Never Forget Tribute Classic 2018 Saturday, December 8, 2018 again. Do you feel like this team is getting more Lamar Peters resilient with each game you play? LAMAR PETERS: Yeah. It's being able to deal with Quinndary adversity, keep your composure. is a game of runs, so they're going to make runs because they're Weatherspoon a good team, but at the same time, you've got to keep your composure and not get down. Just keep playing Mississippi State Bulldogs basketball the right way, and it paid off for us tonight.

Mississippi State - 82, Clemson - 71 BEN HOWLAND: That was really a big win for us tonight, to beat a very good Clemson team that we Q. Speaking of that confidence, is there a moment have great respect for. I thought we came out and, out there that you could tell you're a little juiced. obviously, got off to a great start. Made those three How much have these three-pointers falling helped threes, and Lamar made a tough shot, and we got your confidence? rolling. LAMAR PETERS: It's always good to see the ball go and pick your confidence up. Our defense was good. Our defense was really good. We had a 20-point lead. Aric Holman started off. He came out on fire. Q was I was a little disappointed we let it dissipate, only able to come along and help him out. We did a good leading eight at the half. But the way we shot the ball job tonight. tonight, I believe in our guys. It's just nice to see how well we can shoot the ball, and it's coming out the last Q. You guys really started off the game with a real two games. Lamar in particular, spent an incredible three-point game. Was that planned for this game? amount of time in the off-season working on his shot. QUINNDARY WEATHERSPOON: Coach just told us, You could see he has a lot of confidence in his shot whenever you open, take good shots. Luckily it was and it showed today. falling tonight. Fortunate to have that type of night. I thought Q shot the ball well. Played a great all- Q. Q, the three-pointers are usually not a staple of around game. 4-for-7 from three. He's been putting a your game, but even you made four of them lot of time in here in the last ten days. tonight. What was the difference tonight? QUINNDARY WEATHERSPOON: I just took what the Nick always gives you the toughness in what he does defense gave me. I knew they were going to try to take to help us win. They did a good job, I thought, going at away a lot of my drives. I was open. I took some us inside, getting us foul trouble. Reggie was in foul shots, and I was able to make them. trouble early. KeyShawn got in foul trouble. Obviously, Abdul got in foul trouble. It was just tough how physical Q. Q, let me ask you a question about two things: they were. Credit them the way they cut it to five. We You guys are very long and athletic and (inaudible) didn't lose our composure and kept after them. So it things seemed to tip in the second half, do you was big. think that would be part of winning? QUINNDARY WEATHERSPOON: We just try come out Questions? and play as hard as we can on the defensive end. We know if we can get a lot of defensive stops, it can push Q. Coach, was that the game plan going in, or was our offense, and we try to get out in transition. That's it more of the big three got hot and using the three- what we like to do the most. We know, if we get some point shooting? stops and get rebounds, we know we can get out in BEN HOWLAND: They really were packing it in today; transition and have fun. we were expecting that. They were looking at our three-point percentage on the season, and they Q. Lamar, there were a few times they crawled back thought, we're going to play off them and pack it in. in to within five points, but you guys took the lead And that's what they did. They were going under and

Rev #2 by #181 at 2018-12-08 23:34:00 GMT page 1 of 3 around ball screens. You take what the defense gives goes back to, well, is NIT good for you? We have a you. Basically, what the defense was giving us today young group. We won on the road at Baylor. We won were threes. on the road at Louisville. Those games helped us. Like the win at Dayton. Dayton was like a wild and Our guys, I'm telling you right now, I've never had a crazy deal to win up there. Let me tell you something, I team collectively work harder at shooting than our guys don't know what I was thinking scheduling Dayton. did this last off-season. Tyson Carter, Q That's something we'll never do again, I'll never do Weatherspoon, Nick Weatherspoon, Lamar, Aric, all again. these kids. I'm just really happy for them. But these are like SEC games. This is what that was Q. One of those things where they're going in, but tonight. This was SEC Tournament game at the end of if they don't go in, it's -- the season against another really good team. That's BEN HOWLAND: You know, I would say, if you went what it's going to be like. They're tough. They're back and you look at the 30 threes that we took, I physical. They're strong. They're well coached. It's a would say that probably 80 percent of them were pretty great win for us. darn good looks. We took a couple of questionable ones, but overall I thought most of them were good Q. Going off of that, Cincinnati just rolled Xavier looks. Now I'll watch the film as soon as we get out of today, and you've got them coming in next week. here and back on the flight home tonight, and I'll get What's it do for your team to go into that game back to you. coming off a performance that you guys just had today? Q. Coach, your team is athletic and long and tough BEN HOWLAND: Cincinnati is really good. I watched in the passing lane. Second half kind of just, do their game against Ole Miss. How hard they play, how you think it was your athleticism? tough they are, and they do a lot of switching, they play BEN HOWLAND: I think you're absolutely right. I think zone and man, they like crazy. They're really where we're really good is we're strong and quick, so good. we're able to get in and pressure the ball. Lamar and Nick and Q can all get under you and climb into you, We'll be coming out of finals, and hopefully we'll be and that's not a fun feeling to have someone climbing coming back up for air by Wednesday. We'll practice into your stuff. That's what they do. That helps on Tuesday, and that will be a tough practice because everybody else. So no question -- and we have those they'll all be -- you know, have stayed up all night trying two shot blockers. I think both Eric and Abdul were top to do what they've got to do for finals. Wednesday five in the league last year in blocked shots. So you same thing. And hopefully by Thursday we'll be back. know, if they go by us, we get some guys that can I know we've got a couple guys that actually have finals contest shots and shots. on Friday. So it's a tough stretch.

Q. You mention Clemson cutting it to five. What do But we'll be excited to play Cincinnati. They really you say about the resiliency of your team to get the killed us up there last year. lead back both times? BEN HOWLAND: Yeah, mental toughness. Believing Q. Lamar Peters, I know you said he's worked in each other. And withstanding a good team's run. harder than anyone in the program to get better at They're a good team. They're a very good team. So shooting. How sustainable is this? He's made that was big for us. I mean, this was a really important eight three-pointers the last three games. Is this win. Again, we hope that their leading scorer, who the way you want to see him shooting? didn't get to play tonight, heals quickly. That was BEN HOWLAND: Yeah, and I don't want him to stop obviously advantage Bulldogs to have him out of the penetrating because he makes plays for others. He's game. He hurt his knee on literally the last minute of got to read. He's good though. How about the play to action. start the second half where he's got a two-on-one and he went back there? That shows a lot of confidence, I asked Brad after, how long will it be? And he said like an NBA deal. probably a couple more weeks. I don't know if that's for print, but I'm telling you what he told me. What I'm really proud of and excited for Lamar s what great leadership he's showing. He's the voice out Q. Coach Howland, after a big win like today, what there. He's the voice in the locker room. He has that does that do for your view going forward and swag and that ability to talk, and those guys all believe (inaudible)? in him. When he's fired up and leading the way he did BEN HOWLAND: I think it's great for your team. This today. He led in the shootaround. He led up to

Rev #2 by #181 at 2018-12-08 23:34:00 GMT page 2 of 3 everything leading up to today's game. A lot of that is that verbal leadership and that outgoing personality and swag that he carries from New Orleans.

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