@MizzouHoops Hits Road for Mississippi State for Saturday Night Matchup

Saturday, January 27

Starkville, Miss.

7:30 PM CT

University of Missouri

Mississippi State

@MizzouHoops Hits Road for Mississippi State for Saturday Night Matchup

1/26/2018 12:03:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Tigers and Bulldogs tip off at 7:30 p.m. CT on the SEC Network

Mizzou Men's Basketball (13-7, 3-4) begins a two-game Southeastern Conference road swing with a trip to Starkville, Mississippi, to face Mississippi State (14-6, 2-5) on Saturday, Jan. 27. Tipoff is at 7:30 p.m. CT, and live coverage can be found on the SEC Network and the Tiger Radio Network.

Mizzou at Mississippi State
Saturday, Jan. 27, 7:30 p.m. CT
SEC Network

Game Notes

Story Lines

Mizzou is the No. 1 free throw shooting team in the SEC, hitting on 81.5 percent of its foul shots (110-of-135) through the first seven games of the league schedule.
Head coach Cuonzo Martin holds a 2-1 record vs. Mississippi State, guiding Tennessee to back-to-back wins over the Bulldogs during the 2012-13 and 2013-14 seasons.
Martin's Mizzou squad has added 13 wins to his career total thus far, bringing that mark up to 199 victories as a head coach across his 10 seasons.
Martin has installed his patented defensive approach, while also shaping a sharp-shooting squad. Mizzou ranks in the nation's Top 50 in both offensive (55.1, 38th) and defensive (45.7, 16th) effective field goal percentage.
Graduate senior guard Kassius Robertson has averaged 15.5 points per game overall, a total that sets him apart as the nation's highest-scoring graduate transfer at the high major level (as of Jan. 24).
Barnett and junior guard Jordan Geist each scored 18 points in Mizzou's last trip to Humphrey Coliseum, an 89-74 setback at Mississippi State last season (Jan. 25, 2017). The Tigers were 5-14 (0-7 SEC) entering that matchup, but led the Bulldogs 43-39 at the halftime break.
The Tigers' 183 three-pointers rank as the second-most in school history through 20 games, three triples behind the 1999-2000 season (186). Mizzou hit 175 treys in 2001-02, for the third-highest mark. Over the entire 2016-17 season, Mizzou made 225 three-pointers.

Scouting Mississippi State

Mississippi State has compiled a 2-5 record during Southeastern Conference play within an overall record of 14-6. Junior guard Quinndary Weatherspoon has led the Bulldogs in league action with his 15.6 points per game. Younger brother Nick Weatherspoon has added 9.6 points per game.
The Bulldogs picked up home SEC wins against Arkansas (Jan. 2, 78-75) and Vanderbilt (Jan. 16, 80-62). MSU returns to Starkville for its game vs. Mizzou after back-to-back road losses at Alabama (Jan. 20, 68-62) and at Kentucky (Jan. 23, 78-65).
MSU has two Bulldogs pulling down at least 7.0 rebounds per game in junior forward Aric Holman (7.1) and freshman forward Abdul Ado (7.0).

Kash Money

Graduate senior guard Kassius Robertson is averaging a solid 15.5 points per game, a total that ranks No. 1 among graduate transfers playing at the high major level. That total stands as fifth-best overall among all graduate transfers across NCAA Division I.
Robertson's 58 three-pointers on the season has cracked the program's all-time Top 10 for deep range makes by a senior at 10th-best. The next ladder rung, No. 9 all-time, are the 66 sank by former Big Eight Player of the Year Melvin Booker during his standout senior campaign in 1993-94.
Robertson had his best game to-date as a Tiger, as he scored a season-high 26 points at Arkansas (Jan. 13) and posted season-bests in field goals made (9), three-pointers (6), rebounds (8) and steals (3).

Notes from the Auburn Game

Mizzou shot 18-of-22 from the free throw line (81.8 percent) vs. Auburn (Jan. 24), the eighth time this season the Tigers have shot at least 80 percent from the charity stripe.
Mizzou outrebounded Auburn 41-30, its highest rebounding margin since +11 against North Florida (Dec. 16), and the 16th time in 20 games this season Mizzou has outrebounded its opponent.
Graduate senior guard Kassius Robertson led the team in scoring for the ninth time this season with 21 points, giving him six games with 20 or more points. Robertson has scored at least 10 points in 16 games this season and 82 games in his career.
Senior forward Jordan Barnett poured in 19 points on 7-of-10 shooting from the field. His 70 percent mark from the field was the best of his career when sinking more than five shots.

More Story Lines

Freshman forward Jontay Porter is one of just four players nationally to have compiled at least 40 assists (42) and 40 blocks (40) this season, according to Basketball-Reference.com.
Senior forward Jordan Barnett ranks 12th nationally and third in the SEC in free throw percentage, hitting on 51-of-56 from the charity stripe (91.1).
Mizzou has outrebounded its opponents in 16-of-20 games. The Tigers rank third in the SEC in rebounding margin (+6.5) in overall games.
Graduate senior guard Kassius Robertson became the first Tiger to score 20 points or more in three consecutive games since the 2013-14 season after his 23-point game at South Carolina (Jan. 3). Robertson scored 22 vs. Illinois (Dec. 23) and 23 vs. Stephen F. Austin (Dec. 19).
Robertson leads the league in overall minutes played and in conference games-only, averaging 34.2 and 37.3 minutes, respectively.

Up Next

Mizzou travels to Alabama on Tuesday, Jan. 30, for an 8 p.m. CT tipoff on ESPN2. The Black & Gold have played a game in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, for five consecutive seasons.
The Tigers trail in the all-time series against the Crimson Tide, 2-9.
Mizzou's inaugural SEC game during the 2012-13 season was at home vs. Alabama, which the Tigers won, 84-68, on Jan. 8, 2013.