Monday, January 28, 2019   
 
Quick Bites with MSU Extension: sweet designs, pruning and a Farm Bill checkup
February will herald a new schedule of free Quick Bites interactive video programs offered by the Mississippi State University Extension Service. Quick Bites provides an assortment of timely topics each month. Sessions are available from noon to 1 p.m. on designated Thursdays at area Extension offices. Participation requires signing up with the appropriate office. Individuals interested in registering for one or more of the February programs should contact their county's Extension office. In the Golden Triangle: 662-328-2111 (Lowndes); 662-323-5916 (Oktibbeha); or 662-494-5371 (Clay). Sessions will also be held in Bost 409 for those on the MSU campus. County Extension offices wishing to sign up for these programs online should go to https://techoutreach.extension.msstate.edu/quick-bites and click on the Sign Up for Quick Bites button under "For County Offices" area. Counties may also email distanceed@ext.msstate.edu, or call MSU Extension Service to be added to the particular program.
 
Black History Month at Mississippi State
Mississippi State University has announced four events that will be part of its Black History Month celebrations in February. The events include two panel discussions, an awards luncheon and the "Imitation of Life" art exhibition. Members of MSU's African American studies program and the Department of History will host "A Tough Row to Hoe: Black Farmers and a History of Struggle in the South" on Tuesday, Feb. 12, from 3:45 to 5:30 p.m. in the Colvard Student Union. Pete Daniel, Mark Hersey, Shandrea Stallworth and Kymara Sneed will hold a panel discussion with Jim Giesen, associate professor of history, as the moderator. The Office of Institutional Diversity and Inclusion, Holmes Cultural Diversity Center and the African American Studies program will host a luncheon for the winners of the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Drum Major for Change essay writing contest on Wednesday, Feb. 27, at 11:30 a.m. in the second-floor ballroom of the Colvard Student Union. MSU President Mark Keenum will honor three high-school students from Starkville, West Point and Columbus during the event.
 
Oktibbeha Master Gardeners to hold interest meeting
Want to become a Master Gardener? An interest session for the public will give the opportunity to learn more about the training classes offered by the Mississippi State University Extension Service and the Master Gardener program. It will be held at 9 a.m. on Thursday, Feb. 7 at the Oktibbeha County Extension Office, located at 1-6, Felix Long Drive in Starkville. Oktibbeha Master Gardener President Chuck Rivenburgh and Membership Chair Mary Pearson will lead the session. Other Master Gardeners will also be present to answer questions and provide information about some of their experiences and projects in which they have been involved. Training classes are taught by MSU Extension personnel on designated dates, from 1-5 p.m. In exchange, volunteers will provide 40 hours of volunteer service on community projects within a year of training.
 
Grandson of Holocaust survivor hopes to help others understand atrocity
Joseph Metz, grandson of Mississippi's only known Holocaust survivor, will speak at Temple B'nai Israel in Tupelo at 2 p.m. Sunday. The 25-year-old Clinton native now lives in Starkville, where he is working on a master's degree in history at Mississippi State University. Metz said he will speak about his grandfather's experiences and the lessons to be learned from the Holocaust. "The biggest take-away is those who don't speak up when they see injustice are just as guilty as the perpetrators of the injustice," he said. "It's easy to just turn away and not do anything and hope something happens." Metz said his grandfather, Gilbert Metz, was just 12 years old when he and his family were arrested by the Nazis in the Alsace-Lorraine region of France, where the prosperous and well-educated Metz family had lived since the 1600s. Metz said he plans to teach high school history after finishing his degree, and he wants to be sure his students understand the Holocaust, not as an isolated historical event, but as a manifestation of the dark side of human nature, present in all times.
 
Mississippi prepares for ice, snow
Most of Mississippi is under an elevated risk for snow accumulation, according to the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency. Rain will change to snow as a cold front moves through the state from Monday night to Tuesday morning, the National Weather Service in Jackson announced on Twitter. Snow accumulation could be between one to three inches, MEMA said. Travel could become hazardous, MEMA added. Wind chills are expected to be in the teens to lower 20s Tuesday morning. MEMA urged the public to prepare to keep family and pets safe during the icy conditions.
 
4-County weighs broadband in light of new legislation
When the Mississippi Legislature took up a bill that would allow the state's electric cooperatives to provide broadband service to its customers, the term "high speed" was the operative word -- in more ways than one. It took just 10 days from the time the Mississippi Broadband Enabling Act was sent to committee for its to pass both chambers and be sent to Gov. Phil Bryant for his signature Thursday. Bryant is expected to sign the bill into law early this week. The uncommon speed of the bill's passage and its enthusiastic support (it passed the House by a 115-3 vote and the Senate by a 52-0 vote) may create the assumption that co-ops will soon be providing internet service to their customers. "We're asking our customers to be patient," said Michael Callahan, CEO of the Electric Cooperative Association that lobbied hard for the bill on behalf of its 25 member co-ops in the state, which represent 1.8 million members. "We don't want to dive head-first into a two-foot pool. We need to do this right and that means we have to take our time to really understand what we are getting into."
 
Developers propose upscale lodge, conference center for Franklin County
A public-private consortium on Friday announced a proposal for a 200-room lodge, 1,000-person conference center and related amenities on 150 acres in the Homochitto National Forest near Lake Okhissa in southwest Mississippi. The land purchase was authorized following Congress' passage of the farm bill last month and gives the Scenic Rivers Development Alliance, a coalition of local governments in five counties, the opportunity to acquire and develop the property into a destination location for outdoor recreation enthusiasts, clubs, businesses and regional organizations. "The 2018 Farm Bill sets the stage for us to pursue the full potential of this wonderful asset. There are many steps to go, and it will take everyone working together to make it a reality," said U.S. Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith. The Mississippi Republican inserted language into the bill to authorize the acquisition. The project also promises to jump start efforts to determine how the facilities could be used in conjunction with higher education research and development programs and workforce development initiatives tied to software development and information technology job training efforts.
 
These are the 7 people who will help decide how the BP oil spill money is spent
An advisory board that will help oversee spending of BP oil spill recovery money is now set. Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves appointed the board's last two members on Friday in Gulfport. "The Gulf Coast felt the greatest impact from the oil spill, and I believe this board will help ensure the settlement funds build a prosperous coastal economy and create good-paying jobs for Mississippians," Reeves said. The board will review projects considered for BP settlement funds by the Mississippi Development Authority. BP has agreed to pay the state some $750 million for economic damages caused by the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill. Legislators decided last year that about 75 percent of that money should be spent on the Coast. It wasn't immediately known Friday when the board will meet.
 
Prisons 'a pressure cooker,' MDOC commissioner warns
The Mississippi corrections commissioner says part of one state-run prison is on lockdown because of a staffing shortage. Commissioner Pelicia Hall said in a news release Friday that visitation and other privileges are also canceled indefinitely at that prison, the South Mississippi Correctional Facility in Leakesville. She said the prison was holding 3,051 inmates -- only 31 short of capacity. She said the staffing vacancy rate there is 48 percent. Staffing vacancy rates are 46 percent at Central Mississippi Correctional Facility and 42 percent at the Mississippi State Penitentiary at Parchman. She said the Department of Corrections is in a "pressure cooker" situation because of the 671 unfilled jobs in security. Hall has asked lawmakers to set aside $7.1 million to increase the entry-level salary for correctional officers from the current $24,903 to the range of $28,000 to $31,000.
 
Mississippi Republicans, longtime staunch Trump wall supporters, praise government reopening without border funding
Mississippi's Republican members of Congress are applauding the temporary reopening of the federal government without funding for a southern border wall that leading Republicans had supported throughout the 35-day partial shutdown. The deal to end the longest federal shutdown in history, which passed unanimously in both houses of Congress, came Friday morning -- just one day after U.S. Sens. Cindy Hyde-Smith and Roger Wicker, citing the lack of border-wall funding, voted against a Democratic proposal to reopen the government. Mississippi's lone Democrat in Congress, U.S. Rep. Bennie Thompson, who chairs the House Homeland Security Committee, said Democrats were unlikely to come around to supporting Trump's wall, even with three weeks to negotiate.
 
Formal inauguration ceremony for MUW president is Friday
On Friday, Feb. 1, Nora Miller will be installed as the 15th president of Mississippi University for Women in the university's almost 135-year-old history. The formal inaugural ceremony will be held in Rent Auditorium, Whitfield Hall, at 10 a.m. The university will host various events that will also showcase its students, starting with the Student Day of Service in collaboration with the United Way of Lowndes County Wednesday, Jan. 30 from 1:30-4:30 p.m. Miller has had a long career in higher education and public service. A member of the Long Blue Line, Miller holds a bachelor's degree in business administration and a bachelor's degree in accounting from The W. She earned a Master of Business Administration from Mississippi State University in 1998 and is a certified public accountant. She has served on The W staff since 2001.
 
U. of Arkansas transgender policy hits home; worker presses system on health care as Texas case resumes
Two years ago, the University of Arkansas System halted employee health care plan coverage of hormone treatments and gender-reassignment surgeries for its transgender workers. The decision meant Kacee Sparks, a UA-Fayetteville mailroom worker and student, had to bear the cost when she began taking doctor-prescribed hormone treatments. Sparks, a transgender woman, called the treatments "a complete life changer," crediting them with lifting her from a deep depression. Now a federal court case in Texas is set to resume this year after a lengthy delay, the same case cited by the UA System in 2017 in its decision to drop coverage that had been offered for only a few months. The case in Texas involves a legal challenge to a 2016 federal rule applied to the nondiscrimination provision in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. Not every employer saw the case in Texas the same way as the UA System did.
 
Some Arkansas researchers face delays after shutdown; ASU biologist fears setback for bat project
Researchers at public universities in Arkansas last week said that uncertainty and delays likely will continue well after any deal ending the partial federal government shutdown. Vincent Chevrier conducts NASA-funded research at the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville. He said deadlines have been pushed back indefinitely for researchers looking to submit grant proposals. Most universities contacted by the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette said they had avoided any furloughs during the shutdown, though not all federally funded research continued without interruption. Anna Doty, a postdoctoral research associate at Arkansas State University, said she lost 82.5 percent of her salary and missed out on crucial research opportunities after a partial furlough. UA-Fayetteville and the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences -- the top two institutions in the state in terms of total research expenditures, based on National Science Foundation data -- avoided furloughs, however, spokesmen said. There were also no furloughs at the UA System's Agriculture Division, a spokesman said.
 
U. of Kentucky president tells students to get help if needed after 2 deaths
University of Kentucky President Eli Capilouto is urging students to get the mental health resources they need after two student deaths this month. "Such losses of people so absurdly young and so remarkably full of promise makes dimmer our community spirit and makes heavy our individual hearts," Capilouto wrote in a campuswide email on Friday. "As you cope with loss and pain, we insist that you consider seeking assistance across the multitude of resources available to you in our shared space," referring to a website that lists numerous mental health resources on campus. On Jan. 8, Taylor Rae Nolan, 19, died. The death was later confirmed a suicide by the coroner's office, according to the Kentucky Kernel. Nolan was a member of the Chi Omega sorority and had been part of student government on campus. Suicide is the second leading cause of death among college students after traffic accidents, and nationally, suicides have increased among all age groups.
 
How sports betting, early childhood education in Louisiana might become an unlikely alliance
The sponsor of sports betting legislation said Friday he is open to dedicating revenue from the enterprise for early childhood education, which is suddenly getting a push from a wide range of state and local leaders. Gov. John Bel Edwards, the president of the state Board of Elementary and Secondary Education and the New Orleans City Council are all touting the need for new early childhood dollars. Sen. Danny Martiny, R-Metairie, who is expected to sponsor a sports betting bill when the Legislature convenes on April 8, said he would consider having the bill dedicate money raised by the gambling for pre-kindergarten services. "I am surely not opposed to that," Martiny said. Advocates contend the unlikely marriage of sports betting and early childhood education could benefit both sides, and has in other states. Some lawmakers reluctant to endorse betting might do so if they see as raising money for a good cause, like lottery backers promising that part of the proceeds would go to public schools.
 
UGA rises in rankings for social sciences research funds
The University of Georgia came in at No. 28 in the 2019 College and University Rankings for Federal Social and Behavioral Science R&D, a 12-spot increase from last year. The rankings highlight the top university recipients of research dollars in the behavioral and social sciences. In the 2017 fiscal year, UGA researchers received over $16 million in behavioral and social funding, making it the top-funded school in the state. The rankings are published by the Consortium of Social Science Associations, and they are based on data from the National Center for Science and Education Statistics' Higher Education and Research Development Survey.
 
Campus speech group urges UGA to end inquiry of teaching assistant
An organization that monitors college campus speech issues across the nation on Friday wrote a letter to the University of Georgia demanding it end its inquiry into an African-American teaching assistant whose comments about whites and racism have sparked outrage among some and support from others. The Foundation for Individual Rights in Education said in its letter to UGA President Jere Morehead that the comments by the teaching assistant, Irami Osei-Frimpong, are "protected by the First Amendment." UGA on Tuesday condemned his remarks, which have included "some white people may have to die for black communities to be made whole in this struggle to advance to freedom." Critics say his comments are racist and violent.
 
Texas A&M eyes slightly smaller incoming freshman class for fall 2019
As Texas A&M's student population climbs closer to 70,000, a university associate vice president said last week the school is aiming for the Aggie Class of 2023 to be slightly smaller than its immediate predecessors -- an effort, he said, to plateau the "meteoric rise" of A&M's total numbers. Chad Wootton, A&M associate vice president for external affairs, said at the Bryan-College Station Chamber of Commerce's annual Economic Outlook Conference on Wednesday that the university is aiming for a fall 2019 freshman class of between 10,000 and 10,500, which would be lower than the 10,757 freshmen in fall 2018 and the 10,769 freshmen on campus in fall 2017. "For the community, the message is that the last [5 to 10] years of growth we've had is not something that's sustainable," Wootton said in a follow-up interview with The Eagle on Friday. "There will be a leveling-off, a plateau. What I shared [Wednesday] was that the first indication of that will be our freshman class. And we are operating and working toward a freshman class that'll be between 10,000 and 10,500 students."
 
U. of Missouri officials review proposed changes to Greek life
Recommendations to limit freshmen living in University of Missouri Greek life chapter houses and ban alcohol at the houses were at the center of Friday's MU Office of Fraternity and Sorority Life meeting, raising concerns about diversity in houses and alumni involvement. The advisory board stuck with previous recommendations to require a 3.0 GPA for incoming freshmen to live in a chapter house after 2021, as well as an overall fraternity GPA of 3.0 and requirements for the full-time house director, alumni advisers and executive board members. Currently, only three of the 42 chapters at MU would be affected by the proposed housing policies, according to the presentation at Friday's meeting. The houses have two years to improve their overall GPA to be able to house freshmen after the new policies go into effect. The proposed revisions to the policy drew concerns from attendees that the requirements would create elitism within Greek life. The advisory board said the changes were geared toward safety.
 
Education Secretary Betsy DeVos' proposal on sexual assault draws wave of personal attacks
Education Secretary Betsy DeVos' proposal to change rules for how schools handle sexual assault allegations has turned the federal site for collecting public comments into a cauldron of anger and obscenity. DeVos, one of President Donald Trump's few remaining original cabinet secretaries, has not become embroiled in any administration scandals during her two years running the Education Department, but she remains enemy No. 1 for many teachers and activists. The comments reflect not only the divisiveness and emotion surrounding assault investigations but how anything DeVos touches can spark hostility. The administration has touted its plan for Title IX as a historic move that will for the first time create formal regulations -- through a notice-and-comment process -- for schools responding to sexual harassment claims. DeVos has said her focus is on "ensuring that every student can learn in a safe and nurturing environment."
 
Emergency Blue-Light Phones Are a Symbol of Safety. Is Symbolism Worth Thousands?
The fluorescent, candy-blue boxes and towering poles labeled "Emergency" in long black letters pepper almost every college campus. They're a part of the campus landscape, as easy to overlook as cracks in the sidewalk. It's hard to picture a college campus nearly 30 years ago, when the boxes didn't exist. In 1989 the University of Illinois at Chicago, along with many other universities, faced a renewed call to keep its students safe. Two years later, the Clery Act, which requires that institutions make campus incident reports public, was signed into law after Jeanne Clery, a 19-year-old student at Lehigh University, was raped and murdered on campus. The Chicago university put out an all-call to inventors: Create something that will extend our safety network past our walls, and we'll buy. In January 1990, the university received the first prototype from a company that sold coin-operated newsstands. It was medium-sized call box with the iconic blue light on top. Almost 30 years later, some universities are turning their lights out.
 
School homicides have become more common and more deadly, CDC data show
A new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirms what too many students across the country already know: The incidence of mass homicides on school campuses has risen steeply in recent years, as has their toll. Between 1994 and 2018, there were 38 school rampages that resulted in multiple fatalities. Five of those occurred during the 2017-2018 academic year, which ended in June, and three others were in the 2016-2017 school year, according to a study in Friday's edition of the CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. All told, 121 people died in school homicides with multiple fatalities over the 24-year period. But 29 of those deaths -- accounting for nearly one-quarter of the total -- were shootings that came in just three incidents during the most recently completed school year. During the 2017-2018 school year, an American student's likelihood of dying in a school shooting was one in 2 million. That was the highest by far in the entire period studied, the CDC researchers found.
 
Duke U. Administrator Steps Down After Telling International Students to Speak English on Campus
A Duke University administrator who advised graduate students by email to speak English while on the campus will step down immediately as director of graduate studies, the university announced. On Friday, Megan Neely, who is also an assistant professor of biostatistics and bioinformatics, emailed students in the program to report that two faculty members had asked her for pictures to identify graduate students. She said the professors wanted to identify some students who were speaking Chinese in a student lounge area. "They were disappointed that these students were not taking the opportunity to improve their English and were being so impolite as to have a conversation that not everyone on the floor could understand," she wrote. In the email, Neely advised international students to speak English "100% of the time" in any "professional setting" on the campus.
 
Study: Pressure to enroll more Pell-eligible students has skewed colleges' priorities
For the last five years, efforts to assess and "shame" selective colleges based on their enrollment of low-income students have worked -- perhaps too well, two top economists of higher education assert in a new paper. The study, a version of which was published late last week in Education Next, was conducted by Caroline Hoxby and Sarah Turner, economists at Stanford University and the University of Virginia, respectively. (Another version of the paper was released today by the National Bureau of Economic Research.) The studies assert that recent efforts by researchers and think tanks to rank colleges and universities on enrollment of low-income students, while well intentioned, have both unfairly judged some colleges' performance and led institutions to alter who they enroll in ways that disadvantage some low-income students, even as they help others. "By engaging in what I would call public shaming around what I would call bad measures, the well-intentioned research leads to defensive and reactionary responses by institutions," Hoxby said in an interview.
 
Lawsuit raises questions about DNA testing, race and admissions
For several years now, as companies have offered DNA testing for customers to learn more about their lineage, reports have surfaced linking such testing to college admissions. The mother of a mixed-race child wrote about how her son took such a test so he could show he really was black, even if some doubted that, based on his appearance. Private admissions consultants have noted the trend. But in what may be a first, a Princeton University graduate applying to medical school has sued the school over the issue. The plaintiff, who is white, says she was advised by an admissions officer to take a DNA test, and that if she discovered Native American and African American lineage, her chances of getting in would go up significantly. She rejected the advice, applied and complained about the strategy she said she was encouraged to use. Shortly after complaining, and after applying as a white person, she was rejected. She is charging racial discrimination, and a federal judge ruled this month that her case could proceed, rejecting requests to dismiss it.
 
Analyzing how students solve problems enlightening
Angela Farmer, an assistant professor of educational leadership at Mississippi State University, writes: here are right answers and wrong answers when one solves a mathematical formula. For those type of analytical disciplines, determining error rates is a fairly uncomplicated proposal. However, even in these disciplines and especially in classes where student perspectives come into play, right versus wrong requires a more thorough examination of both the pathway as well as the interpretation. For example, in a math or physics class where a student must solve a complex problem involving a variety of steps, formulas, and/or applications, there is much to be analyzed in the student's work in addition to the specific answer given. It is essential that the educator follow the pathway that led the student to the answer, whether or not his or her answer is considered correct. The reason for this problem dissection is two-fold.
 
Moving to market based testing in high schools makes sense
Syndicated columnist Bill Crawford of Meridian writes: Rep. Tom Miles of Forest is on to something. With regard to tests required for high school graduation, he wants to move from an education bureaucracy based approach to a market based approach. A little background. The federal No Child Left Behind Act was replaced by the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). Both have required public schools to implement intensive testing from the early grades through high school to track student progress. At the high school level, ESSA requires states to administer end-of-course exams in reading/language arts, mathematics, and science. It's up to the various states to decide if passing these tests is required to earn a high school diploma. Mississippi added a history exam and made passing the tests a requirement for graduation. After lots of complaints, in 2015, the Mississippi State Board of Education began allowing students who fail the subject matter tests to take the relevant sections of the ACT as an alternative. Miles wants to abandon the state developed subject matter tests and go strictly with the ACT.
 
Methodist church's debate over gay marriage could affect Mississippi politicians in election year
Mississippi Today's Bobby Harrison writes: Religion and politics often intersect or even travel the same road in Mississippi. This year Mississippi politicians, including many Methodist politicians, will be running for office as the issues of gay marriage and the ordination of gay ministers play out in the United Methodist Church. According to the United Methodist Church Mississippi Conference web page, there are more than 165,000 Methodists in the state. There are probably more United Methodist politicians in the state than members of any other congregation except perhaps Southern Baptists. It is safe to assume Methodist politicians will be involved in the issue this election year. While the New Orleans Saints were battling last week in the NFC championship game (i.e. getting hosed) several hundred Mississippi Methodists were meeting at Christ United Methodist Church in Jackson to discuss the explosive issues of gay marriage and the ordination of gay ministers.


SPORTS
 
Teaira McCowan's monster game leads Mississippi State over Ole Miss
Teaira McCowan proved that her two-point effort at Florida on Thursday night was merely an anomaly. The Mississippi State center scored a season-high 33 points and grabbed 13 rebounds in the seventh-ranked Bulldogs' 80-49 victory over rival Ole Miss on Sunday afternoon. "T was a monster," said MSU coach Vic Schaefer. "She was really special today." McCowan made 11 of 16 from the field and 11 of 12 from the free throw line to go along with seven offensive boards and a blocked shot. It was her 55th career double-double and the sixth time she has exceeded 30 points. "She's a stud," said Ole Miss coach Yolett McPhee-McCuin. "I love her game. I love what she brings to the table. I love that we got a block on her and I love the fact that we're not going to be on ESPN because of one of her blocks and stare downs this game. And I love the fact that she's a senior."
 
Mississippi State women's basketball cruises by Ole Miss with dominant defense
The one element that has yet to reach its peak performance for Mississippi State this season is team defense, per head coach Vic Schaefer. Sunday afternoon against Ole Miss, the Dogs showed a near capacity crowd at Humphrey Coliseum what it might look like when the defense does get there. Schaefer's squad was tenacious defensively from the 3-point line to below the bucket and everywhere in between. The Rebels had trouble getting good looks, and the Bulldogs often tripped them into turnovers before they could get a shot off at all. Some of the heightened tenacity in Mississippi State's 80-49 win surely had to do with a bitter rival being in town, but Ole Miss won't be the only team State causes trouble for if the defense fires on all cylinders like it did Sunday.
 
Mississippi State's MONSTER: Teaira McCowan enjoys big day in post for Bulldogs against Rebels
One of the most dominating post players in the country resides at Mississippi State and a double-double is almost guaranteed to come with each performance. It's what made Teaira McCowan's worst game of the year at Florida such an anomaly to what's becoming a monster season and she made up for the inefficiency on Sunday. McCowan, recipient of the last two Southeastern Conference Player of the Week awards, dominated the paint against the rival Ole Miss Rebels to the tune of a season-high 33 points and 13 rebounds. Her performance helped the No. 7 Bulldogs to a 80-49 victory over the Rebels. "She is a stud," Ole Miss head coach Yolett McPhee-McCuin said of McCowan. "I love her game. I love what she brings to the table. I'm glad she's a senior." Mississippi State's post presence, as a whole, was a burden for coach McPhee-McCuin and the Rebels. Senior forward Anriel Howard added 16 points and 11 rebounds.
 
No. 22 Mississippi State earns big home victory against No. 16 Auburn
With the No. 22 Mississippi State and No. 16 Auburn men's basketball teams trading baskets Saturday night, the Bulldogs found another component of their game. Trailing by seven points early in the second half, No. 22 MSU played arguably its best defensive stretch of the season to pull out a 92-84 victory against No. 16 Auburn before a crowd of 10,063 at Humphrey Coliseum. MSU snapped a two-game losing streak and held serve in the Southeastern Conference standings to move to 15-4 and 3-3 in league play. With a grueling stretch of Alabama and Ole Miss upcoming on the road, MSU needed to reverse its fortunes and to earn a critical win for the NCAA tournament resume. "Just a monumental win for us," MSU coach Ben Howland said. "We certainly needed this for the (tournament) resume. We played with a lot of passion. Twenty assists with 13 turnovers. Lamar Peters did a great job with four or five passes in there for dunks. Holding them to 21 3-point attempts was huge. They average over 30."
 
Bulldogs ignite from long range to beat Auburn
No. 22 Mississippi State made only three 3-pointers during its loss at Kentucky on Tuesday. But the deep balls were definitely falling for the Bulldogs against 16th-ranked Auburn on Saturday in a 92-84 victory. MSU made 13 3s led by Quinndary Weatherspoon and Lamar Peters with four apiece. A total of six Bulldogs made a shot from the perimeter and shot 43.3 percent from behind the arc as a team. "This was huge for us," said MSU coach Ben Howland. "I was really proud of our team. I thought we came out with a lot of passion. Our focus was really to move the ball and share the ball and we did that tonight. We had 11 assists in the first half and nine in the second." Weatherspoon paced State with 27 points on 6 of 9 shooting from the field and made all 11 of his free throw attempts.
 
SEC basketball: Mississippi State outlasts Auburn in high-scoring affair
Early in the second half of Saturday's prime time game between No. 22 Mississippi State and No. 15 Auburn, the Bulldogs squandered a lead they had maintained for most of the night. Trailing by seven in front of a restless crowd at Humphrey Coliseum, the Bulldogs needed something -- or someone -- to rejuvenate them. They looked no further than the Weatherspoon brothers. Senior guard Quinndary Weatherspoon nailed back-to-back 3-pointers to pull his team within a point. Then sophomore guard Nick Weatherspoon stole a Tigers' pass and jammed the ball in the basket at the other end to give Mississippi State its lead back. That sequence re-energized the crowd at The Hump and gave the Bulldogs the spark they needed to play effectively on the offensive end. Auburn kept roaring back to keep it close, but Mississippi State ultimately outlasted the opposition in a 92-84 victory.
 
Mississippi State rolls over Auburn down stretch to send Tigers to third straight loss
Auburn came up empty again. Mississippi State put together its game-deciding charge down the stretch of the second half, and struggling Auburn didn't have much of an answer, as the Bulldogs dropped the Tigers to their third straight loss 92-84 on Saturday night in Starkville, Miss. The game was tied as the clock ticked to the 8:00 mark in the second half. Mississippi State dominated the game from there, building an 11-point lead over the next four minutes, pushing Auburn around the court and possibly out of the Associated Press Top 25. Auburn tumbled to 13-6 on the season and 2-4 in SEC play, after entering the game ranked 16th in the nation. No. 22 Mississippi State moved to 15-4 and 3-3 in the league. The 92 points the Tigers gave up marked a season-high. "We've got to get some things figured out on the defensive end," Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl said postgame over the airwaves on the Auburn Sports Network radio broadcast.
 
Mississippi State baseball team has stability with coach Chris Lemonis
This season is all about stability for Mississippi State senior outfielder Elijah MacNamee. Construction at Dudy Noble Field meant last season's squad couldn't practice in its ballpark. Once the season started, a coaching change three games into the campaign muddied the waters even more. Now, the Bulldogs are stable again and are eyeing a return trip to Omaha and the College World Series. New coach Chris Lemonis will make his debut at 4 p.m. Friday, Feb. 15, against Youngstown State. "We will be a much better prepared team this year," MacNamee said. "A year ago, we were clearly not ready when we played at Southern Miss. It's just night-and-day difference, being able to go through a fall in your own park. Getting the proper reps in and growing together as a team." Lemonis comes to MSU after four seasons as coach at Indiana. He said the situation he inherited here was similar. "At Indiana, the program had recently gone to Omaha," Lemonis said.
 
Why Mississippi State is ready to make another College World Series run
Snow flurries fell at Dudy Noble Field on Saturday morning. It was cold. It was gloomy. The grills weren't fired up in the outfield. It just didn't feel a whole lot like baseball season. Then the Mississippi State Bulldogs, clad in their full practice uniforms, emerged from the dugouts. The sun broke through the clouds, and the temperature warmed to near 50 degrees. Suddenly, it felt like baseball season indeed. The Bulldogs held their first preseason scrimmage of the year Saturday afternoon, but before then players and coaches caught up with the media on the field at Dudy Noble. Some of them wore a wristband with one word on it. Omaha. A word, a city, a destination that defined 2018. It's also something the 2019 version of the Diamond Dawgs don't want to think about for a few months. As exhilarating and monumental the improbable run to the College World Series was last year, new head coach Chris Lemonis said it's time to "put it to bed."
 
The W women's soccer coach Gray Massey dies
Mississippi University for Women Director of Athletics Jason Trufant confirmed Sunday afternoon that The W women's soccer coach Gray Massey has died. Trufant said his wife received a phone call from Massey's wife, Lauren, about 7 a.m. Sunday informing them Gray had died. It is unclear at this time when Massey passed away. He was 41. Trufant said there is no definitive answer as to what caused Massey's death. "It is tough," Trufant said Sunday afternoon. "He was a tremendous asset not only to this program but to this city. He was a friend of mine, and he understood what we were trying to do and where we're trying to go. It is not fair." Funeral arrangements are unclear at this time. Trufant said The W will hold a memorial on campus to honor the life of Massey at a later date. Massey lived in Columbus with his wife and two children.
 
LSU Board of Supervisors approves new pricing plan for football and baseball tickets
The LSU Board of Supervisors on Friday approved a new pricing plan for football and baseball tickets, which was proposed by the university's athletic department. The athletic department said the new plan is "designed to better reflect demand and market value." It's the first time the ticket pricing structure has changed in football since 2014, the release said, and the first time in baseball since 2015. The change will not impact student ticket prices and will reduce prices for "thousands" of Tiger Stadium seats, while seats in higher demand sections will see an increased price from 4 percent to 12 percent for the 2018 football season. About 24,000 tickets will have no increase or a decrease in price by as much as 16 percent, according to an athletic department release.
 
UF announces defensive line coach hire: David Turner
Florida coach Dan Mullen's search for a new defensive line coach led to someone he is not only very familiar with, but someone he has worked with in the past. David Turner, Mullen's defensive line coach at Mississippi State for five seasons during two different stints, is the Gators' new defensive line coach, Mullen announced Sunday. "David is a great addition to our coaching staff and the Gators football family," Mullen said. "We spent some time together at Mississippi State and he has produced numerous first round picks in the NFL over this 30-plus years of coaching. Having spent 16 years in the SEC, he understands that this is a line of scrimmage league and our defensive line will continue to play fast, physical and aggressive under his leadership." Turner is a veteran coach who has worked at five different SEC schools. He left Mullen's MSU staff after the 2015 season to become the defensive line coach at Texas A&M. He spent this past season as the defensive line coach at the University of Texas at San Antonio.



The Office of Public Affairs provides the Daily News Digest as a general information resource for Mississippi State University stakeholders.
Web links are subject to change. Submit news, questions or comments to Jim Laird.
Mississippi State University  •  Mississippi State, MS 39762  •  Main Telephone: (662) 325-2323  •   Contact: The Editor  |  The Webmaster  •   Updated: January 28, 2019Facebook Twitter