ABOUT MISSISSIPPI STATE
• Mississippi State is riding a four-game conference win streak with victories over Missouri, Georgia, Arkansas and Florida. The Bulldogs are 13-7 (4-3 SEC).
• MSU head coach Ben Howland, like Tennessee head coach
Rick Barnes, is in his fifth year in Starkville, looking to build off MSU's first NCAA Tournament appearance in nine years. The Bulldogs finished 2018-19 with a mark of 23-11 and finished sixth in the SEC before ultimately falling to Liberty in the first round of last year's NCAA Tournament.
• The Bulldogs have been led this season by the outstanding play of sophomore forward Reggie Perry. Perry leads MSU in scoring (16.9 ppg) and rebounding (10.0), averaging a double-double while also showing his versatility as both a playmaker (2.3 apg) and defender (1.0 bpg). His 10.0 boards per game also lead the SEC.
• Perry put together one of his best performances of the season in State's victory at Florida on Tuesday night, pouring in a career-high 27 points and grabbing eight rebounds.
• Senior guard Tyson Carter has shown great production for the Bulldogs, ranking second in scoring (13.6 ppg) and steals (1.3 spg) and first in assists, dishing off 3.5 assists per contest. His contributions have stayed consistent while coming off the bench in each of the last five games.
• One notable native of Starkville, Mississippi, is Pro Football Hall of Famer Jerry Rice. Rice was born in Starkville and grew up in the nearby town of Crawford. He later attended Mississippi Valley State, where he set numerous NCAA I-AA football records before becoming arguably the greatest NFL receiver of all-time.