Game Preview: Mississippi State

     While Cassell Coliseum and Blacksburg remains covered in snow this weekend, the Hokies will enjoy the 80 degree sunshine in the Bahamas before tipping off against Mississippi State on Saturday at 8:00 pm.  After dropping 3 in a row, Tech took a step in the right direction against Penn State last weekend, outscoring the Nittany Lions 79-69 even without senior Dorenzo Hudson.  Saturday’s game will be a good measure of whether the Hokies have turned things around or not.

Starting Lineups
Virginia Tech						Mississippi State
Pos.	Player	Ht.	Cl.	PPG	RPG	Player	Ht.	Cl.	PPG	RPG
G	E. Green	6’4”	So.	6.4	1.1	R. Benock	6’4”	Sr.	8.1	4.2
G	M. Delaney	6’3”	Sr.	20.1	3.3	B. Bryant	6’3”	Jr.	9.0	4.4
G/F	T. Bell	6’7”	Sr.	7.0	6.6	R. Johnson	6’7”	Sr.	23.8	3.8
F	J. Allen	6’7”	Sr.	11.4	8.9	K. Augustus	6’8”	Sr.	12.2	8.7
F	V. Davila	6’8”	Jr.	6.8	5.6	E. Bailey	6’8”	Jr.	6.8	4.4

     Mississippi State returns 2 starters from last year’s team which came within 2 points of upsetting Kentucky for the SEC Championship.  The Bulldogs are led by 6’7” senior Ravern Johnson, a lanky wing who leads the nation in 3-pointers made per game (4.1).  His scoring average of 23.9 points per game also ranks 7th in the nation. Fellow senior Kodi Augustus anchors the frontcourt at 6’8” 224 lbs.  Augustus averaged a double-double over the first 6 games but his numbers have been steadily declining, averaging only 8.7 points and 5.7 rebounds over the last 3 contests.

    The Bulldogs will go 9 deep and their roster has some massive players, including 6-8, 276 lb. forward Elgin Bailey and 6-8, 253 lb. center Wendell Lewis.  Saturday will also mark the debut of sophomore Renardo Sidney, who checks in at 6-10, 270 lbs.  Sidney was a McDonald’s All-American in high school but was ineligible to play all of last season and the first 9 games this year.

     I expect this game to live up to it’s name, Battle at Atlantis.  Mississippi State has the big bodies to give the Hokies trouble, but I’m not sold on the Bulldogs yet.  They’ve played all 9 of their games at home against sub-par competition, and only won 7 of them.  Their strength of schedule ranks 327th (out of 345) in Division I.  The Bulldogs are only 1-2 against teams that are ranked better than 225th in points allowed, while Tech is 80th in the nation allowing only 62.8 points per game.

Other notes:

• Dorenzo Hudson will likely play Saturday but I expect him and Green to play about the same amount of minutes.
• The Bulldogs average 22 three-point attempts per game. They only times they have shot below 35% from three were their two losses (18.8% and 21.7%).
• Malcolm Delaney is putting out the best shooting performance of his career by far through the first 9 games (46.5% FG, 47.3% 3-PT, 89.1% FT).  The question is can he keep it up averaging 39.2 minutes per game?
• Terrell Bell will likely draw State’s leading scorer Johnson.  Jeff Allen will have to stay out of foul trouble against either Augustus or the bigger Elgin Bailey.
• Look for Greenberg to use Cadarian Raines when Renardo Sidney enters the game.  Raines has the body to bump Sidney around and frustrate him in his first collegiate game.

Prediction: Hokies 70 Mississippi State 68