| Tuesday, January 15, 2019 |
| Superintendent Eddie Peasant gives school district update at Rotary | |
 | A new strategic plan, the ongoing Partnership School project and the arrival of iPads for district students and teachers were among the items discussed when Starkville-Oktibbeha Consolidated School District Superintendent Eddie Peasant addressed the Starkville Rotary Club on Monday. Peasant is in his second year leading the district after being selected to replace former Superintendent Lewis Holloway, who retired in 2017. Peasant then discussed the Partnership School project currently under construction on the Mississippi State University campus. The school is funded by the district, MSU and the state of Mississippi. Once complete, it will house all sixth and seventh graders in the district and serve as a laboratory and training ground for the MSU College of Education. "All of our sixth and seventh graders will attend this 128,000-square-foot school that is designed to maximize hands-on learning opportunities with easy access to academic and cultural resources on campus," Peasant said. |
| X Ambassadors to perform at Mississippi State | |
 | A popular American rock band is coming to Starkville. X Ambassadors will be performing at the Mississippi Horse Park on February 22. Tickets will go on sale January 15 at 7 a.m. The concert is being presented by MSU's Music Maker Productions. General admission tickets will be available online at www.msuconcerts.com or in-person at the Center for Student Activities office in the Colvard Student Union. |
| Delta Ag Expo highlights the latest in agriculture | |
 | The 46th annual Delta Ag Expo will be held Jan. 16-17 at the Bolivar County Expo Building in Cleveland. Mississippi Commissioner of Agriculture and Commerce Andy Gipson will be a featured speaker. The Ag Expo provides farmers and others interested in agriculture an opportunity to see the latest technology in agricultural products, services, and information. Attendees have the opportunity to view agricultural exhibits and talk with extension and research personnel and get up-to-date information for planning the crop year. Educational seminars featuring outstanding extension, research, and industry professionals will provide the latest research-proven information aimed at assisting producers. Thursday's seminar on the Farm Bill/Trade Talk will be at 10 a.m. The speaker will be Dr. Keith Coble, Prof & Head, Agricultural Economics, Mississippi State University. |
| Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves talks education in speech at Stennis Capitol Press Forum | |
 | Lt. Gov. Reeves spoke at a lunch gathering of reporters and others Monday, spending much of his 30 minutes at the microphone discussing improvements in public education. Reeves, the Republican front-runner in the 2019 gubernatorial race, talked about teacher pay, testing scores, resources for students and graduation rates during the Stennis Capitol Press Forum. Reeves said he expects the annual base pay of public school teachers in Mississippi to have increased about $8,000 from 2012 -- his first year as lieutenant governor -- to 2020. Raising teacher pay will be a priority this year, he said. Much of Reeve's speech Monday echoed his formal campaign announcement earlier this month. |
| Mississippi could see push-pull on Medicaid expansion | |
 | Just as the leader of Mississippi's Medicaid program cracked open the door Monday to the idea of expanding health coverage to some of the state's uninsured residents, Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves seemed to slam it shut. Medicaid Director Drew Snyder told House Appropriations Committee members Monday that the agency continues to hear from hospitals about how many patients don't have insurance. He said it is looking at ways to address that. But Reeves, a Republican running for governor this year, restated his opposition Monday at a luncheon sponsored by the Mississippi Capital Correspondents Association and Mississippi State University's Stennis Institute of Government. |
| Tate Reeves: Teacher pay raise, pension funding among 2019 priorities | |
| Entering his final legislative session as Senate leader, Republican Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves laid out his priorities on Monday. State revenue collections through December, the first six months of the current fiscal year, are $85.5 million or 3.3 percent above the amount collected during the same time period last year. With that extra cash on hand, Reeves insisted that the Legislature would not "spend, spend, spend," just before saying that most state agencies should receive level year-over-year funding and that the Legislature would fund other "specific needs." Reeves, who had not previously discussed his legislative priorities, took three questions from reporters on Monday before leaving the luncheon, sponsored by the Mississippi State University Stennis Institute of Government and Capitol Correspondents Association. House Speaker Philip Gunn, in contrast, spent about 30 minutes with reporters in December laying out his legislative goals. |
| Lt. Governor talks Mississippi progress at first Stennis Luncheon of session | |
 | Lt. Governor Tate Reeves addressed individuals present for the first annual Stennis Luncheon of the 2019 Legislative Session. He began with sharing a New Year's resolution he made for himself, too have a better relationship with the press this year, "even better than we've had before." "For those of you in the press, I look forward to 2019 to all of your stories on how our tax cuts and investments in workforce training have attracted jobs to Mississippi leading to our lowest unemployment rates in our state's history," spoke Reeves with a tinge of sarcasm. Reeves said while he is looking forward to getting back to the campaign trail, his focus for the next three months will be leading the state Senate and passing good conservative public policy. He said he plans to continue to work closely with Governor Bryant who is scheduled to make his final State of the State address on Tuesday. |
| Tate Reeves: Strong revenue no reason to 'spend, spend, spend' | |
| Republican Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves says Mississippi tax collections are better than expected for the first half of the current budget year. But, he says that is no excuse for legislators to "spend, spend, spend." Legislators usually set final budgets in late March or early April. Reeves presides over the state Senate. He spoke Monday at a public policy forum in Jackson. |
| Lynn Fitch, state treasurer, officially declares attorney general bid | |
| The state's most powerful female elected official wants to be Mississippi's top lawyer. Treasurer Lynn Fitch, a Republican, announced her bid for attorney general inside the Capitol, her children and two grandsons at her side. The Holly Springs native has served as state treasurer since 2012, and began her legal career in the attorney general's office as a special assistant attorney general 34 years ago. Since then, Fitch has served as executive director of the Mississippi State Personnel Board, worked in private practice and was deputy executive director of the Mississippi Department of Employment Security. At the moment, Fitch's only challenger for the Republican nomination for AG is Rep. Mark Baker, a Republican lawyer from Brandon, who has served in the Legislature since 2004. He announced his bid for attorney general in May 2018. |
| Mississippi will have a major political mix-up following 2019 elections | |
| No matter how the votes go this year, there will be at least five new statewide elected office holders in Mississippi. That has not happened in years, since many often run for re-election in their current seat. "The line-up card, if you will, of the who's who in state government may look very different than it does today," said Millsaps political science professor Dr. Nathan Shrader. Governor Phil Bryant has served the maximum two terms, but Lieutenant Governor Tate Reeves will seek that top office. Attorney General Jim Hood will also run for Governor. That leaves their positions open. Shrader points out that part of the ongoing intrigue of this election cycle has centered around Hood. "You have to think about the fact that if you have popular Attorney General Hood running at the top of the ticket for the Democrats, will he be strong enough or have coattails to bring along any other democrats or at least improve their prospects in legislative races down the ballot or maybe even other races like Lt. Governor or Attorney General?" explained Shrader. |
| Gov. Phil Bryant to deliver final State of the State address | |
| Mississippi Governor Phil Bryant will deliver his final State of the State address Tuesday night. It's Bryant's last year in office, and he wants to spend his last State of the State looking back at his two terms in office. The governor will take some credit for Mississippi's record-low unemployment and record-high graduation rate. He said he also plans to encourage lawmakers to work on criminal justice reform. Other key issues the governor will bring up include a $50 million teacher pay raise and a $1 billion plan to improve Mississippi's infrastructure. He'll also talk about other challenges in the state like healthcare. His address is set to start at 5 p.m. |
| Mayor Chokwe Lumumba, Gov. Phil Bryant trade jabs over weekend homicides at church, Walmart | |
| Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba responded to Gov. Phil Bryant on Monday, saying it is time for the governor to consider gun control measures to help reduce violent crime in Jackson. Then the mayor announced the governor has pledged millions of dollars to help reduce violent crime in the city. Lumumba's announcement came during a Monday press conference to address two weekend homicides, including that of a pastor while he was opening his church Sunday morning, and were in response to a tweet from the governor. The homicides captured the attention of the governor, who tweeted his thoughts shortly after news of the deaths broke. "It is time for our leaders in the Capital City to act. I will join them to stop this violence together or will do so as governor on my own. This must end," Bryant tweeted Monday. The mayor's response? The state can do more, too. |
| Auditor Shad White asks outside firm to examine MDOT spending | |
| The state auditor's office will hire a private firm to find "efficiencies and waste in Mississippi's infrastructure spending" at state transportation agencies, Auditor Shad White announced Monday. Last summer, the Legislature passed the Mississippi Infrastructure Modernization Act during a special session to provide more funding for infrastructure to the agency. The law requires the auditor's office to oversee a performance review of the Mississippi Department of Transportation and Office of State Aid Construction. White's office released a request for proposals to find candidate firms and intends to select a company by mid-March to conduct the audit. The audit will look into whether MDOT is spending effectively on vendors, examine its management of road and bridge projects, and compare the agency's performance to other states "to identify savings and cut fat," according to a release. |
| Shutdown tests farmers' loyalty as Trump visits their annual convention | |
 | President Donald Trump's visit to the American Farm Bureau Federation's annual convention comes at an awkward time as farmers and ranchers begin to feel the pinch of the partial government shutdown. The president delivered remarks Monday afternoon before an overwhelmingly friendly audience of members of the country's largest farm group. But with the longest shutdown in U.S. history now in its 24th day, local Farm Service Agency offices have been shuttered for weeks, locking out farmers from getting loans and other help with their operations. Trump received a warm welcome and spent much of the speech defending his demand for border wall funds that prompted the shutdown. He also thanked farmers for their "support and patriotism" while he fights for the wall. Farmers at the convention generally backed Trump's focus on border security but the prolonged shutdown tied to money for a border wall is testing the support of some. |
| States scramble to get February food stamps out amid shutdown | |
 | State and county workers spent the weekend gathering information needed to make sure 38 million low-income people receive their February food stamp benefits early despite a partial federal government shutdown. The Agriculture Department prompted the flurry of activity when it announced last week that it would tap the remaining budget authority in an expired continuing resolution to provide states $4.8 billion to cover February benefits under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. As a result, states, counties, tribal governments and U.S. territories are scrambling to compile beneficiary information since the USDA's budget authority for the funding ends Jan. 21. The federal government funds SNAP but state and local authorities administer the benefits. Some SNAP employees will work up to the Tuesday close-of-business deadline to forward the files to contractors responsible for loading the benefits onto individual electronic cards that people enrolled in SNAP can use to buy food. |
| Fries with a side of politics: Tigers feted at White House with fanfare and fast food | |
 | The Clemson Tigers got a side of politics with their side of fries on Monday evening. About the only ornate touch was the State Dining Room. At the White House to celebrate winning the national championship just one week earlier against the Alabama Crimson Tide, Domino's Pizza slices were arranged on sterling silver platters. McDonald's Quarter Pounders with Cheese were piled high. French fries were served in cups that bore the presidential seal alongside presidential seal-stamped napkins fanned out elaborately. President Donald Trump made sure the team knew he paid for the dinner himself -- because of the partial government shutdown, White House residential cooking staff is on furlough. "The reason we did this is because of the shutdown," Trump told the players. "The Republicans are really, really sticking together. It's great to see it because we need border security. We have to have it." |
| GOP leaders strip Iowa's Steve King of committee assignments | |
 | House GOP leaders moved Monday to remove Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa) from all of his committee assignments following a firestorm over remarks considered racist. House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) told reporters after a meeting of the Republican Steering Committee that King would not receive any committee assignments for the new Congress. King faced bipartisan criticism after telling The New York Times in an interview published last week, "White nationalist, white supremacist, Western civilization -- how did that language become offensive?" King had been a member of the House Judiciary, Agriculture and Small Business committees. The move by GOP leaders severely hamstrings King's ability to wield influence as a member of Congress. The Agriculture Committee in particular is considered a prime spot for lawmakers like King who represent states with agricultural industries. |
| Regulators To Ease Restrictions On Drones, Clearing The Way For More Commercial Uses | |
 | Package delivery by drone is one small step closer to reality today. Federal regulators announced plans Monday to change rules to allow drone operators to fly their unmanned aerial vehicles over populated areas and at night, without having to get special permits. Many drone operators and enthusiasts complain that federal regulations haven't kept pace with the technology, arguing that prohibitions on flying drones over people and at night are out of date. Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao agrees and announced that the government is, at long last, ready to lift those bans as long as operators are properly trained and the drones are equipped with anti-collision lighting. The use of drones by both hobbyists and for commercial purposes has been, well, soaring over the last couple of years. Chao says that by mid-December, the FAA had registered nearly 1.3 million drones nationwide and had registered more than 116,000 drone operators. |
| USM Arts Institute opens call for 2019 AIM Awards nominations | |
 | The Arts Institute of Mississippi (AIM) at The University of Southern Mississippi is accepting nominations for the 2019 AIM Awards, which seek to recognize and honor high school level art teachers, schools, and organizations that are making an impact through exemplary achievements in arts education throughout the state of Mississippi. The 2019 AIM Awards mark the 2nd year in which exceptional individuals, schools, and organizations will be honored for commendable service to students and/or community within Mississippi. "The AIM Awards serve as an incentive for the continued pursuit of excellence in arts education," said Dr. Jay Dean, executive director of AIM. "Last year's award recipients set the bar high with their achievements." Nominations must be submitted by Feb. 15, 2019. Judges will evaluate the materials and notify the recipients by March 15, 2019. |
| Auburn, UAB and Alabama among top-ranked online education programs | |
 | Auburn University, UAB and the University of Alabama all had programs in the top 25 nationally in the 2019 U.S. News & World Report Best Online Programs rankings, released Tuesday. Online degree programs, also known as e-learning or distance learning programs, are defined by U.S. News as those where all required coursework for program completion can be completed through internet-based learning technologies and where all instruction is delivered to students who are separated from the instructor. Auburn University had the most top-ranked online programs of Alabama colleges and universities included in the rankings. The University of Alabama's Manderson Graduate School of Business took the No. 10 spot in the best online graduate business degree, non-MBA category. Alabama's online graduate nursing program was ranked No. 12. |
| Phi Gamma Delta ID'd as U. of Tennessee frat where 2 students were drugged, raped | |
 | The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, has identified Phi Gamma Delta as the fraternity where two females reported they were drugged and sexually assaulted at the end of November, according to records released to the News Sentinel on Monday evening. Phi Gamma Delta, also known as Fiji, remains on an interim suspension and the University of Tennessee Police Department is still investigating the rape report, according to Tyra Haag, director of media relations at UT Knoxville. The two students reported they were drugged and assaulted by "a known acquaintance" at a fraternity house, according to a safety notice sent to students on Nov. 30. The incident, which occurred on Nov. 29, was reported to a campus security authority on Nov. 30. According to the Clery Act incident report filed by Ashley Blamey, Title IX Coordinator at UT Knoxville, on Nov. 30, the "two female students believe they were given roofies." |
| Grades, grad rates lag for collegians who don't meet admission standards; athletes are exception | |
 | In a first look at college freshmen admitted without meeting minimum standards, the Louisiana Board of Regents found Monday that students enrolled by "exception" had lower grades, were more likely to leave early and didn't graduate at the same rate as those who met the criteria. The survey also found that athletes admitted by exception did better academically. "It's critical that we understand the characteristics of students admitted by exception, but more importantly, how they perform," Regents Chairman Marty Chabert said. Chabert said this study was the first step in an investigation to see if the state's public universities are following the Regents admission rules and whether changes to the standards need to be considered. The 16-member board oversees policies for all 14 of the state's public four-universities. The report was requested by a state Senate resolution and was spurred by the revelation that LSU was no longer rejecting applications of students who failed to meet a minimum score on college board tests. |
| UF Online named in top five by U.S. News & World Report | |
 | Five years into existence, the University of Florida online bachelor's degree program jumped up to fifth in the nation, based on an influential ranking. The 2019 US News & World Report ranking of best online bachelor programs in the country, released today, puts UF in a three-way tie for fifth, alongside Penn State's World Campus and the University of Illinois at Chicago. UF was ranked 12th in 2018, moving up seven spots. The U.S. News & World Report online rankings are based on student engagement (35 percent); student services and technology (25 percent); faculty credentials and training (20 percent); and peer reputation (20 percent). UF Online Director Evangeline Cummings credited school faculty in sparking the jump in rankings. "The University of Florida has a unique model for online education where we rely upon the same campus faculty to teach our online courses," Cummings said. "And I think the big rise in rankings should be attributed to our faculty." |
| Assault Claims Grow Costly for Colleges | |
 | A former student recently filed a federal lawsuit alleging Southern Arkansas University mishandled her sexual assault complaint. The civil complaint that Taylor Moore filed in U.S. District Court in Texarkana follows a May ruling in which the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals decided that a university that receives federal funds could face lawsuits for money damages for violations of Title IX provisions. That ruling, written by U.S. Circuit Judge William D. Benton, came in another Arkansas case. Elizabeth Fryberger in 2016 sued the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville and the UA Board of Trustees over the handling of her sexual assault report on campus. She sought money damages for violations of Title IX, which prevents sexual discrimination under any education program or activity receiving federal money. Defending claims involving sexual assault allegations could be costly for colleges. United Educators of Bethesda, Maryland, which insures colleges, studied sexual assault claims at 104 colleges and universities between 2011 and 2013. It found that over that period, those schools spent about $17 million defending and settling sexual assault claims. And about $9.3 million of that amount was spent on defense costs, the 2015 report said. |
| UNC Chancellor Steps Down and Orders the Removal of Silent Sam's Remains | |
 | Carol L. Folt, chancellor of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, is stepping down at the end of the academic year -- and ensuring that what remains of the campus's Confederate monument is gone before she goes. In an email to the university, Folt said it was "the right time" for her to leave, and added that she had directed the removal of the remnants of the university's Silent Sam statue, a Confederate monument that has sparked unrest at the flagship for more than a century. Protesters tore down the statue last year, but a nine-foot-tall base and commemorative plaques remained in place. The toppling of the statue touched off a fraught process over what to do with the downed monument. n her message to the campus, Folt said the removal of Silent Sam's pedestal was a matter of safety. Folt has been Chapel Hill's chancellor for more than five years. Previously the acting president of Dartmouth College, Folt took the reins at UNC in the turbulent aftermath of an academic-fraud scandal that shook the campus to its core. |
| Homeless college students struggle to find lodging, food over winter break | |
 | As many college and university dormitories shut down for the winter break, which often lasts for a month or more, some students have nowhere to go. They might be estranged from their parents and unable to live at home. They might be newly out of the foster system. Sometimes they have children of their own. Often they're unable to pay the bills, including groceries. Historically, many colleges have barred students from dormitories during this time, even if they signed up to use a room the entire academic year. It's an issue that housing and student affairs professionals have become acutely aware of over the last several years. "It is becoming more evident that our students have become more self-aware of those things and are willing to have conversations around them," said Von Stange, president-elect of the Association of College and University Housing Officers-International and assistant vice president for student life and senior director of housing and dining at the University of Iowa. |
SPORTS
| No. 7 Mississippi State women make it 20 straight regular-season league wins by topping Auburn | |
 | Pushing the tempo can be the best weapon against an opponent that loves to use pressure defense. But the No. 7 Mississippi State women's basketball team found the answer to Auburn's zone press in the third quarter Monday and then put its foot down on the gas pedal and didn't look back. Teaira McCowan had game highs of 22 points and 10 rebounds to lead four players in double figures in No. 7 MSU's 85-59 victory in a Southeastern Conference game before a crowd of 1,908 at Auburn Arena. "We had talked about stop getting it across halfcourt and running over there to the sideline and trying to get it to a point guard," MSU coach Vic Schaefer said. "If we go get a 10-footer early, let's get a 10-footer early. We had 13 turnovers at halftime and we had half of that in the second half. We obviously took much better care of the ball." Jessika Carter had 14 points off the bench to help No. 7 MSU improve to 16-1 and 4-0 in the SEC. Chloe Bibby added 11 points, and Jordan Danberry had 10 for the Bulldogs, who won their 20th-straight SEC regular-season game. |
| Bulldogs cruise during women's game on The Plain | |
| Road challenge number two of the Southeastern Conference schedule came on Monday night for Mississippi State at Auburn and the Tigers had their minds set on being the first conference team in two years to take down the Bulldogs. While Auburn's defensive pressure created some issues to the MSU offense, the Tigers didn't have Teaira McCowan. It took just three quarters for McCowan to put together another dominant stat sheet. After 22 points, 10 rebounds and three blocks through three quarters, McCowan sat the entire final frame and the Bulldogs (16-1, 4-0 SEC) cruised to an 85-59 victory over the Tigers (14-3, 2-2 SEC). "I didn't feel any different, but I just knew that I had to focus on making the stick backs when my teammates gave me the ball," McCowan said. "That was my main focus." The Bulldog win pushed them to 20-straight in the regular season against conference opponents, but they have their biggest test of this season's SEC slate on Thursday night. That's when MSU welcomes back No. 15 South Carolina at 6 p.m. on ESPN. |
| Teaira McCowan Powers No. 7 Mississippi State Past Auburn, 85-59 | |
| Teaira McCowan and Jessika Carter could hardly miss, either around the basket or from the free throw line. McCowan had 22 points and 10 rebounds in three quarters to power No. 7 Mississippi State's 85-59 rout of Auburn on Monday night. She and Carter missed only one shot between them. "They're both big targets down there," Bulldogs point guard Jazzmun Holmes said. "If we can get it over the first line of defense and get in it to them, we have a pretty good chance of scoring." The chances were better than pretty good in this one. |
| Mississippi State women's basketball muscles by Auburn via Teaira McCowan's big night | |
| Teaira McCowan has looked uncomfortable on the floor during some of Mississippi State's games this season. Monday night against Auburn wasn't one of those nights for the Bulldogs' senior center. McCowan, a midseason candidate for the Wooden Award, scored 22 points and snagged 10 rebounds in No. 6 Mississippi State's 85-59 win over Auburn. She only missed one of her 10 shot attempts from the field. McCowan had her A-game from the get-go. She scored 12 points in the first quarter on five field goal attempts. She made all four of her free throws. She looked fluid on the floor on both ends of the court. "I didn't feel any different," McCowan said. "I just knew I had to focus on making the stick backs when my teammates gave me the ball. That was my main focus." |
| Auburn outmatched in loss to No. 7 Mississippi State | |
 | Auburn didn't have enough. The Tigers were tasked with making up for a difference in size, and a difference in big-game experience, and in the key moments in Monday's third quarter, Auburn just couldn't make up for it. No. 7 Mississippi State stretched its halftime lead in the third frame and ultimately pulled way for an 85-59 victory in Auburn Arena. The Bulldogs' 6-foot-7 star Teaira McCowan recorded a double-double with 22 points and 10 rebounds as last year's NCAA Tournament finalists moved to remain unbeaten in SEC play --- and Auburn saw another top-10 opportunity slip by. "They're a very good team," Auburn head coach Terri Williams-Flournoy said after the loss. "We just have to move on." |
| Auburn basketball can't match up with No. 7 Mississippi State in loss | |
| The size advantage that Mississippi State imposed over Auburn was considerable. And it made its presence known in two crucial, consecutive plays that turned the tide of the game early in an irrecoverable way. MSU center Teaira McCowan had two of her 22 points on a layup. Then Auburn's Janiah McCay couldn't find someone to inbound the ball to, so her inadvertent pass went to MSU. McCowan got the ball back and scored. Then, again, McCay couldn't inbound the ball. The five-second violation led to two more MSU points. Suddenly it was a six point lead. It would never get closer than four in Auburn's 85-59 loss to No. 7 Mississippi State. Auburn (14-3, 2-2 SEC) didn't have the height to match up with the best players on the Bulldogs (16-1). McCowan, who is 6-foot-7, cleaned up the boards. "They're very hard to defend," said head coach Terri Williams-Flournoy. |
| Notebook: Teaira McCowan reverts to old form in No. 7 MSU's rout of Auburn | |
| Teaira McCowan said she didn't feel any different Monday night. Statistically, there really wasn't much difference in the senior's production because she finished with another double-double. Still, there was no denying McCowan appeared more comfortable and aggressive and, as a result, was more efficient. McCowan was 9-for-10 from the field en route to a game-high 22-point effort Monday night in the No. 7 Mississippi State women's basketball team's 85-59 victory against Auburn before a crowd of 1,908 at Auburn Arena. "I just know I had to focus on making the stick backs or making the basket when my teammates were giving me the ball," said McCowan, who was coming off a 7-for-16 shooting effort from the field in MSU's 80-71 victory against Georgia on Sunday. The 6-foot-7 center capitalized on her size advantage and the foul trouble of Auburn post player Unique Thompson to snare 10 rebounds (four offensive) and to help MSU win the rebounding battle 43-24. |
| No. 24 Mississippi State men look for first conference win against Florida | |
| While recent times have been tough for the Mississippi State men's basketball team, players and coaches alike think the best is yet to come. "We know that we're in a better place than we were last year," MSU junior guard Lamar Peters said. "We're a better team right now. That just comes with the game -- you take a few losses. It's all about how you bounce back. You don't let it overwhelm you. The guys in the locker room still have their confidence and coach [Ben Howland] never lost his confidence, either. It's all about how you prepare and just go forward." After being ranked No. 14 nationally a week ago, the now No. 24 Bulldogs look for their first Southeastern Conference victory against Florida at 6 tonight at Humphrey Coliseum. |
| Bulldogs seek first SEC win against the Gators | |
| This isn't how Mississippi State drew things up. As the No. 24 Bulldogs (12-3, 0-2) get set to host Florida (9-6, 1-2) Tuesday night at 6 p.m., MSU finds itself winless in Southeastern Conference play. Following a strong non-conference run and with expectations to earn State's first NCAA Tournament appearance in a decade, last week was a less-than-ideal way to keep that momentum rolling with conference losses to South Carolina and Ole Miss Still, the Bulldogs feel good about themselves entering Tuesday's contest versus the Gators. "I think our guys are confident," MSU head coach Ben Howland said on Monday. "They know, for example, Tennessee started off 0-2 (in SEC action) last year. They ended up pretty strong. Every game is one game at the time and you've got to win one game at the time. At the end of the day, we've got to go out and get better." |
| State staying positive despite slow SEC start | |
 | Mississippi State's season, as a whole, is going well. The 24th-ranked Bulldogs are 12-3 with some solid non-league wins and stand 34th in the latest NCAA NET rankings. But MSU has hit bumps of late on its road to returning to the Big Dance for the first time in a decade. The Bulldogs have dropped back-to-back games to South Carolina and Ole Miss to start Southeastern Conference play. Both of State's SEC losses went down to the wire, losing by five in overtime at the Gamecocks and giving up the go-ahead basket with 50 seconds left in a four-point loss to the Rebels. "We've got to try and get over the hump here now and win one of these close games," said MSU coach Ben Howland. The Bulldogs' next opportunity comes today, hosting Florida at 6 p.m. on the SEC Network. |
| Why Mississippi State men's basketball remains confident despite losses | |
| The similarities are too profound to overlook. A 12-1 non-conference record. A big, early-season win over Dayton. Scads of optimism swirling around Starkville. Mississippi State men's basketball had all of that in each of the last two seasons. Now, head coach Ben Howland's team has replicated another one of last year's occurrences. This one isn't as pleasant. Mississippi State has had another underwhelming, disappointing start to conference play. Saturday's loss to Ole Miss marked the Bulldogs' second-straight year starting the SEC season with a loss. Last year, they dropped three of their first four SEC contests on their way to a 9-9 record in conference action. Had that mark been a bit better, Mississippi State might've made the NCAA Tournament. The Bulldogs face a familiar predicament. |
| Reeling Florida looks to right course by closing out foes | |
| Once again, the Florida men's basketball team let a one-possession lead become a double-digit deficit, much to the dismay of coach Mike White. With Tuesday night presenting another opportunity, when the Gators take on No. 24 Mississippi State at 7 p.m. in Starkville, to pick up a win in league play over a ranked foe, White is hoping for an impassioned response from his "somber" Gators. "I think that's a big problem of ours -- I'm not sure we have much frustration. I'm not sure how important it is, and if there is it's not communicated (to me). Trying to muster up the competitiveness. I'd rather our guys get really ticked off; I'd rather them get ticked off at me," White said. "Just a really somber group at timeouts, in film sessions. We've got too much apathy -- not from everybody, but from too many guys." It's no secret the Gators, sitting at 9-6 and in danger of missing the NCAA Tournament for the first time since the 2015-16 season, can ill afford to continue squandering opportunities in the latter half of the season, as they did Saturday night in the team's most significant home game to date this season. |
| His grandfather played for Alabama but Ole Miss and Mississippi State are his bread and butter | |
| The College Corner opened a second location in Flowood during the fourth quarter last year. "We opened in mid-October," said Scott Werne of Madison, who with his wife, Paula, owns The College Corner stores in Flowood and Ridgeland. The Ridgeland store in Trace Station Shopping Center, open since 2014, stocks gifts and gear for fans of the University of Mississippi, Mississippi State University, the University of Southern Mississippi, Louisiana State University and the University of Alabama, while the Flowood store stocks gifts and gear for fans of Ole Miss, Mississippi State, LSU and Northwest Rankin High School. "Ole Miss and Mississippi State make up 90 percent of sales and always have," Werne said. Successful seasons for teams mean more financial success for the stores because fans tend to invest in gear to show their support, he said. "We want all of our teams to be undefeated in every sport every year," Werne said. |
| NCAA tournament expected to bring big crowds, big bucks to Columbia | |
 | Some 25,000 people and $9 million are expected to pour into Columbia when the city hosts the first and second rounds of the NCAA men's basketball tournament at Colonial Life Arena in March, local tourism officials predict. The five-day event won't draw nearly as many tourists as the city saw in 2017 for the total solar eclipse, when an estimated 400,000 people traveled to Columbia and made a $48 million economic impact, according to Columbia tourism officials. But the city and the University of South Carolina are looking to the tournament as an extended opportunity to boost both their national profiles. "Being able to host an NCAA first and second round comes with the cache that this is a basketball town. More than just football can survive here," said Charles Bloom, an associate athletic director at USC. "You're going to get recognized. And you dribble past the court and you see 'Columbia' on the floor, that means a lot as well." |
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