MSU, UTEP Face Off In Charleston

CHARLESTON, S.C. – Playing in the final game of the Gildan Charleston Classic, Mississippi State looks to build off its momentum from the Boise State victory when it faces UTEP at 2:30 p.m. CT Sunday.

MSU improved to 2-1 on the year following Friday's 80-68 win against Boise State, powered by Quinndary Weatherspoon's career-high 25 points.

Tip at TD Arena game will be televised on ESPN3, with Roy Philpott and Mark Plansky handling the broadcast. The game can also be heard on the MSU radio network with veterans Bart Gregory and Richard Williams with the call.

THE SERIES
Sunday marks the first meeting between the two schools. However, the Bulldogs are 44-19 all-time against teams from Conference USA.

COACHES
Ben Howland is in his second year at MSU and 21^st overall. As a head coach in four different stops, he is 417-224 with a 16-18 mark with the Bulldogs

Hattiesburg, Miss., native Tim Floyd is in his seventh year with UTEP (124-78) and 22nd overall with a 452-258 ledger.

NEXT 2
Nov. 25 vs. LeHigh and Nov. 28 against Northwestern State, both at Humphrey Coliseum.

BULLDOG BITES

Mississippi State is looking to win two in-season tournament games for the first time since 2011-12 when it won the 2K Sports Classic in New York City's Madison Square Garden.
The Bulldogs are now 91-81 all-time in in-season tournaments.
UTEP is one of five teams on MSU's schedule the Bulldogs are facing for the first time. Boise State, Norfolk State, Central Florida and LeHigh are the other four.
MSU is 44-19 against the 12 teams that currently comprise Conference USA. The team the Bulldogs have played the most is Southern Miss (14-4). The last team MSU faced was North Texas in 2011-12, an 82-59 win in Starkville. In December, MSU will also face Southern Miss.
UTEP coach Tim Floyd is a Hattiesburg, Miss., native.
MSU coach Ben Howland and Floyd have met 10 times, with Howland winning seven of the contests. All games came when Howland was at UCLA and Floyd at Southern Cal.
Sophomore guard Quinndary Weatherspoon has now scored in double-digits 23 times in his career. He's eclipsed the 20-point mark four times, including twice this year. MSU is 3-1 when he scores 20-plus points.
Quinndary Weatherspoon has also led the Bulldogs in scoring all three games, and he's currently second in the SEC with his 22.0 clip.
The 25 points and 4 steals against Boise State were career highs for Quinndary Weatherspoon.
I.J. Ready is now 289 points shy of becoming the 37th player in MSU history to score 1,000 for a career. He also needs just 35 assists to move into the MSU all-time Top 10. In addition, he is 27 steals shy of moving in the MSU Top 10 record book.
The win against the Broncos was the fist in five attempts for Ben Howland.
Sunday's game features two of the youngest teams in the country — UTEP (1st) and MSU (16th).
In Friday's win against Boise State, MSU collected 13 steals, the most since also having 13 on Feb. 27, 2016, at the Hump against South Carolina in a 68-58 win.
Of current SEC plays, I.J. Ready is sixth with 222 assists and sixth with 80 steals.

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MSU, UTEP Face Off In Charleston

Next Event

Players Mentioned

I.J. Ready

Quinndary Weatherspoon

Mississippi State University Athletics

MSU, UTEP Face Off In Charleston

Next Event

Players Mentioned

I.J. Ready

Quinndary Weatherspoon

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