Mississippi State University looks to rebound from its third straight road loss by hosting the University of Florida Gators. Florida (13-4, 5-1) comes into the game after an eight point win over South Carolina while the Bulldogs (16-5, 4-3) are recovering from a 69-62 loss to LSU.
Why it is important:
For MSU: Rick Stansbury’s squad will try to stay perfect at home. The Bulldogs are 8-0 at home this season. They are also 3-0 at home in SEC play.
For UF: Billy Donovan’s team would pick up a game on conference leading Kentucky with a win over MSU.
Keys of the game:
For MSU: MSU will need to improve their defense to prevent the Gators from putting up big points. The Bulldogs need to close up holes in the zone defense and do a better job contesting shots when playing man to man.
For UF: Florida needs to get the ball in the hands of playmaker Anthony Roberson. Roberson is averaging 18.2 points and shoots 41.7 percent from behind the arc. Roberson has scored in double figures in 16 consecutive games.
Key Matchups:
Lawrence Roberts v. David Lee: Roberts will battle against Lee for post position. Roberts holds a statistical lead over Lee with 18.6 points per game and 11.3 rebounds per game. Lee puts up 124 points per game and 7.9 rebounds per game. The battle in the post will be one to watch all night since the Gators are 12-0 on the year when shooting for a higher percentage from the floor than the opponent.
Shane Power v. Matt Walsh: The MSU game will be Walsh’s fourth game back after suffering an ankle sprain. Walsh has not scored in double digits since his return but does have the ability to put up a lot of points.
Power needs to prevent Walsh from having a breakout performance. Power’s only duty will not be defense. Now playing shooting guard, Power needs to look to shoot more.
Off the bench:
For MSU: Jamall Edmondson needs to regain his shooting touch to help the Bulldogs keep up with the high powered offense of the Gators. Edmondson has the potential to be an offensive threat but has been a streaky over the past five games.
Walter Sharpe will also come off the bench for Mississippi State. Sharpe had his coming out party Saturday against LSU. He scored 12 points off the bench and played a career high 21 minutes.
For UF: Florida’s top sub is freshman Taurean Green. Green has shot 50 percent from the floor in conference play and averages 5.3 points.
Lee Humphrey stepped into the starting lineup when Walsh went out but now gets his minutes off of the bench. The sophomore averages 7.3 points in conference games and shoots 41 percent from the three-point line.
Series History:
The Gators lead the overall series record 53-44, but MSU lead the Gators 30-18 in games played in Starkville. The Bulldogs won last year’s match up 79-68 in Gainesville. Florida has won six of the last 10 meetings.
Television:
The game is scheduled to tip at 7 p.m. and will be televised on ESPN2.