PREVIEW: WBK Hoops at Georgia

Sunday, January 5

Athens, Ga.

3:00 PM

Mississippi State

Georgia

Photo by: Mississippi State Athletics

January 04, 2020 | Women's Basketball

Watch Live (SECN)Listen Live Live Stats TuneIn VIDEO: Press Conference MSU Notes Georgia Notes

by Josh Lively, Assistant Director/Communications

ATHENS, Ga. – Mississippi State is set for its first of back-to-back SEC road games, beginning with a trip to take on Georgia at Stegeman Coliseum on Sunday afternoon at 3 p.m. CT.

Fans unable to attend can watch on the SEC Network with Andraya Carter and Tyler Denning on the call. The game will also be streamed on MSU Radio Network with Jason Crowder and Charlie Winfield on the call and can be streamed on HailState.com/plus and the Tune In app.

Mississippi State (13-2, 1-0 SEC) owns the nation's longest road winning streak at 12 games. This season, MSU has won at Marquette, Louisiana and Jackson State. The Bulldogs are coming off a strong 93-47 win against Florida to begin conference play. Jordan Danberry finished with 21 points on 10-of-11 shooting and added eight assists and four steals. Rickea Jackson dropped a career-high 20 points on 9-of-11 shooting. The freshman forward has been the team's leading scorer the last five games with an average of 15.2 points per game.

Georgia (10-4, 1-0 SEC) opened conference play with a road 58-51 win at Ole Miss. Senior forward Stephanie Paul had a season-high 18 points in the contest. On the season, junior guard Gabby Connally leads UGA in both scoring (13.5 ppg) and assists (3.7 apg).

For more information on the Bulldogs, follow MSU women's basketball on Twitter, like them on Facebook and join them on Instagram by searching for "HailStateWBK."

Bulldog Bites
• With the start of SEC play, the Bulldogs have their sights set on a third consecutive SEC title, a feat that no program has accomplished outright since 2001-04.
• Under Vic Schaefer, Mississippi State has finished inside the top three of the SEC in each of the last five seasons while compiling a 66-14 record during that stretch.
• Mississippi State owns the nation's longest road winning streak at 12 games. This season, the Bulldogs own wins at Marquette, Louisiana and Jackson State.
• With the departure of SEC Player of the Year Teaira McCowan, Mississippi State had a major void to fill in the post this season. Sophomore forward Jessika Carter has answered that need, averaging 13.3 points, 10.6 rebounds and 2.0 blocks per game. As a sophomore, McCowan averaged 8.7 points, 7.1 rebounds and 1.5 blocks per game.
• Carter has been one of the nation's top rebounders this season, especially on the offensive end of the floor. She is averaging 5.2 offensive rebounds per game, which ranks third in the Division I. Her 10.6 rebounds per game stands at 17th in the country.
• Graduate guard Jordan Danberry, who was granted a fifth year of eligibility by the NCAA in August, leads the team in scoring (13.6) and steals (2.9 spg) while ranking second in assists (3.2 apg). Her 44 steals on the year ranks 13th in the nation. During the last five games, she is posting 14.0 ppg while shooting 66 percent from the field.
• Rickea Jackson has shown why she was one of the top players in last year's signing class. The freshman forward is third on the team in scoring at 12.8 points per game and is shooting 49 percent from the field. She has scored in double figures in nine of the last 11 games and is the team's leading scorer during the last five contests at 15.2 ppg.
• Jackson is the first true freshman to start the season for Schaefer since 2014-15 with Victoria Vivians, who was second team All-SEC during her first season after averaging 14.9 points and 5.0 rebounds per game.
• The duo of Chloe Bibby and Andra Espinoza-Hunter, known as the Splash Sisters, have combined to hit 56 percent of State's 3-pointers this season. Bibby leads the team with 27 threes, while Espinoza-Hunter ranks second with 17.
• With the victory at Marquette on 11/25/19, Vic Schaefer's claimed his 200th win at MSU in just his 256 game, making him the second-fastest coach to ever achieve that with an SEC program.

Bulldogs Own Nation's Longest Road Win Streak
• With the win at Louisiana giving MSU 12 straight road wins, Mississippi State extended the nation's longest road win streak.
• UConn is second with an 11-game winning streak followed by Baylor (9) and South Carolina and Cleveland State with seven.
• So far this season, State owns wins at Jackson State, Marquette and Louisiana.
• Last year, the Bulldogs ended the season by going a perfect 8-0 in SEC Road Games along with securing a victory at Washington in December.
• Since the 2017-18 season, MSU has posted a combined 25-1 record in road games. In that stretch, State boasted a program-record 13-game road win streak before falling at No. 7 Oregon on Dec. 18, 2018.
• As one of the nation's top teams away from home, the Bulldogs have beaten five ranked teams on their home courts since 2017-18, including four top-15 opponents.

State's Offense Among Best in the Country
• Although Vic Schaefer's teams are widely known for their defense, Mississippi State has established itself as one of the best offensive teams in Division I.
• This season, State ranks sixth in the nation in scoring offense at 84.8 ppg and ranks seventh in scoring margin (+28.2).
• With five players shooting over 50 percent from the field, the Bulldogs rank 10th in the country and top the SEC in field-goal percentage with a .480 clip.
• Another key to MSU's offensive success has been its ability to take care of the ball and make the extra passes for better shots. State ranks fourth in the SEC in assist/turnover ratio (1.11).
• When the Bulldogs aren't knocking down shots, State is crashing the glass to get a second opportunity at a basket. With 226 offensive rebounds on the season, Mississippi State has gotten the rebound on 43 percent of its missed baskets and turned that into 257 second-chance points.

Secretary of Defense
• Vic Schaefer's teams have always had a major emphasis on one area: defense. If you want to play for him, you have to play lockdown, tenacious and suffocating defense for 40 minutes every game. It's this expectation and mentality that has earned Schaefer the nickname "Secretary of Defense."
• So far this season, State's relentless defense has forced opponents into turning the ball over 332 times for an average of 22.2 turnovers per game. That number ranks 15th in the nation and second in the SEC.
• The Bulldogs have been great at rejecting shots with an average of 5.7 blocks per game, which is 13th in the Division I. Jessika Carter has led the charge by posting 2.0 bpg this season to rank 40th in the country and fourth in the SEC. The sophomore forward has four games with three or more blocks on the year.
• State's on-ball pressure has been suffocating all season, especially in the press. MSU ranks fourth in the SEC with 9.9 steals per game. Jordan Danberry is pacing the team in the category with 2.9 spg to rank third in league and 27th in the nation.
• While there is no ranking for the stat, Mississippi State certainly ranks amongst the country's best teams at drawing charges. So far, the Bulldogs have taken 47 charges, led by 25 from Myah Taylor.

Danberry Dominating on Both Ends of the Court
• Jordan Danberry has been one of the best players on both ends of the floor in the SEC and the country this season.
• Danberry has made the most of her final season so far. The do-it-all guard leads the team in scoring (13.6 ppg) and steals (2.9 spg). She is second on the team in assists (3.2 apg).
• Offensively, the Conway, Ark., native is shooting a blazing .555 percent clip from the field on the year and has posted four 20-point performances. She has scored in double figures in six consecutive games, including a 21-point performance against Florida.
• On the defensive end of the floor, Danberry has recorded multiple steals in 11 games this season and has six contests with four or more steals.
• In her last five games, Danberry has been on fire, averaging 14.0 ppg while shooting 66 percent from the field to go along with 4.2 apg, 3.8 rpg and 3.0 spg.

Bulldogs in the AP Rankings
• On Nov. 24, 2014, the Associated Press voted Mississippi State back into the top 25 for the first time in four years. With MSU earning a spot in the preseason poll heading into the 2019-20 season, the Bulldogs have now spent 103 consecutive weeks inside the AP Top 25, marking the longest streak in program history.
• During the stretch, State was ranked inside the top 10 for 63 total weeks, including five weeks this season.
• Since beginning the streak, MSU has been ranked as a top-five team for 33 weeks, including a stretch of 14 straight weeks during the 2017-18 season.
• When the preseason rankings came out on Oct. 30, Mississippi State earned its eighth preseason ranking in program history, checking in at No. 10 in the country.