| Monday, February 12, 2018 |
| Wall Street Journal reporter will give lecture at Mississippi State | |
 | A Wall Street Journal legal affairs reporter is visiting Mississippi State on March 1 as the newest guest in the university's Lamar Conerly Governance Lecture Series. Titled "People Say It's Different: Journalism, the Courts and the Capital in the Age of Trump," Brent Kendall's talk will take place at 2 p.m. in the Colvard Student Union's third-floor Fowlkes Auditorium. The free event is organized by the Office of the Provost and Executive Vice President, Department of Political Science and Public Administration, and Pre-Law Society. The lecture series is made possible by major support from Conerly, a 1971 MSU accounting/pre-law graduate and longtime partner in the Destin, Florida, law firm of Conerly, Bowman and Dykes LLP. He is both a former national MSU Alumni Association president and College of Business Alumni Fellow. |
| Mississippi State kicks off HappyHealthy food education campaign | |
 | The Mississippi State University Extension Service recently launched a social marketing campaign, HappyHealthy, to help Mississippians improve their health while maintaining their traditions surrounding food. The HappyHealthy campaign focuses on teaching Mississippians how to choose and prepare foods in a healthier way and pass these customs down to the next generation. The campaign is facilitated through the Office of Nutrition Education, or ONE, which implements Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Education, or SNAP-Ed, in Mississippi. "Extension is proud to offer these educational resources to help improve the lives of Mississippians," said Extension Director Gary Jackson. "Our goal is for Mississippians to include more fruits and vegetables in their diets and to be physically active," said Extension professor Sylvia Byrd. |
| MSU Music Department to present 'The Brits Are Coming!' Tuesday | |
| Mississippi State University's Music Department presents "The Brits are Coming!" at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 13 in the Harrison Auditorium of the Giles Architecture Building on campus. The 11th annual Poetry and Music Program includes songs set to the poetry of three major British poets of the 19th and 20th centuries -- A.E. Housman, William Butler Yeats and Edith Sitwell. Songs from three popular comic operas by W.S. Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan are included in the finale. The program is free to the public. Dr. Karen Murphy, coordinator of Collaborative Piano, and Dr. Nancy D. Hargrove, William L. Giles Distinguished Professor Emerita of English, co-founded this collaborative program in 2008 and are the directors. |
| Poultry industry focus of Mississippi State partnership with Nebraska school | |
 | Administrators from Mississippi State University and the Nebraska College of Technical Agriculture have signed a cooperative agreement designed to train workforce entrants for the Midwestern state's burgeoning poultry industry. The newly developed program includes three semesters in Nebraska and a semester in MSU's College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. Students completing the program will earn an associate of applied science in animal science degree from the Nebraska College of Technical Agriculture, with a concentration in poultry science. They can then enter the workforce in management positions throughout the industry or further their education at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln animal science department or in Mississippi State's poultry science department. "The quality of the teaching, research and extension programs in poultry science at Mississippi State are well known throughout the country," Ron Rosati, dean of the Nebraska two-year college, said. |
| Nebraska, Mississippi colleges start poultry degree program | |
 | The Nebraska College of Technical Agriculture has signed a cooperation agreement with Mississippi State University to train students for careers in the poultry industry. The new program includes three semesters at the Nebraska college in Curtis and a semester at MSU's College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, The Lincoln Journal Star reported. Students enrolled in the program will earn an associate's degree in applied animal science with a concentration in poultry science. The program is expected to begin next fall. |
| Ag tech college in Curtis partners with Mississippi State for poultry degree program | |
 | Mississippi State University and the Nebraska College of Technical Agriculture have signed a cooperative agreement to train students for poultry-related careers. There are currently no academic undergraduate poultry science degree programs in Nebraska. Mississippi State's program is one of only six nationally that offers undergraduate and graduate degrees in the discipline. Mary Beck, poultry science department head at Mississippi State, spent 25 years as a faculty member at the University of Nebraska prior to taking the helm at MSU. "It is exciting to be able to partner with a college in Nebraska to help train the state's workforce in poultry and expand agriculture in a place where I spent much of my career," Beck said. |
| Chronic wasting disease found in Mississippi deer | |
| The Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks announced this week that a Mississippi deer has tested positive for chronic wasting disease. According to the department, the deer was a free-ranging buck in Issaquena County. The department's reaction was swift. A statement was issued that all supplemental feeding of deer must be stopped immediately in Claiborne, Hinds, Issaquena, Sharkey, Warren and Yazoo counties in an effort to slow the potential spread of the disease, which is always fatal to deer. The disease also raises concerns of human health. The disease was first described in 1967 and for at least part of that time experts warned against eating meat from infected animals, even though no cases of CWD in humans have been confirmed. Steve Demarais of the Mississippi State University Deer Lab said the thought of the disease changing into something that kills humans isn't out of the question. "It's morphed and there's nothing to say it won't morph into something that humans are more susceptible to," Demarais said. |
| Charles Young speaks about social work at MSU-Meridian, explains point on gun laws | |
| State Rep. Charles Young (D-Meridian) was back home Friday morning to speak with a Mississippi State University-Meridian social work class, but this appearance didn't require the use of a firearm to prove a point. One day after brandishing an unloaded firearm on the House floor to demonstrate the absurdity of some gun laws, Young was at the Rosenbaum Building in Meridian to speak with students about public policy and social issues and how both relate to the practice of social work. "One of the things we try to do in social work is try to get an understanding of how policy affects our clients," said Angela Savage, instructor/director of field education at MSU-Meridian. When asked about policies that affect the practice of social work, Young said the threat of appropriation is "the number-one enforcement arm in the Legislature." His best example: East Mississippi State Hospital. |
| Former Mississippi State student suspected in tampering probe | |
| A former Mississippi State University student is a suspect in an ongoing investigation into tampering with university files. MSU Chief Communications Officer Sid Salter confirmed to The Dispatch that state, federal and local law enforcement agencies are involved in the investigation. Salter said a "substantial" amount of forensic work remains to be done in the investigation and it may be days, if not weeks, until formal charges are filed. The probe has been ongoing since December, Salter said. Law enforcement agencies served a search warrant on Thursday at the Garden Homes of Highlands Plantation. Salter said officials believe the suspect used a device to steal computerized passwords. He added officials believe the act was "reasonably isolated." |
| Aldermen progress on leisure district ordinance | |
| Starkville aldermen are moving closer to finalizing the details of a proposed leisure district that would allow patrons to use "go cups" to leave restaurants with alcohol. Aldermen discussed the details of a draft of the ordinance during a work session on Friday. Under the proposed ordinance, restaurants within the district could sell patrons city approved plastic cups that are no larger than 16 ounces to take drinks with them when they leave restaurant premises. During the meeting, aldermen set the district's boundaries along Main Street and University Drive, from city hall to the pedestrian bridge that crosses Highway 12 onto Mississippi State University's campus. Ward 5 Aldermen Patrick Miller said he understood the concerns raised at the meeting, and wanted the city to do its best to address them. However, he said, people he'd talked to in other Mississippi cities that have implemented the districts have said they've been successful. |
| Starkville Parks and Recreation launches 'State of the Parks' initiative | |
| The Starkville Parks and Recreation Department is seeking public input on the city's park system as part of its recently-launched "State of the Parks" initiative. The initiative, which lasts the month of February, primarily seeks to gather input on how the public uses parks and what amenities and resources they would like to see added to them. To do that, the Parks and Recreation department is collecting information two ways. The first is through a survey, which is available to fill out in-person at the Starkville Sportsplex on Lynn Lane and online at www.starkvilleparks.com. The department is accepting surveys through March 1. The second is a series of ward meetings that will be held through the month. |
| Workforce development top priority, business leaders say | |
 | Across the state, Scott Waller has heard from business and community leaders about what's most important to them. Waller, the president and CEO of the Mississippi Economic Council, wrapped up an 18-city tour in Tupelo on Friday at a joint meeting of the Rotary and Kiwanis clubs at The Summit Center. "We've talked about a variety of things that all deal with economic development -- job creation, transportation," he said. "But the one thing that continues to be at the forefront is workforce development. How do we take it to the next level and how do we make sure we're being better coordinated with what we offer and where the deficiencies are." Even though unemployment is at a historic low in Mississippi, Waller said workforce development remains critically important. |
| Felony voting proposal still alive in Legislature | |
| For the second consecutive year, Mississippi House members have voted unanimously to create a commission to study the issue of restoring voting rights for felons. The legislation, authored by House Apportionment and Elections Chairman Bill Denny, R-Jackson, is pending in the Senate Elections Committee. The bill was killed in 2017 in the Senate Elections Committee. "The whole idea about restoring suffrage is to make sure people have a fair shot of getting back on their feet," said Rep. Cheikh Taylor, D-Starkville, a co-author of the legislation. Taylor said restoring voting rights would help felons who had served their time become responsible citizens. |
| Senators left in the dark on education funding | |
| Ask your state senator what's going on with the proposed new education funding bill and you're likely to hear back "I don't know." Twenty Republican senators told Mississippi Today in interviews this week that they are not privy to Senate leadership plans for the House public education funding bill. Couple those 20 Republicans with the 19 Democrats who are rarely consulted on legislative plans and that means at least 39 of the 52 Mississippi state senators don't have a clue about what's going to happen on education funding more than a month into the legislative session. "Well, we've kind of gotten used to that, not that we prefer it that way," said Sen. Angela Burks Hill, R-Picayune, another member of the Education Committee, when asked if she was frustrated that Senate members hadn't heard specifics. "My (school leaders) want to know what to expect, and I can't give them much." |
| Sen. Hob Bryan: MAEP continues to provide more funds to schools than rewrite | |
| State Sen. Hob Bryan, D-Amory, one of the architects in 1997 of the Mississippi Adequate Education Program, says it will produce nearly $300 million more for local school districts by 2025 than the funding formula authored by House Speaker Philip Gunn, R-Clinton. "At the end of the day, every school district will get a bigger check" from the state, Bryan said. Bryan and Gunn, as well as state Rep. Robert Johnson, D-Natchez, discussed the MAEP and Gunn's proposal recently at the annual conference of the Mississippi Political Science Association held at Belhaven University. Senate Republicans were invited to have a member participate in the event, but declined. While Johnson said he saw some benefits in the Gunn proposal, he, for the most part, agreed with Bryan that the MAEP, if fully funded, would be better for Mississippi school districts. |
| 'Kaelin Kersh Act' passes through the House | |
| A piece of legislation crafted in the memory of former Mississippi State University track and field athlete Kaelin Kersh is aiming to prevent the type of accidents with law enforcement vehicles that took her life. House Bill 1202, titled the "Kaelin Kersh Act," passed through the Mississippi House of Representatives on a 117-0 vote, with four representatives absent. The bill, authored by District 38 Rep. Gary Chism, makes it law that emergency responders have to turn on flashing lights when going more than 30 miles per hour faster than the speed limit. "What this bill strives to do is indicate for any emergency vehicle to at least have some lights flashing," Chism said. "You don't have to have the sirens or the blue lights or all that, but if nothing else just your flashers to make somebody aware that this is something different than normal." |
| Top official departs 'rudderless' railroad safety agency | |
 | A top official charged with overseeing the safety of the nation's railroads has resigned "effective immediately," the Department of Transportation said Saturday after POLITICO raised questions about whether he was simultaneously working as a public relations consultant in Mississippi. The news comes at a time of strain for the Federal Railroad Administration, which hasn't had a permanent leader for more than a year while it investigates a string of fatal train crashes and deals with a rising trend of rail-related deaths. Heath Hall became the Federal Railroad Administration's acting chief after being appointed deputy administrator in June. But he subsequently appeared at least twice in local media reports last summer as a sheriff's department spokesman in Madison County, Mississippi, where he has long run a public relations and political consulting firm. |
| Minus Trump, black lawmakers will now celebrate civil rights museum | |
| Congressional black lawmakers, some who boycotted an earlier grand opening of the civil rights museum in Mississippi, will attend a "counter" celebration later this month now that President Trump has come and gone. "It could be called a counter opening," said 2nd District Rep. Bennie Thompson. "But what we're trying to say is the civil rights museum should not be highlighted by people who have no history in the civil rights movement, so we're trying to legitimize the museum by bringing participants and supporters of civil rights who have a long-standing history of civil rights and not people who are there for the day and gone." Thompson and others, including civil rights legend Rep. John Lewis, D-Ga., Jackson Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba, civil rights groups and local activists boycotted the grand opening Dec. 9 after learning Trump would attend. |
| White House to propose $1.5 trillion infrastructure plan | |
 | The White House on Monday will propose its long-awaited $1.5 trillion infrastructure package aimed at overhauling U.S. public works. The plan is structured around four goals: to generate $1.5 trillion for an infrastructure proposal, streamline the permitting process down to two years, invest in rural infrastructure projects and advance workforce training. "The current system is fundamentally broken and it's broken in two different ways," a senior administration official told reporters in a Saturday phone call. The Trump administration confirmed a $200 billion direct federal investment for the package, which will be included in the White House's Monday spending blueprint for fiscal 2019. Half of the federal seed money would go toward an incentive program to match financing from state and local governments investing in rebuilding projects, while a quarter of the appropriations would be used for rural projects in the form of block grants to states so governors may decide where to invest. |
| First hotel in new Trump chain seeks Mississippi tax breaks | |
| A Mississippi developer that has joined with the Trump Organization to open the first of possibly dozens of hotels in the U.S. president's new mid-priced chain has applied for millions of dollars of state tax breaks. Chawla Hotels filed an application in December for a tax break with the Mississippi Development Authority worth as much as 30 percent of eligible construction costs, or roughly $6 million, CEO Dinesh Chawla said Friday. The Trump Organization announced a deal with the hotel company in June as part of the rollout of two new chains, drawing complaints from ethics experts that government officials and local real estate partners might offer special favors to the president's business to curry favor with him. Chawla said that he expects it will cost $20 million to build his Trump hotel. |
| Memorial service held for former UM student after weekend death | |
 | The Phi Delta Theta fraternity held a memorial service Wednesday night for Davis Cook, a former University of Mississippi student who died Sunday. Chance Robinson had been friends with Cook since the summer before their freshman year. The two met at summer school but became closer when they pledged Phi Delta Theta fraternity in 2014. Robinson said Cook was the type of person who could connect with anyone. "If he knew you liked music, he would talk to you about music. If he knew you liked sports, he would talk to you about sports," Robinson said. "He always knew how to find a common interest with someone. He wanted everyone around him to be happy." Robinson and a bunch of friends were with Cook minutes before his death. "It was Super Bowl Sunday. We were grilling and watching football at our friends' house in Oxford," Robinson said. "I found Davis there. I was a few minutes too late. I told everyone to leave, and we called OPD." |
| Delta State University leaders express concern for House bill | |
| Delta State University and institutions across Mississippi are expressing concern after House Bill 1083, also called the "weapons bill," was passed by the Mississippi House of Representatives by a wide margin of 80-29. The bill proposes legally permitting concealed carry weapons onto all areas of college campuses, including classrooms, offices, residence halls and athletic venues. The same issue was raised in 2016, but the Mississippi Institutions of Higher Learning was exempted from the law. Instead, IHL adopted a policy for state colleges and universities where students and employees were prohibited from carrying on campus, regardless of permit status. The IHL currently allows law enforcement officers and permit holders to bring firearms onto Mississippi campuses, but they are banned in areas considered non-public. That policy stands to be lifted under HB 1083. |
| Pine Belt community college presidents talk about free tuition bill | |
 | Enrollment at community colleges could increase and the ability to keep students might improve, if state lawmakers approve a bill to provide free tuition to community college students taking specific career technical majors. That's the opinion of Pine Belt community college presidents who are in favor of the bill. The House has already voted in favor of House Bill 405 to set up the "Mississippi Career-Tech Scholars Program," establishing last-minute scholarships and financial assistance for eligible students who enroll in certain career and technical education programs. The bill is now awaiting consideration by the Senate. "This is a step in the right direction," said Adam Breerwood, president of Pearl River Community College. "Not only do I think enrollment will go up, I think we will retain more students. Every time we have an opportunity to alleviate financial stress for students, it's a benefit for us." The eligible programs will be selected by the Mississippi Development Authority in collaboration with the state's Community College Board and Association of Community and Junior Colleges. |
| U. of Alabama System approves several projects | |
 | The University of Alabama System board of trustees on Friday approved a series of construction-related items, including an expansion at UA's nursing college building and a recruiting lounge in the Mal Moore Athletic Facility. The board approved the projects at its regular February meeting. The plans for the nursing school, designed to meet growing student demand, call for a $17.8 million addition to the west side of the building on University Boulevard. The three-story addition will add 32,000 square feet and include classroom, study areas, labs, examination rooms, dining, and office and conference space. The university waived the consultant selection process to choose TurnerBatson Architects of Birmingham, which designed the existing seven-year-old nursing building, for the project. The recruiting lounge will be in 7,447-square-feet of renovated space on the first and second floors of the Mal Moore Athletic Facility. The lounge will primarily be used for football recruiting. The work will include upgrading finishes, enhancing audio/visual systems, new lighting, and new graphics and furniture. The preliminary budget is $2 million. The project will be funded with Crimson Tide Foundation funds. Davis Architects of Birmingham will design the renovation. |
| Auburn University board of trustees initiates project to add new fields for rec sports | |
 | Auburn University's board of trustees has taken the initial steps in expanding field space for club and intramural sports. The board met Friday morning at Auburn University Montgomery, where it voted to purchase two parcels of land adjacent to campus, totaling 177 acres, for $5 million. The property, located on Longleaf Drive in Auburn, will be used as a field lab for the College of Veterinary Medicine and the College of Agriculture. Acquiring the new pastureland and field laboratory space allows approximately 30 acres at the existing Beef Teaching Unit along Lem Morrison Drive to be converted into recreation fields, according to a memo from real estate director Mark Stirling to president Steven Leath. "This acquisition enables a longstanding goal of expanding the recreation fields, a goal that we've struggled for years to try to make happen," Dan King, associate vice president for facilities, told the trustees. "It will significantly increase the pastureland and field laboratory space for the Colleges of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine, thus enhancing their long-term instructional and research programs." |
| New wood U. of Arkansas dorms get fire marshal's OK | |
| The state fire marshal has signed off on the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville moving forward with what's considered the first U.S. campus housing units to be built using large, prefabricated wood panels known as cross-laminated timber. Site work began near the beginning of September for the Stadium Drive residence halls, two five-story halls connected by a ground-level common area. The 202,000-square-foot complex's main structural elements will be glue-laminated beams and large panels of wood from a European supplier. University leaders have said the project can possibly boost the state's timber industry if the construction method catches on widely. Peter MacKeith, UA's architecture dean, in October called the project "aspirational and inspirational," showing the potential "of the state to be a leader in the rapidly emerging technology." |
| Appeals court shields U. of Florida's The Continuum from property taxes | |
 | Rejecting arguments from the Alachua County property appraiser, an appeals court Thursday ruled that a housing complex for University of Florida graduate and professional students is exempt from property taxes. A three-judge panel of the 1st District Court of Appeal upheld a ruling by a circuit judge about the property known as The Continuum. The case centered, at least in part, on the relationship between a private company and the university in owning and operating the housing complex at 425 W. University Ave. The firm Provident Group-Continuum Properties owns title to the complex and operates it for the university as student housing. Alachua County Property Appraiser Ed Crapo contended that the property, valued at $25.2 million in 2014, didn't serve an educational purpose that would meet the legal stana to be tax exempt. But the appeals court said it rejected Crapo's "attempt to diminish the importance of the benefit UF is receiving from the project." |
| U. of Tennessee holds gathering against racism in advance of white nationalist talk | |
 | On a sunny Friday afternoon, crowds of University of Tennessee students, faculty and staff stood in line around the Rock waiting to dip their hands in paint and plaster the boulder with colorful hand prints. The message they were sending was one of unity and respect and it stood in contrast to other messages that have appeared on the Rock, a campus message board, lately. The United at the Rock Against Racism event kicked off a week's worth of efforts to counter a planned talk by the Traditionalist Worker Party, a white nationalist group, on campus on Feb. 17. The group is responsible for a swastika and messages like "white pride," that have been appearing on the Rock in recent weeks. The messages have prompted outrage and while the university is obligated to adhere to the principles of free speech, administrators have also encouraged the campus to counter the messages with sentiments of acceptance and inclusion. So on Friday, that's exactly what they did. |
| Here's What the $400-Billion Federal Spending Deal Means for Higher Ed | |
 | Soon after the federal government shut down, at the stroke of midnight on Friday, Congress passed and President Trump signed a two-year, bipartisan budget deal that not only keeps the government running until late March but also provides more funding for higher-education programs. The Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018 includes $4 billion for "student-centered programs that aid college completion and affordability," according to an outline of the agreement. Details about what that actually means are few and far between, but the measure covers "programs that help police officers, teachers, and firefighters." The bill also provides $100 million in relief for institutions in Puerto Rico. |
| Cryptocurrencies Come to Campus | |
 | While the price of Bitcoin has dropped since Christmas, the virtual currency boom has shown no signs of cooling off in the more august precincts of America's elite universities. Several top schools have added or are rushing to add classes about Bitcoin and the record-keeping technology that it introduced, known as the blockchain. Graduate-level classes this semester at Carnegie Mellon, Cornell, Duke, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the University of Maryland, among other places, illustrate the fascination with the technology across several academic fields, and the assumption that it will outlast the current speculative price bubble. The interest is a fueled by the rising price of virtual currencies over the last year. But they have created a host of issues that are worthy of study even apart from the price, professors in a variety of fields said. |
| Degrees and Certificates Rise in U.S., but Not Fast Enough | |
| Educational-attainment levels in the United States continued to grow in 2016, according to data being released on Monday by the Lumina Foundation, but the pace of that increase is not enough to put the nation on track to meet the goal of the foundation, and of many states, of having 60 percent of adults with a degree or credential of value by 2025. According to the latest figures, 46.9 percent of the population held a degree or credential of value in 2016, up from 45.8 percent in 2015. Lumina began tallying such data in 2008. In 2014, it began to include credentials as part of the totals. Without credentials, the proportion of 25- to 64-year-olds with an associate degree or higher was 41.7 percent in 2016, up from 37.9 percent for the comparable figure in 2008. |
| Fighting flu requires proactive approach | |
| Angela Farmer, an assistant professor of educational leadership at Mississippi State, writes: "The influenza virus strikes individuals across the nation; however, few places feel the impact greater than schools. Adults are more likely cognizant of an oncoming illness and can take measures to minimize their exposure to others and find treatment to help shorten the duration. Students, on the other hand, rarely recognize the virus until they are extremely ill. While preventative measures, including the flu shot, are encouraged for all, this vulnerable population poses a particular risk. Part of the problem is that students in K-12 settings are ideal incubators for the virus. First, there are children whose understanding of proper handwashing and sterile techniques are considerably lacking. Second, they are cloistered together in settings where all errant sneezes and coughs are shared by the entire room." |
| Guns, football collide, bring breathless alarm | |
| The Clarion-Ledger's Geoff Pender writes: "Two things most Mississippians hold dear collided at the Legislature last week: guns and football. This brought breathless alarm from some citizenry and media, thinly veiled threats from the SEC and recriminations from university leaders over guns on campus or in stadiums. Heck, it prompted one lawmaker to pull out his piece on the House floor, in protest against a gun rights bill, oddly enough. I'm still trying to absorb all of this, but I'm just not that all-fired worked up over it." |
SPORTS
| Roshunda Johnson shows Mississippi State's lineup flexibility in win | |
| Victoria Vivians drove to the basket early in the third quarter of Sunday's 74-55 Mississippi State win against Kentucky, the way she has hundreds of times before during her Bulldog career. But what stands out about this particular play is that the baseline defender did not slide over to help on MSU's leading scorer, clearing the way for the easiest two points of Vivians' 23 on the afternoon. And the reason why the UK defender could not? Because doing so would have left Roshunda Johnson alone in the corner, and that was simply a less palatable option in that moment. Johnson hit five 3-pointers against Kentucky, all in the first half, on the way to 17 points, leading the No. 2 Lady Bulldogs (26-0, 12-0 SEC) to an 18-point halftime lead. This comes after Johnson led Mississippi State with 22 at Florida on Thursday. |
| No. 2 Mississippi State improves to 26-0 | |
| Vic Schaefer came into the season with just two Southeastern Conference teams that he'd never beaten as coach of Mississippi State. His second-ranked Bulldogs took down Dawn Staley's South Carolina crew last Monday night at home in front of 10,769 fans. A little over a week later, he checked the other team off his list as MSU beat Kentucky 74-55 on Sunday afternoon. "I didn't want to go my whole college career without beating them," senior forward Victoria Vivians said. "It felt good to come out with the win." To add to the relief of beating those two programs for the first time in Schaefer's six years, MSU (26-0, 12-0 SEC) recorded its second-straight sellout at Humphrey Coliseum. |
| Vivians, McCowan Lead Mississippi State to 74-55 Win Over Kentucky | |
| Victoria Vivians scored 23 points and Teaira McCowan had 21 points and 16 rebounds to help No. 2 Mississippi State beat Kentucky 74-55 on Sunday. In front of a second-straight sellout crowd at Humphrey Coliseum, coach Vic Schaefer defeated Kentucky for the first time in his career. The Bulldogs had lost 11 straight games in the series before Sunday's win. Roshunda Johnson worked Mississippi State through a relatively cold first quarter, hitting five 3-pointers for 15 points. Despite the 35 percent shooting in the first 20 minutes, the Bulldogs were up 40-22. The Bulldogs(26-0, 12-0 SEC) got control of the ball game late in the period, extending the lead to 56-43 and the Wildcats never got it back down to single digits. |
| Mississippi State's Jacob Billingsley hopes to earn spot in rotation | |
| Jacob Billingsley has more competition this time. Last year, as a junior, Billingsley was one of few options Mississippi State had as a starting pitcher thanks to the injuries that decimated the staff. Billingsley took the opportunity and proved himself as a serviceable starter, making 13 starts with a 4.78 earned run average and 52 strikeouts in 52 2/3 innings. It was exactly what he wanted: after a sophomore season with just 10 innings pitched, he went to summer ball intending to change his game to take a starting role and the extra innings that come with it. Holding onto such a workload in 2018 is going to be much harder, and he knows it. |
| Suspended or not, if USM wins either of first 2 games, it will be Scott Berry's 300th | |
| Scott Berry is sitting on 299 career wins as Southern Miss baseball coach. But there's a chance the ninth-year skipper will reach the 300-win milestone without even being in the dugout. The Golden Eagles' head coach since 2010, Berry's team is set to open the season against Mississippi State (ranked 15th in USA TODAY Sports' preseason poll) at 4 p.m. Friday in the first of a three-game series at Pete Taylor Park. Berry, however, will be absent from the proceedings for the first two contests. In the ninth inning of Southern Miss' season-ending loss to Mississippi State at the Hattiesburg regional, he was ejected for arguing with an umpire after a close play at first base went against the Golden Eagles. When the umpiring crew determined Berry did not leave the field in a timely fashion following the ejection, he was hit with a two-game suspension. That suspension will be served during the first two games of the series against the Bulldogs. |
| Mississippi State loses to Missouri on controversial call | |
| Mississippi State played like a desperate team here on Saturday. It developed into a tough team over the last couple of weeks and that again showed against Missouri. A tough, desperate team is a dangerous one. But it now has to be all of that and more. It has to be close to perfect. "We feel like we are going to have a chance in these last six games," Ben Howland said after Mississippi State lost to Missouri 89-85 in overtime at Mizzou Arena. "And if we play like this, we will." Howland was referring to making the NCAA Tournament. A win against Missouri (17-8, 7-5), which entered is No. 30 in WarrenNolan.com's RPI rankings, would have helped to change the conversation regarding the Bulldogs and the Big Dance. The Bulldogs almost had the coveted victory, too. |
| Kevin Puryear hits winning shot to lead Missouri over Mississippi State | |
 | Entering Saturday's game, Kevin Puryear had missed his last 11 3-point attempts. He missed his first 3-pointer of Saturday's game, as well. What Missouri coach Cuonzo Martin didn't want was for Puryear to become hesitant. Puryear, a 6-foot-7 forward, has the ability to score inside and out. That stretches defenses, which is crucial to Missouri's offense. So when Kassius Robertson drove left with less than 20 seconds left in overtime and found Puryear in the corner, Martin just wanted him to shoot it. "I thought he has passed up 3-point shots. Even the one he shot before that, he was hesitant and then he shot it. That wasn't a good shot because it wasn't in rhythm," Martin said. "I said, 'You are passing up too many shots. We need those shots to go.' He stepped up and shot that one." Puryear, who made both of Missouri's overtime field goals, hoisted the 3-pointer from the left corner, and it dropped. That gave Missouri a two-point lead with 10 seconds left and helped propel the Tigers to an 89-85 win over Mississippi State. |
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