Mississippi State University men’s basketball remain undefeated after a dominate 95-62 win over the University of North Georgia.
The Bulldogs (8-0) have played all eight games at home in Humphrey Coliseum, but their game against the Nighthawks (2-5) was a final tune-up for their first road trip on Tuesday against the No. 17 University of Cincinnati Bearcats (7-2).
Cincinnati is coming off a 66-60 loss to No. 5 University of Florida and will be MSU’s first challenge this season.
MSU was led by junior guard Quinndary Weatherspoon, who scored 22 points and went a perfect 4-4 from behind the three point line and went 8-11 from the field.
That being said, head coach Ben Howland complemented Weatherspoon on his defensive play of late along with his offensive performance.
“He sets the defensive tone,” Howland said. “He is a leader out there defensively, talking, making sure our guys are doing the proper things like switching. He has really improved in that area and I think he has really become an outstanding defender.”
Aric Holman was second on the team in scoring with 13 points. KeyShawn Feazell and Lamar Peters were combined for third on the team in points with 11 points.
MSU’s defense has been their staple on the year. They rank 20th in the country in scoring defense, and first in the SEC in defense.
With the game behind them, Weatherspoon, from Canton, said he thinks the team is ready to travel on the road and play a tough team.
“We feel like we are ready to go on the road,” Weatherspoon said. “As long as our defense travels with us, we will have a chance. We are playing with a lot of confidence right now. Today, the shots fortunately fell. That’s a good thing,”
The game also looks to be the first time this season MSU will have all 11 of their scholarship players. E.J. Datcher came back from a bone bruise and played against UNG and Eli Wright finished out his suspension with this game. Abdul Ado missed the first game of the season and Xavian Stapleton missed parts of the season after tweaking his knee.
MSU’s game against Cincinnati is set for 6 p.m. and ESPN2 will broadcast the game. The game will be in BB&T Arena in Highland Heights, Kentucky.
