppg, 7.3 rpg &4.8 apg) and Charles Rhodes (13.4 ppg, 6.0 rpg & 1.5 bpg) continue to lead MState as the team's leading scorers and rebounders on the season. In SEC play, Gordon (16.6 ppg) and Rhodes (15.2 ppg) rank fourth and ninth, respectively, among the league's scoring leaders. SEC All-Freshman Team candidate Barry Stewart and the veteran Slater are also scoring in double figures at 10.2 and 10.0 points per game, respectively, for the year.
Guided by ninth-year head coach and former Crimson Tide standout guard Mark Gottfried, Alabama sports a 20-9 overall record and 7-8 SEC mark after claiming a 69-58 home victory over Ole Miss this past Wednesday. Since knocking off MSU, 80-79, in the waning seconds a month ago in Tuscaloosa, the Tide has dropped four of its last six decisions. Alabama is powered by the frontline tandem of sophomore Richard Hendrix (14.8 ppg, 8.9 rpg & 61%FGs) and senior Jermareo Davidson (14.1 ppg, 8.5 rpg & 2.4 bpg). Alonzo Gee and Mykal Riley both add 12.4 points per contest.
State and Alabama have split the regular-season series 15 of the last 19 campaigns dating back to 1987-88. Including last month's one-point decision in Tuscaloosa, eight of the last 10 head-to-head meetings between the two teams have been decided by six points or less. Marking the fourth straight year that the Bulldogs will conclude the regular season by taking on Alabama, this season will also make the third year in a row that the Crimson Tide has been MSU's 'Senior Day' opponent to close out the team's regular-season home slate.