Mississippi State To Face Dayton For “Hoopsgiving”

ATLANTA, Ga. (MSU Athletics / WCBI) – The Mississippi State men’s basketball team will take on Dayton as part of the 2020 Holiday Hoopsgiving quadruple-header on Saturday, December 12 in Atlanta announced Thursday by tournament organizers.

The Bulldogs and Flyers will meet for the third time during the last four seasons at State Farm Arena, home of the NBA’s Atlanta Hawks. Game time and television network will be determined at a later date.

Mississippi State won both meetings of the home-and-home series by a combined nine points during the 2017-18 and 2018-19 seasons. Quinndary Weatherspoon collected 21 points and 12 rebounds in MSU’s 65-58 victory over the Flyers on Nov. 30, 2018. Overall, the Bulldogs have won all three of their previous meetings with Dayton.

The Flyers are coming off a 29-2 season under National Coach of the Year Anthony Grant and earned a No. 3 final ranking in both polls last season. The Flyers were led by consensus National Player of the Year Obi Toppin (20.0 PPG, 7.5 RPG), who has declared for the NBA Draft. Jalen Crutcher (15.1 PPG, 4.9 APG) also has put his name into the NBA Draft process but is maintaining his college eligibility.

The 2019-20 non-conference schedule already includes the Cancun Challenge on November 24-25, where Mississippi State will be joined by Clemson, Illinois State and Purdue. The Bulldogs also are slated to host a SEC/Big 12 Challenge matchup on Saturday, January 30 at Humphrey Coliseum.

Mississippi State won 11 of its last 15 SEC games to earn a top 4 finish in the conference standings, the program’s highest overall regular season finish since 2010-11. The Bulldogs have tucked away three consecutive 20-plus win seasons under sixth-year coach Ben Howland, and the first time dating back to the 2007-08, 2008-09 and 2009-10 seasons. The 68 victories are the fourth-highest total in program history for a three-year span.

2020 Holiday Hoopsgiving in Atlanta

November 27th, 2020
-Kentucky vs. Georgia Tech

December 12th, 2020
-Mississippi State vs. Dayton
-Alabama vs. Clemson
-LSU vs. USF
-Auburn vs. Memphis