GAME NOTES: Following two straight home wins, Murray State goes on the road to Humphrey Coliseum to take on the Mississippi State Bulldogs in non-conference play on Saturday afternoon. The Racers are coming off an impressive 81-67 home victory over Arkansas State. In the game, Tyler Holloway was deadly from behind the arc en route to hitting a career-high six three-pointers and leading the team with 26 points. The team shot a healthy 55.1 percent from the floor for the game, including 40.9 percent from behind the arc and 85.7 percent from the foul line. This shooting efficiency has been with the Racers all season long. Mississippi State is coming off a disappointing performance in the Anaheim Classic. After falling to Southern Illinois 63-49, the Bulldogs fell to Miami- Ohio 67-60. In the latest loss, the team shot just 18.8 percent from the three- point line, while the defense forced just seven RedHawk turnovers. Charles Rhodes was solid in a losing effort, pulling down a game-high 10 rebounds to go along with a team-high 25 points. At home, the Bulldogs have been more productive offensively, averaging 81 points a game as opposed to just 59 points a game at neutral sites. Saturday marks the first meeting of the Bulldogs and Racers since 1961, with Mississippi State holding a 6-2 all-time head-to-head advantage.

It's tough to imagine the Racers' offense being any more effective than they have been in the early going. The guard-heavy offense is hitting 52.6 percent of their shots from the field. Two big reasons for that have been Holloway and Tony Easley. Holloway has been more impressive, as he's primarily an outside shooter. He's hitting 70.6 percent of his three-point attempts while averaging 14.0 ppg. He's also tied for the team lead in assists with 11. Easley is hitting 76.5 percent from the field while dropping 9.0 ppg. Though these two have been effective, the offense still runs through Danero Thomas. The all- around forward is leading the team in a slew of categories, including points (15.5 ppg), rebounds (5.5 rpg), steals (9) and blocks (6). With Ohio Valley Conference play beginning after Saturday, these offensive threats will need to continue their production.

Scoring should not be a problem for the Bulldogs throughout the season, as they currently boast four players averaging double-digit points per game. Jamont Gordon is the current leader with 17.8 ppg. The versatile forward also leads the team with 22 assists while chipping in on the glass with 6.2 rpg. Barry Stewart and Ben Hansbrough are netting a solid 11.0 and 10.2 ppg, respectively. In the post, Rhodes and Jarvis Varnado are combining to average 16.2 rebounds per contest. Varnado makes it tough for opponents to score under the basket, posting an average of four blocks per game. He's a major factor in teams shooting just 35.7 percent from the field against Mississippi State. The Bulldogs could use some more bench help, as they are averaging just 13.0 ppg in their supporting role. Saturday is the first of three home games for the Bulldogs, with Southeastern Louisiana coming to town next Saturday.

Murray State has not had much success on the road against Southeastern Conference opponents, so look for the balanced offensive attack of the Bulldogs to pull out a win on their homecourt.