Missouri-Mississippi State men’s basketball preview
Mississippi State at Missouri
P | No. | Missouri | Ht. | Yr. | PPG |
F | 3 | Johnathan Williams III | 6-9 | So. | 12.0 |
F | 5 | D’Angelo Allen | 6-7 | Fr. | 3.5 |
F | 45 | Keanau Post | 6-11 | Sr. | 4.0 |
G | 2 | Deuce Bello | 6-4 | Jr. | 2.4 |
G | 14 | Keith Shamburger | 5-11 | Sr. | 8.5 |
P | No. | Mississippi State | Ht. | Yr. | PPG |
F | 20 | Gavin Ware | 6-9 | Jr. | 10.0 |
F | 25 | Roquez Johnson | 6-7 | Sr. | 9.9 |
G | 1 | Fred Thomas | 6-5 | Jr. | 10.3 |
G | 15 | I.J. Ready | 5-11 | So. | 8.3 |
G | 32 | Craig Sword | 6-3 | Jr. | 8.5 |
▪ WHEN/WHERE: 3 p.m. Saturday at Mizzou Arena in Columbia
▪ TV/RADIO: ESPNU; KMBZ (98.1 FM)
▪ ABOUT MISSOURI (7-17, 1-10 SEC): The Tigers are mired in a 10-game skid, the longest since dropping 12 in a row during the 1966-67 season. Losing Wes Clark, who was tied for sixth in the SEC with 1.5 steals per game, and ranked ninth in assist-to-turnover ratio at 1.6, will be hard to overcome. Sophomore forward Johnathan Williams III must shoulder more of the scoring load, especially against undersized Mississippi State.
▪ ABOUT MISSISSIPPI STATE (11-13, 4-7 SEC): The Bulldogs rebound well, ranking fourth in the SEC with a plus-2.0 rebounding margin, and shoot well from three-point range, again ranking fourth in conference at 35.3 percent. Junior Gavin Ware checks in second in the SEC with 6.5 defensive rebounds per game. Coach Rick Ray’s squad has struggled with turnovers, committing an SEC-worst 15.5 per game with the lowest turnover margin in the conference at minus-4.2.
To reach Tod Palmer, call 816-234-4389 or send email to tpalmer@kcstar.com. Follow him on Twitter @todpalmer.
This story was originally published February 13, 2015 at 5:28 PM with the headline "Missouri-Mississippi State men’s basketball preview."