#25 Mississippi State @ Dayton

Who will WIN this matchup?

#25 Mississippi State Bulldogs (5-1)

@ Dayton Flyers (4-2)

Current odds:

Mississippi State Bulldogs: (-150)

Dayton Flyers: (+130)

•  The line for this game is Mississippi State by 2.5 points.

• Throughout his long and distinguished coaching career, Ben Howland’s teams have typically been very good defensively and that remains the case at Mississippi State. The fourth-year coach of the 25th-ranked Bulldogs has made offense more of a priority recently in practice and saw that emphasis pay off in his team’s most recent contest – a trend he’d like to see continue as Mississippi State plays its first true road game of the season Friday at Dayton. The Bulldogs won their first three games of the season against mid-major opponents by an average of 24.7 points before two lackluster offensive showings at the MGM Main Event in Las Vegas caused Howland to reevaluate, and he seemed happy with the early returns in Monday’s 88-65 rout of Alcorn State.

• The Flyers are coming off a 1-2 finish at the Battle 4 Atlantis, which included a win over Butler and a seven-point loss to eventual tournament champion Virginia over the first two days of the three-day event. Dayton’s fatigue may have played a role in the last game, however, as it shot a season-worst 31.7 percent from the field (previous low was 43.3) in last Friday’s 64-55 loss to Oklahoma.

• Two freshmen caught the eye of Howland for their contributions Monday, as Reggie Perry posted his first double-double with 16 points and 11 rebounds, while Robert Woodard II contributed six points, six boards and five assists in 19 minutes. “Reggie Perry had a really nice game, obviously, and as did Robert Woodard. Robert had five assists, zero turnovers. That was big to go along with his six rebounds. … (Perry) has an incredible nose for the rebounds. … (He) goes hard, two hands, very fundamental,” Howland said. The Bulldogs finished 11-of-24 beyond the arc – easily a season best – and were led in that area by Lamar Peters (11.2 points), who shot 5-of-8 from 3-point range after beginning the season in a 6-for-33 slump.

• The Flyers’ starters shot 16-for-50 from the field last Friday and two of the worst shooting performances came from leading scorers Josh Cunningham (14.5 points, 7.3 rebounds) and Jalen Crutcher (13.5, points, 5.7 assists), who were a combined 8-for-24 from the floor after entering the game with respective field-goal percentages of 75.9 and 48.9. Crutcher showed well over the entirety of the tournament, however, totaling 45 points and 16 assists versus seven turnovers while playing 111 of a possible 120 minutes. Trey Landers (11.3 points, 7.2 boards) also struggled with a 3-for-9 shooting effort, but the junior guard was still able to record his second double-double of the season with 12 points and 10 rebounds.

• Mississippi State assisted on 24 of its 33 field goals against Alcorn State and shot 61.1 percent from the field as well as 45.8 percent beyond the arc – all season bests.

• Crutcher’s 2-of-9 performance from 3-point range against Oklahoma ended a three-game stretch in which he went 9-for-17 beyond the arc.

• The Bulldogs lead the SEC in scoring defense (61.8 points).