Following a 89-68 win over the Mississippi Valley State University Delta Devils, the Mississippi State University Bulldogs host the Utah State Aggies Saturday at noon. MSU also beat Western Carolina earlier in the weekend 66-56. MSU’s offense accomplished almost everything it would have liked to against the Delta Devils. Gavin Ware and Fred Thomas scored 19 and 17 points, respectively, while only missing a combined five shots in the game. 
“We knew we had more size than they did, so it was important that we took advantage of that,” Ware said. “We just really had to get the ball inside and make the shots.”
The Bulldogs had a marked advantage with their size down low, a lightly used statement for MSU last season, which showed in the rebounding column as well. The Bulldogs outrebounded the Delta Devils by 22, mainly because Mississippi Valley State did not have someone over 6’7 play a major role in the game. 
Saturday’s matchup will present more of a challenge for the MSU. Last season, the Aggies beat the Bulldogs 87-68. Utah State started four seniors in that game, and Mississippi State could not find offense until late. Ware played particularly well, scoring a team-high 19 points and bringing down 10 rebounds. 
This year, it will be a much different Utah State squad that will travel to Starkville. After having to replace the four senior starters from a team that won 18 games last season, the Aggies have been relying on 6’8” freshman David Collette early this season. Collette leads the team in scoring nearly 20 points per game while shooting 72 percent from the field. He also is second on the team in rebounds, grabbing five a game. However, Collette will run into his hardest test of the season so far though when he tries to bang down low against Ware.  
According to Ken Pomeroy’s statistic-based website kenpom.com The Bulldogs come into the game turning the ball over on just under 30 percent of their possessions. That ranks 328 in the country. Utah State’s defense forces a turnover about 20 percent of the time, so how well the Bulldogs can hold on to the basketball may play a role in the outcome of the game. 
An area where the Bulldogs have struggled in Head Coach Rick Ray’s tenure has been rebounding, specifically on the offensive end. Last season, the Bulldog’s rebounds came on the offensive end of the floor just 28.6 percent of the time. Though with just a small sample size, this season MSU ranks 18th in the country with 44.9 percent of its total rebounds being offensive. MSU has more size and depth than it ever has under Ray, and the Bulldogs are beginning to see the benefits of having those luxuries. 
Junior Craig Sword has been sidelined after having injury before the season began. Sword has been close to a comeback and could be back in the lineup Saturday.
This time around, a more experienced, deeper MSU team will look to take advantage of the Aggies. The game can be seen on SECN+ or the watchESPN app.