MISSISSIPPI STATE 2008-09 MEN’S BASKETBALL Game #32: Mississippi State (19-12, 9-7) vs. Georgia (12-19, 3-13) Thursday, March 12, 2009 • 2:15 p.m. • Tampa, Fla. St. Pete Times Forum (21,655) • TV: Raycom TV Talent: Tom Hammond, Larry Conley XM Radio: Channel 199 Mississippi State Athletic Media Relations • PO Box 5308 • MSU, MS 39762 Men’s Basketball SID: Gregg Ellis (662.325.3595; [email protected]) 2008-09 MSU RESULTS (19-12) PROBABLE STARTERS & TOP RESERVES Date Opponent (tv) Score/Time MISSISSIPPI STATE BULLDOGS (19-12, 9-7) Nov. 15 CENTENARY W 77-55 Pos. No. Name Ht. Wt. Cl. Hometown PPG RPG APG SPG BPG Nov. 17 UL MONROE W 78-49 C 32 Jarvis Varnado 6-9 210 Jr. Brownsville, TN 13.0 9.0 0.8 0.6 4.6 Nov. 19 #NORTH ALABAMA W 102-61 G 25 Phil Turner 6-3 170 So. Grenada, MS 8.5 5.0 1.6 1.4 0.5 Nov. 22 #FAIRLEIGH DICKINSON W 84-58 G 3 Dee Bost 6-2 170 Fr. Concord, NC 11.5 3.5 4.4 1.5 0.0 Nov. 25 at St. Bonaventure W 76-71 G 22 Barry Stewart 6-3 170 Jr. Shelbyville, TN 12.1 3.8 1.9 1.4 0.3 Nov. 28 ^Washington State (HDNet) L 63-52 G 2 Ravern Johnson 6-7 175 So. Lyon, MS 12.5 3.2 1.2 0.4 0.5 Nov. 29 ^Texas Tech (HDNet) L 77-73 F 24 Kodi Augustus 6-8 220 So. Baton Rouge, LA 5.4 3.3 0.3 0.4 0.3 Dec. 6 ALABAMA STATE W 76-67 G 15 Riley Benock 6-4 180 So. Battletown, KY 2.5 0.9 0.7 0.5 0.1 Dec. 10 CHARLOTTE L 70-64 Dec. 13 SOUTH ALABAMA W 79-60 GEORGIA BULLDOGS (12-19, 3-13) Dec. 18 !Cincinnati (ESPN2) L 75-63 Pos. No. Name Ht. Wt. Cl. Hometown PPG RPG APG SPG BPG Dec. 22 *Nicholls State W 74-68 G 3 Dustin Ware 5-11 175 Fr. Powder Springs, GA 7.4 1.7 3.3 0.8 0.0 Dec. 30 SAN DIEGO (FSN) L 64-61 ot G 23 Corey Butler 6-3 195 Sr. Decatur, GA 6.7 4.1 1.9 1.4 0.1 Jan. 3 HOUSTON (CSS) W 82-65 G/F 30 Terrance Woodbury 6-7 220 Sr. Virginia Beach, VA 14.0 4.5 1.4 0.7 0.1 Jan. 5 WESTERN KENTUCKY (CSS) W 95-67 F 33 Trey Thompkins 6-8 245 Fr. Lithonia, GA 12.7 7.4 0.8 0.9 1.1 F/C 34 Albert Jackson 6-10 260 Jr. Earlington, KY 4.4 3.8 0.4 0.4 0.9 Jan. 10 at Arkansas (FSN) W 70-56 Jan. 14 ALABAMA W 83-74 G 5 Zac Swansey 6-1 180 So. Dunwoody, GA 4.3 9.0 2.9 1.1 0.1 Jan. 17 VANDERBILT (FSN) W 73-66 F 4 Chris Barnes 6-7 250 So. College Park, GA 4.3 4.0 0.5 0.6 0.8 Jan. 21 at LSU L 81-57 Jan. 24 at Georgia (ESPN2) W 67-61 OFFICIALS: TBA Jan. 31 OLE MISS (Raycom) L 67-63 Feb. 3 at Kentucky (Raycom) W 66-57 SEC COACHES RECOGNIZE PLAY OF VARNADO AND BOST Feb. 7 ARKANSAS (Raycom) W 86-77 Mississippi State junior Jarvis Varnado and freshman Dee Bost both received SEC honors on Tuesday, the Feb. 11 LSU L 97-94 2ot league offi ce announced. Varnado was named the SEC Defensive Player of the Year for the second season Feb. 14 at Auburn (FSN) L 91-76 Feb. 18 SOUTH CAROLINA W 75-70 in a row and was also tabbed fi rst team All-SEC in addition to making the All-Defensive squad. Bost, who has Feb. 21 at Alabama L 87-85 2ot started all 31 games, was voted to the All-Freshman team. He was also a candidate for Freshman of the Year. Feb. 25 at Tennessee (Raycom) L 81-76 This talented duo is back on the fl oor at 2:15 p.m. CT on Thursday against Georgia in the opening round of Feb. 28 AUBURN (Fox Sports South) L 76-58 the SEC Tournament in Tampa, with the winner playing South Carolina at 2:15 on Friday. Mar. 4 FLORIDA (Raycom) W 80-71 Mar. 7 at Ole Miss W 82-80 BULLDOGS AND THE SEC TOURNAMENT 500 OR BETTER FOR AN EIGHTH TIME M. 12 +vs. Georgia 2:15 p.m. Mississippi State travels to Tampa, Fla., this week WITH RICK STANSBURY AT THE HELM # - Legends Classic, regional rounds (Starkville, Miss.) sporting a 21-46 record in the SEC Tournament, By closing out the year with wins against Florida and ^ - Legends Classic, championship rounds (Newark, N.J.) including a 1-1 mark last year. The Bulldogs’ 21 Ole Miss, Mississippi State fi nished SEC play 9-7 to ! - SEC/Big East Challenge (Cincinnati, Ohio) * - at Jackson (Mississippi Coliseum) victories rank 10th best al-time. Kentucky leads the conclude the regular season .500 or better in con- + - at Tampa, Fla. (St. Pete Times Forum) league with 110 wins, followed by Alabama and ference play for the eighth time in Rick Stansbury’s Tennessee with 56 and 55, respectively. The most 11 years at the helm. Stansbury has posted a 96-80 common foe MSU has faced is Vanderbilt, with the ledger in the SEC, while his .545 winning percentage MSU-Georgia Game Facts Commodores holding a 7-4 advantage. The four wins ranks 17th all-time in the history of the league. In the against Vandy are also the most against any team for 11 years prior to Stansbury taking over, Mississippi MISSISSIPPI STATE BULLDOGS MSU. The Bulldogs have never lost to Ole Miss (1-0) State fi nished .500 or better just four times. Coach: Rick Stansbury but have never defeated Arkansas (2-0) and South Alma Mater: (Campbellsville, 1982) Carolina ( 2-0). Georgia has upended MSU the most, IT’S BEEN AWHILE FOR MSU Record: 227-127 (11th year) eight times in 10 contests. THIS KIND OF SERIES SPLIT Career Record: 227-127 (11th year) It’s not unusual for Mississippi State and Ole Miss to GEORGIA BULLDOGS 100 FOR STEWART, VARNADO split their season series. In fact, in the last 40 years, Coach: Pete Herrmann Against Ole Miss, juniors Barry Stewart and Jarvis it’s happened 20 times. What is unusual, though, is to Alma Mater: (SUNY-Geneseo, 1970) Varnado played in their 100th-career game for the split the series with both visiting teams winning. How School Record: 3-8 (1st year) Career Record: 66-118 (7th year) Bulldogs. The most games anyone has played at unusual? Prior to this year, the last time both teams MSU is Derrick Zimmerman, who logged 127 from won against each on the road came during the 1955 SERIES INFORMATION 2000-03. Last year, Charles Rhodes eclipsed the campaign, with the Rebels winning 66-58 in Oxford, Series Record: MSU leads, 50-49 100-mark and fi nished his career for the Maroon & and the Bulldogs winning 60-56 in Oxford. Last Meeting: MSU won 67-61 @ MSU (1-24-09) White with 110 games. Mississippi State-Georgia SEC Tournament Notes • March 12, 2009 THE LAST 10 VERSUS GEORGIA (MSU LEADS, 6-4) Statistical Comparison SECSEC Team Team When Where Result When Where Result Rankings MSU vs. Georgia 2/6/04 Starkville L, 86-68 12/25/06 Starkville W, 83-68 Rankings 2008-09 Stats MSU UGA 2/1/03 Athens L, 67-63 2/24/07 Athens L, 86-73 2/16/04 Starkville W, 71-58 1/12/08 Starkville W, 60-49 Category Rank 2008-09 Record 19-12 12-19 3/10/05 Athens W, 76-65 3/15/08 Atlanta (SECT) L, 64-60 Scoring .................. 7 Conference Record 9-7 3-13 3/15/-5 Atlanta (SECT) W, 76-65 1/24/09 Athens W, 67-61 Scoring Defense ....7 Scoring 75.1 65.1 MSU IN THE SEC TOURNAMENT (21-46) Scoring Margin ...... 7 Scoring Defense 69.7 69.6 Field Goal Pct. .....10 Scoring Margin +5.3 -4.5 Team Record Team Record Alabama ........................................................3-6 South Carolina ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,0-2 Opp. FG%. .............3 Field Goal Pct 43.7 41.2 Arkansas ........................................................0-2 Tennessee ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,6-2 3-point FG% .......... 4 Opp. Field Goal Pct. 39.9 42.6 Auburn ...........................................................2-1 Vanderbilt ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,7-5 Florida ............................................................1-2 * Georgia Tech ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,1-3 Opp. 3-point FG%. .8 3-Point FG Percentage 36.8 34.1 Georgia ..........................................................2-8 *Tulane ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,1-0 3-point FG Made ....1 Opp. 3-Point FG Pct. 34.5 32.8 Kentucky ........................................................2-7 NOTE: Georgia Tech and Tulane used to be in the SEC. Free Throw Pct. .....5 Free Throw Percentage 70.9 64.1 LSU ................................................................2-2 Ole Miss .........................................................1-0 Reb. Avg ................ 4 Opp. Free Throw Pct. 64.8 68.4 Opp. Reb.Avg. .....12 Rebounding Average 38.0 37.8 MSU ENJOYED MORE NON-CONFERENCE SUCCESS Offensive Reb. .....10 Opp. Rebounding Ave. 39.1 37.0 Including last year’s 11-7 ledger against non-conference foes, coupled with Rebound Margin .. 11 Rebound Margin -1.0 +0.8 this year’s 10-5 mark, Mississippi State has compiled a dominant 121-38 (.761) Turnovers ............T9 Assists 12.7 12.9 record against non-conference opponents during the Rick Stansbury era (since Turnover Margin ...