Opponent Preview: Wofford

The last time we saw our Mississippi State Bulldogs Men’s team, they were walking off the court after a 70-59 victory over Cincinnati. Tonight, MSU (9-1) looks to keep their 6-game winning streak alive by taking on the Wofford Terriers (9-3). Wofford is part of the Southern Conference and have only been a program since the 1995-1996 season with only 2 different coaches during that span. Mike Young has been the head coach of the Terriers since 2002 and owns a 278-242 record. Wofford hasn't been to the NCAA Tournament since 2010, but that doesn’t mean they can’t give Mississippi State a challenge.

Wofford’s most reliable scorer is Senior Guard Fletcher Magee. Magee is averaging 17.3 points per game. Wofford has a lot of shooters on the outside with four different players shooting more than 40% from 3. Mississippi State has had great perimeter defense so far this season. Most points have been scored on them on the inside, so this will be a good test for the outside defensive unit.

Wofford’s most impressive win so far is a 81-61 beatdown against South Carolina. Wofford’s losses came against North Carolina, Oklahoma, and Kansas. Those losses came by a combined score of 47. Wofford kept up with each of those teams until about halfway through the 2nd half when the better team finally pulled away. Don’t be surprised if Wofford can keep the score close at halftime and through the beginning of the 2nd half.

Mississippi State has an impressive résumé so far with victories over Clemson, Cincinnati, and Dayton. MSU is currently ranked 21st in the country in Strength of Record. This is more than enough to make it to the NCAA Tournament, but there’s still a tough conference slate between now and March. Coach Ben Howland has the experience to keep the team focused to finish strong in the non-conference schedule. After Wofford, Mississippi State finishes non-conference play with Wright State and BYU.