Men's Basketball
NEWARK, N.J. -After knocking off North Alabama and Fairleigh Dickinson in the regional rounds of the Legends Classic in Starkville, Mississippi State now turns its attention toward the championship rounds, beginning with Washington State at 4:30 p.m. on Friday at the Prudential Center in a game televised nationally by HDNet.
On Saturday, the Bulldogs (5-0) face either Pittsburgh or Texas Tech at 4:30 p.m. or 6 p.m. All times are Central.
This is the 80th in-season tournament MSU has played in since 1955 and during that span has recorded an 84-68 ledger. Last year, State participated in the Anaheim Classic and went 1-2 (beating UC Irvine and losing to Southern Illinois and Miami [OH]).
The Bulldogs, who are coming off a 76-71 win at St. Bonaventure on Tuesday, enter their first-ever showdown with the Cougars led in scoring by sophomore Ravern Johnson's 12.4 clip, while junior forward Jarvis Varnado continues to lead the nation with 37 blocked shots.
Women's Basketball
Lafayette, La. - Off to a 3-0 start, the Mississippi State women's basketball squad will face its first road test of the season as they take on Louisiana-Lafayette Friday. Game time is set for 2 p.m. CT. at ULL's Earl K. Long Gym.
Mississippi State has opened the season with wins over Arkansas-Pine Bluff, Northwestern State and Mississippi Valley State. The Lady Bulldogs lead all Southeastern Conference teams, defeating their opponents by an average of 29.7 points. State also leads the SEC in scoring offense (87.3 ppg), free throw percentage (.802), assists (20.67 apg), blocks (11.67 bpg), assist/turnover ratio (1.51) and defensive rebounds (31.67).
Individually, MSU is paced in scoring by junior Armelie Lumanu who is currently second among all SEC players, averaging 19.7 points a game. Junior Chanel Mokango is averaging 13.3 points a contest and leads the league, averaging 4.33 blocks a game. Junior Alexis Rack is also averaging double-digit points with 12.0 a game.
Led by former MSU assistant coach Errol Rogers who is in his second year as the head coach of the Ragin Cajuns, Louisiana-Lafayette has dropped its first five games this season. ULL is paced in the scoring column by junior Alexis Green who is averaging 16.6 points a contest. Jasmine Barnes is averaging 10.5 points a game while D'Mya Clay is averaging 10 points every time out.
Mississippi State holds a 5-0 advantage over ULL in the all-time series. Friday's game will mark the first time a game in the series has been played away from Starkville. In the last meeting between the teams last season, MSU took an 80-55 victory over the Ragin Cajuns.
Following Friday's game, MSU will prep for a three-game homestand which begins on Wed., Dec. 3 with a matchup against Louisiana Tech.