Mississippi State’s undefeated record will be challenged when the Bulldogs travel to BB&T Arena in Highland Heights, Kentucky to play the Cincinnati Bearcats, who are 7-2 overall and 4-0 at home.
The Bulldogs, under third-year head coach Ben Howland, are off to their best start since the 2003-2004 season when they started 9-0 and were ranked as high as fourth in the country. Mississippi State has wins over the likes of Alabama State, Florida A&M, Green Bay, Stephen F. Austin, Jacksonville State, North Dakota State, Dayton, and North Georgia, all at home.
The Bearcats are currently on a two-game losing streak in dropping games to Xavier and Florida, but have wins over Savannah State, Western Carolina, Coppin State, Buffalo, Richmond, Wyoming, and Alabama State under twelfth-year head coach Mick Cronin, who has been the definition of consistency in leading Cincinnati to seven straight NCAA tournament appearances.
Let’s take a look at players to watch, keys to victory, and a score prediction for Tuesday’s contest.
Players to Watch
Nick and Quinndary Weatherspoon (Mississippi State)
The Weatherspoon brothers form the starting backcourt combination in Starkville, and that bond has shown out on the floor for the Bulldogs.
Quinndary, the older of the two, has been the vocal leader for the Bulldogs throughout his tenure at the Hump, and has taken on more of a creator role on this team in averaging nearly five assists per game, which is an increase of four per game from last season.
Nick, the five-star freshman, has been an important scorer from the guard position, averaging nearly eleven points per game while posting one of the best net ratings on the team. T
he combination of the Weatherspoon brothers will be very crucial to Mississippi State’s success both in this game and the rest of the season.
Gary Clark and Jacob Evans (Cincinnati)
Clark and Evans have been the best players on the Bearcats roster, averaging 13.2 and 13.1 point per game, respectively, for one of the best teams in regard to point differential.
The Bearcats rank fifth in the country in point differential this season, outscoring their opponents by an average of 21.7 points per game.
Clark and Evans have been able to split the scoring load evenly, which has been critical to Cincinnati’s early success.
Even with their two-game losing streak, the duo has been consistently solid on both ends of the floor, and if they continue to perform at a high level, the Bearcats can compete with most teams in the country.
How Mississippi State Can Win
The Bulldogs are going to need big performances for Abdul Ado, Aric Holman, and E.J. Datcher if they want to compete in this contest.
The big men for Mississippi State haven’t been spectacular this season, so finding production from one or two of those players is important to both its offensive identity in the post and the defensive identity around the basket.
Those players are capable of playing to that high level, but putting it together is the challenge for the Bulldogs to compete in this game.
How Cincinnati Can Win
The Bearcats are going to need solid performances defensively from their guards to slow down the Weatherspoon brothers, as well as leading scorer Tyson Carter and backup point guard Lamar Peters.
Those four guards have been very good this season on the offensive end of the floor, so finding a way to throw off their shooting performance will be very important for the Bearcats to win this game comfortably.
Prediction
The Bulldogs have started this season very impressively, but their strength of schedule – 346th in the nation – does not bode well to their success in this game.
That lack of playing elite competition will catch up to them in this game, as the Bearcats will simply outclass them on both ends of the floor.
Look for the Bulldogs to compete for a good portion of this game, but the experience of the Bearcats will rise to the top and will make this one a comfortable win for the home team.
Prediction: Cincinnati 76, Mississippi State 63