No. 20 Mizzou Tigers men’s basketball team hits road for ranked clash at Mississippi St.
The No. 20-ranked Missouri Tigers men’s basketball will look to improve to 6-2 in the Southeastern Conference when it takes on the tall task of beating No. 14 Mississippi State on Saturday in Starkville, Mississippi.
The game tips off at noon Central Time and will be televised on the SEC Network.
The Tigers have logged just one road win vs. the Bulldogs in 10 tries — a lopsided 78-36 affair on Feb. 13, 2013. And Missouri (16-4, 5-2) is projected to fall 78-72 to the Bulldogs (16-5, 4-4) this time, according to KenPom’s record projections.
ESPN’s matchup predictor gives Mizzou a 29.2% win probability, per ESPN Analytics.
“Mississippi State is a tremendous team (and) well-balanced defensively. We know what they bring to the table: their grit, their toughness,” Gates said. “That’s something that is an identity of their program. (It) always has and always will be. The one thing that I would say is (that) they’re playing excellent basketball.”
Despite the Bulldogs’ ranking, they have been on a recent skid, with just two wins in their past six games. Mississippi State fell to Alabama 88-84 Wednesday despite a big game from guard Josh Hubbard (14-for-28 from the field, season-high 38 points).
So far this season, Hubbard is averaging 17.3 points and 3.0 assists per game.
“He’s a multi-level scorer. He’s not a guy that just settles for all 3s, but he’s a guy that can make 3s,” Gates said. “He’s a guy that can finish in the paint. He’s athletic. He’s a talented, talented player.”
Another major contributor on this Mississippi State squad is forward Cam Matthews, who is averaging 7.6 points and 7.0 rebounds per game. Mizzou center Josh Gray is familiar with the 6-foot-7 senior and described his personal game-plan for Saturday.
“Matthews is another X-factor. He’s taking more responsibilities in terms of playmaking and seeing where the ball goes and crashing the boards a lot,” Gray said. “So he’s going to be a tough cover that we’ve got to keep off the glass.”
This season is Bulldogs coach Chris Jans’ third in Starkville, Miss. He led Mississippi State to the NCAA Tournament in the past two seasons. He began his coaching career at Bowling Green, where he stayed for just one season, before taking the lead position at New Mexico State.
Jans led the Aggies to a 122-32 record in five seasons at the helm and received a bid into the NCAA Tournament three times. With the Bulldogs, he currently has a 58-32 record.
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