NCAAB Game Preview - Wright State at Mississippi State

Sat Dec 22, 2018 7:00 PM EST

No. 17 Mississippi State is coming off a scare against dangerous Wofford on Wednesday night heading into Saturday's game against Wright State in Jackson, Miss.

Wofford made nine 3-pointers in the first half and led Mississippi State by nine points. The Bulldogs (10-1) became the hot team in the second half to get a quality 98-87 win.

Wofford (9-4) shot 61.5 percent from the floor -- 75 percent from 3-point range -- in the first half while scoring 50 points. Mississippi State scored 57 points in the second half by shooting 65.2 percent from the field.

The Bulldogs have shot 53.2 percent from beyond the arc in their last four games.

Lamar Peters made five 3-pointers and scored 19 points in the Bulldogs' seventh consecutive win.

Aric Holman also had 19 points for Mississippi State, which rallied from a 12-point deficit early in the second half. Quinndary Weatherspoon made 14 of 15 foul shots on his way to 18 points, and Nick Weatherspoon and Reggie Perry each had 12 points.

Peters also had eight assists and two steals. The 6-foot point guard is 24 of 39 from 3-point range in his last four games.

"My teammates passed up some good looks to give me good looks," Peters said after going 5 of 7 from beyond the arc. "So I wanted to knock those shots down and help us out. My teammates picked me up and told me to just keep moving forward."

Wright State (6-6) is coming off a 78-67 home victory over Morehead State on Tuesday. Four Raiders scored in double figures, led by Loudon Love with his sixth double-double at 19 points and 10 rebounds.

Bill Wampler and Cole Gentry each finished with 18 points and Skyelar Potter added 12. Mark Hughes ended with eight rebounds and a career-high eight assists.

Wright State's defense is suspect, allowing Morehead State to shoot 50 percent from the field, but coach Scott Nagy was appreciative his team won the rebounding battle 34-30 and showed hustle, outscoring Morehead State 19-11 in points off turnovers.

"We are struggling defensively, giving up 50 percent from the field and offensively nothing comes easy," Nagy said. "But the kids really responded after the early timeout in the second half from the 17-12 minute marks, they made several plays, offensive rebounds and hustle plays that got us the lead back."

Wright State will face an aggressive Mississippi State team that went to the free-throw line 36 times against Wofford, making 28.

"All I can say is 'wow,'" Mississippi State coach Ben Howland said. "What a tough game and what a difficult game. ... We are a pretty good defensive team, but we could not stop them in the first half.

"They made some incredible shots. But how we started the second half with our defense is how we got back in the game."