SFA (4-0) vs. Mississippi State (3-0)

WHERE: Starkville, MS.
WHEN: NOV. 22 (Wed.) 8:00 P.M.
TV: SEC Network Plus

The Bulldogs have wins over Florida A&M 79-48 and Alabama State 96-68 and play Green Bay Monday night.

A young team with only one senior.

JR 4
SO 7
FR 4

They have size...

Mitch Storm 6-7; 202
Keyshawn Feazell 6-8; 230
Schnider Herard 6-10; 260
Aric Holman 6-10; 225
EJ Datcher 6-10; 240
Abdul Ado 6-11; 250

Intrigued by this game. Hoping we keep it within 10 points. I have the belief we will win. That's my gut instinct though. Go Jacks.

I don't see us winning but I hope we give them a good fight. Looks like I'm going to have to listen to this game. We will need to shoot good from behind the arc to have any chance of doing anything.

SFAXE93 said:

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They have size...

Mitch Storm 6-7; 202
Keyshawn Feazell 6-8; 230
Schnider Herard 6-10; 260
Aric Holman 6-10; 225
EJ Datcher 6-10; 240
Abdul Ado 6-11; 250

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Yeah, that's some size right there!

Against Florida A&M tonight, they had four players with 12 points (Ado being one of them) and one with 10, so looks like their scoring is very balanced and most of it came from other guys. Ado was their leading rebounder with 7.

TEAM: PPG:93.0;MOV:28.2;FG%:34;3FG%:33;FT%:74;RPG:42;APG :15.0;SPG:16.3;BPG:3.0;TOPG:21.0

Starters
G:#0 Aaron Augustin 5-11; 185 (So.) PPG:6.0;RPG:2.2;APG:6.0;SPG:3.0
G:#11 Ivan Canete 6-4; 190 (Sr.) PPG:6.0;RPG:4.0;APG:4.0;SPG:3.0
F:#1 Kevon Harris 6-6; 225 (So.) PPG:20.3;RPG:9.0;APG:1.0;SPG:2.2
F:#24 Samuli Nieminen 6-7; 215 (So.) PPG:4.3;RPG:4.0;APG:0.5;SPG:0.5
F:#22 TJ Holyfield 6-8; 220 (Jr.) PPG:19.0;RPG:8.3;APG:1.0;SPG:4.0;BPG:1.0

off the bench
G:#10 John Comeaux 5-11; 185 (So.) PPG:8.0;RPG:2.3;APG:1.2;SPG:2.25
G:#5 Shannon Bogues 6-2; 185 (Jr.) PPG:20.0;RPG:4.2;APG:1.0;SPG:2.0
F:#3 Leon Gilmore III 6-7; 220 (Sr.) PPG:6.0;RPG:3.0;APG:1.0;SPG:0.25
F:#12 Stefon Fisher 6-9; 235 (Fr.) PPG:3.0;RPG:2.0;APG:1.0;SPG:0.0
C:#32 Jovan Grujic 7-0; 230 (Jr.) PPG:3.3;RPG:0.3;APG:0.0;SPG:0.25

Interesting game, to say the least.

Our competition level has been about a 1/10 so far...now time to ratchet it up to 7 or 8/10.

I'll be curious to see if our cupcake start prepared us at all for the uptick in talent/competition.

Will keep and open mind to the positive.

INiedrauer said:

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I'm not expecting a pretty outcome and I'm going to probably say that it's okay. Brad's best team was still pretty terrible this time of year. January-March is the goal and while I hope I'm wrong, I see this as a 78-60 win for hail state.

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I'm with Isaac on this one. If we keep it closer than 15 it's a decent sign that the guys are coming together. We definitely have the combination of size and talent to be dangerous. We just need better movement away from the ball. That is what Brad's teams did EXCEPTIONALLY well. Our movement is fine going inside but the weak side screens etc. have been average at best.

Axe 'Em Jacks!

Abdul Ado is a 6'11", 250 lb. redshirt freshman from Nigeria who has a 7'6" wingspan and a 36" verticle. He's somewhat of a freak of nature. Coach Howland raved about him after their game with Florida A&M. It will be a challenge for (I assume) TJ to defend him. If Gru has to defend him it will be double ugly (no, make that triple ugly).

BTW, 6'10", 260 lb. Herard Schnider, a sophomore from Haiti and Prestonwood Academy in Dallas, had six blocked shots against Florida A&M. He was highly recruited nationally out of high school, considered to be the 64th best player in the country at the time.

And also BTW, I'd like to see what Stefon Fisher can do against MSU's tall trees. Throw him into the fire and let's see what he can do.

sfa17 said:

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I don't see us winning but I hope we give them a good fight. Looks like I'm going to have to listen to this game. We will need to shoot good from behind the arc to have any chance of doing anything.

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What's SEC Network Plus? Is that a special channel or can we stream through Watch ESPN?

INiedrauer said:

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This is an objectively terrible matchup for us if I'm being honest. We don't have the outside shooting right now for it.

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I don't think we'll match up well with height(not yet anyways), but it'll be interesting to see how much fight is in our team.

I think u have have access to Sec network on ur tv and then u automatically get access to sec network plus on ESPN.

edstile said:

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Abdul Ado is a 6'11", 250 lb. redshirt freshman from Nigeria who has a 7'6" wingspan and a 36" verticle. He's somewhat of a freak of nature. Coach Howland raved about him after their game with Florida A&M. It will be a challenge for (I assume) TJ to defend him. If Gru has to defend him it will be double ugly (no, make that triple ugly).

BTW, 6'10", 260 lb. Herard Schnider, a sophomore from Haiti and Prestonwood Academy in Dallas, had six blocked shots against Florida A&M. He was highly recruited nationally out of high school, considered to be the 64th best player in the country at the time.

And also BTW, I'd like to see what Stefon Fisher can do against MSU's tall trees. Throw him into the fire and let's see what he can do.

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That is just crazy. It just shows u how tough a power conference is. Miss State will probably not go to ncaa tourney this year and finish middle of pack. But they r a really good team but the rest of SEC is just insanely better.

I've been able to stream the SEC + stuff through WatchESPN though I don't have any special channels besides ESPN, but I haven't tried live stuff just replays. Guess I'll find out Wednesday.

Underwood had a method with dealing with those huge athletic inside guys. Despite having good outside shooters, at the beginning of games he would run drive after drive (typically with Walkup or Geffard) down the big guy's throat and make them foul or defend. He would do this despite giving up ground on the scoreboard because he knew if he could get the big guy out in 6 minutes then the rest of the half would be open. He did this to Sam one year, and they got so mad that they only got 19 in the first half.

I say let Kevon do some work inside for a while and break up those tall guys. Add in some TJ, Bogues, and Gilmore and make them work. I know outside shooting is the conventional wisdom for breaking down the inside game, but Walkup was quick and strong enough to do it in the trenches, and I think Kevon is too. Let this be his coming out game.

Oh, we do have to defend and not turn it over...

Someone out there loves us. Take that LSU, Mizzou, and Miss St.

A pollster with vision!

Not having seen our team play a quality D1 opponent, it will be rather interesting to see how we handle coming from behind. Will we fold or will the competition improve? I don't think the turnover margin will improve overnight against the much longer Miss St. We will make plenty of mistakes, I am just hoping we correct both repetitive individual issues and schematic issues.

I think it is very critical to get the right 5 on the court from the beginning and minimize risk: Augustine, Kevon, Shannon, Leon, and TJ.

*Ivan has been a massive liability on a consistent basis.

I agree. I've been calling for that starting line since game 3. Ivan will turn the ball over a few time. Commit a few charging fouls and if we are lucky score a few points. Let's start with our best players so far.

No-look said:

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A pollster with vision!

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Blurred???

But seriously, seeing Stephen F. Austin listed as receiving votes has to be a good thing, since it's obviously seen by all who are serious NCAA BB fans, coaches, and members of the post season selection committee. It keeps us in the back of the minds of those folks (maybe a reminder of what we've accomplished in the Big Dance in the last 3-4 years?).

fortWorthJack said:

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I think it is very critical to get the right 5 on the court from the beginning and minimize risk: Augustine, Kevon, Shannon, Leon, and TJ.

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I agree! Good starting lineup. Let's see what that group can do together, if only for a few minutes before substituting has to begin. I can't recall that exact five being on the court at the same time this year.

There is something in my gut that makes me think Keller will start Jovan to try and counteract some of their height... I hope to be wrong but I don't think it is that crazy to think that he might do that.

CLHawkins said:

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There is something in my gut that makes me think Keller will start Jovan to try and counteract some of their height... I hope to be wrong but I don't think it is that crazy to think that he might do that.

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CLHawkins said:

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There is something in my gut that makes me think Keller will start Jovan to try and counteract some of their height... I hope to be wrong but I don't think it is that crazy to think that he might do that.

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Bite your tongue, CL! Your gut needs some Pepto Bismol, and quick!

INiedrauer said:

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Jovan is about to have a triple-double now.

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I'm ok with Jovan starting so long as someone can get him pissed off before the game. If he's running like a bull through a china shop in the lane for a few minutes, I'd call that a great success.

Wisconsin - Green Bay hanging around with Mississippi State. 57-51 with 10 minutes left...

And Mizzou is in a tight battle with Emporia St.

I have noticed that so far in the prediction contest, I'm the only one that thinks we'll win quite easily.

ESPN has a matchup predictor for who they think should win the game. Top one is from last Monday, bottom from today.

nacluth said:

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ESPN has a matchup predictor for who they think should win the game. Top one is from last Monday, bottom from today.

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So you're saying we have chance

Not expecting much. We rely on the peripheral jumper to much. I'm guessing Mississippi St 89 SFA 60. Probably not close. To much one on one dribble drives. Works against Howard Payne not MSU.