SEC Basketball Preview/Prediction: Mississippi State at LSU

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Mississippi State visits LSU on Saturday in a key SEC basketball matchup. Look inside for a preview of the game along with a prediction of the game’s final score.

By 14Powers Hoops

Team Statistical Comparison

	FG%	3PT%	FT%	ORB	TRB	AST	STL	BLK	TO
Mississippi State	0.460	0.340	0.703	190	532	192	92	74	204
Mississippi State OPP	0.418	0.346	0.710	153	439	164	98	40	186
LSU	0.492	0.324	0.757	166	557	186	94	66	193
LSU OPP	0.402	0.338	0.724	146	448	171	96	38	190

Statistical Leaders

Mississippi State Scoring Leaders

PLAYER	PPG	FGM	FTM	3PTM
Reggie Perry	15.7	82	46	10
Tyson Carter	14.1	61	49	27
Robert Woodard II	12.0	63	24	18
Iverson Molinar	8.6	41	29	9
D.J. Stewart Jr.	8.1	44	15	11
Abdul Ado	5.5	28	21	0
KeyShawn Feazell	2.1	11	4	4
Prince Oduro	1.8	6	10	0

Mississippi State Rebounding Leaders

PLAYER	OR	DR	TR	RPG
Reggie Perry	47	88	135	9.6
Robert Woodard II	40	69	109	7.8
Abdul Ado	47	49	96	6.9
KeyShawn Feazell	9	29	38	2.7
Tyson Carter	4	32	36	2.6
D.J. Stewart Jr.	3	22	25	1.8
Iverson Molinar	5	11	16	1.1
Prince Oduro	6	7	13	1.1
Nick Weatherspoon	1	9	10	2.5
Quinten Post	1	4	5	1.3
Devin Butts	1	0	1	0.3
Elias King	0	1	1	0.3
Mitchell Storm	0	1	1	1.0

LSU Scoring Leaders

PLAYER	PPG	FGM	FTM	3PTM
Skylar Mays	16.1	79	47	21
Trendon Watford	13.4	69	41	8
Emmitt Williams	13.1	72	36	4
Darius Days	12.9	69	25	18
Javonte Smart	10.9	55	25	18
Charles Manning Jr.	8.0	46	12	8
James Bishop	3.4	13	6	5
Aundre Hyatt	1.8	9	2	5

LSU Rebounding Leaders

PLAYER	OR	DR	TR	RPG
Darius Days	45	75	120	8.6
Emmitt Williams	35	61	96	6.9
Trendon Watford	29	61	90	6.4
Skylar Mays	8	57	65	4.6
Javonte Smart	10	39	49	3.5
Charles Manning Jr.	9	39	48	3.4
Aundre Hyatt	5	22	27	1.9
Marlon Taylor	2	12	14	2.8
Courtese Cooper	4	8	12	2.0
James Bishop	1	2	3	0.3
Marshall Graves	0	3	3	0.4

NCAA RPI

Mississippi State: 83

LSU: 25

Mississippi State Roster

No.	Name	Pos.	HT	WT	Class	City-State
0	Nick Weatherspoon	G	6′-2″	185	JR	Canton, MS
1	Reggie Perry	F	6′-10″	250	SO	Thomasville, GA
2	Elias King	F	6′-8″	205	FR	Suwanee, GA
3	D.J. Stewart Jr.	G	6′-6″	200	FR	Grace, MS
4	Devin Butts	G	6′-5″	180	FR	Macon, GA
5	Iverson Molinar	G	6′-3″	195	FR	Marietta, GA
10	Tate Clayton	G	6′-2″	170	JR	Tupelo, MS
12	Robert Woodard II	G	6′-7″	230	SO	Columbus, MS
13	Reggie Miller	G	6′-5″	185	SR	Saltillo, MS
15	Prince Oduro	F	6′-8″	250	SO	Toronto, ON
20	Mitch Storm	F	6′-7″	200	SR	Madison, MS
21	Justin Rumph	G	6′-5″	215	JR	Birmingham, AL
22	KeyShawn Feazell	F	6′-8″	225	JR	Newhebron, MS
23	Tyson Carter	G	6′-4″	175	SR	Starkville, MS
24	Abdul Ado	F	6′-11″	255	JR	Lagos, Nigeria
25	Isaac Stansbury	G	6′-1″	160	FR	Bowling Green, KY
30	Andrew Junkin	F	6′-11″	240	FR	New Hope, MS
32	Quinten Post	F	7′-0″	225	FR	Amsterdam, The Netherlands
35	Tolu Smith	F	6′-10″	240	SO	Bay Saint Louis, MS
45	E.J. Datcher	C	6′-10″	255	SR	Harpersville, AL

LSU Roster

No.	Name	Pos.	HT	WT	Class	City-State
0	Darius Days	F	6′-6″	240	SO	Raleigh, FL
1	Javonte Smart	G	6′-4″	205	SO	Baton Rouge, LA
2	Trendon Watford	F	6′-9″	235	FR	Birmingham, AL
3	Parker Edwards	G	6′-3″	190	SO	Mandeville, LA
4	Skylar Mays	G	6′-4″	205	SR	Baton Rouge, LA
5	Emmitt Williams	F	6′-6″	230	SO	Fort Myers, FL
10	James Bishop	G	6′-2″	190	FR	Baltimore, MD
11	Charles Manning Jr.	G	6′-5″	200	JR	Riverhead, NY
12	Marshall Graves	G	6′-4″	195	SR	Ponchatoula, LA
14	Marlon Taylor	G	6′-5″	210	SR	Mount Vernon, NY
15	Aundre Hyatt	F	6′-4″	225	FR	Bronx, NY
20	Caleb Starks	G	6′-3″	205	JR	Lafayette, LA
21	Courtese Cooper	F	6′-9″	220	SO	Elgin, IL
24	Deshawn Thomas	C	6′-9″	250	JR	Dentsville, SC

Scouting Report

The Mississippi State Bulldogs (9-5, 0-2 SEC) fell to Alabama 90-69 on Wednesday night in Tuscasloosa. The Crimson Tide built a 13-5 lead with 13:33 remaining in the first half. However, a Tyson Carter layup with with a little more than 6 minutes to play in the half, put State up 24-23. The lead would change a couple more times before Bama would head to the locker room with 42-34 halftime lead. Alabama would never trail again. Guard Nick Weatherspoon lead the Bulldogs in scoring with 20 points. As a team, Alabama made 10-24 treys. Alabama out-shot State from 3-point range with 10 makes compared to the Bulldogs 5 made shots. Another key disparity in this game was points off turnovers. Bama led in that category 21-9.

Forward Reggie Perry leads in Bulldogs in both scoring (15.7 ppg) and rebounding (9.6 rpg). Two other players Tyson Carter (14.1 ppg) and Robert Woodard II (12.0 ppg) average in double figures. Guard Nick Weatherspoon has returned to the team after a long suspension and is averaging 14 points in the four games he’s played in so far this season. Mississippi State is third in the SEC in 3-point shooting accuracy (34%) but the Dogs have only made 238 attempts. That’s fewer than any other SEC team except for Kentucky (219). State’s biggest strength is rebounding. They are third in the SEC in rebounding margin (+6.6). MSU is also third in the SEC in blocks shots ( 5.3 bpg).

LSU (10-4, 2-0 SEC) defeated Arkansas 79-77 on Wednesday night in Baton Rouge. This game would have 19 lead changes. Arkansas’ largest lead was 11 points with four minutes to play in the first half. Early in the second half LSU built a 7-point lead. This game came down to the final seconds with LSU forward Trendon Watford scoring on an old fashion 3-point play to give the Tigers the victory. Arkansas out-shot the Tigers with eight made threes to LSU’s four threes. The Tigers however, got four more points at the line and one more field goal that ultimately was the difference in the game. Guard Mason Jones of Arkansas was the game leader in scoring with 24 points. He made 4 of 7 three-point shots. Watford led the Tigers with 21 points, all those point were 2-point field goal or three throws. Watford also pulled down 8 rebounds for the Tigers. Another eye catching stat was second chance points. LSU had 26 of those to none for the Hogs. Not surprisingly, LSU had 23 offensive rebounds to 3 for Arkansas.

Sklar Mays leads the Tigers in scoring (16.1 ppg). Watford (13.4 ppg) and Emmit Williams (13.1 ppg) are the next two leading scorers. Mays is hitting over 40% of his 3-point shots and 80% of his free throws. LSU is third in the SEC in scoring offense (80.7 ppg) and 11th in the conference in scoring defense (68.1 ppg). The Tigers are shooting over 75% at the line as a team. LSU is No. 1 in the SEC in field goal percentage (49.2%). The Tigers are also at the top of the conference in rebounding margin (+7.8).

LSU should be the favorite in Baton Rouge. They have more weapons and are playing a little better than the Bulldogs.

Mississippi State-LSU Prediction

LSU 82, Mississippi State 76

Saturday‘s game tips off at 8:00 p.m. ET. (7:00 p.m. CT.) TV: ESPN.