STARKVILLE — Crowds for Ole Miss-Mississippi State women’s basketball games typically haven’t been record-setters.
Prior to last season, only two of MSU’s 10 biggest crowds at Humphrey Coliseum came against Ole Miss. The same is true at Tad Smith Coliseum in Oxford, where none of the Rebels’ top 15 home crowds have been against the Bulldogs.
But a MSU-record crowd of 7,326 for a 55-47 victory against Ole Miss last season at Humphrey Coliseum signaled a change. At the time, the crowd was a record for a women’s basketball game in the state of Mississippi.
Ole Miss eclipsed that mark on Nov. 13, 2015, when it had a crowd of 7,407 for its victory against Mississippi Valley State in its annual School Kids Game.
Both records could be in jeopardy at 6 tonight (SEC Network) when No. 7 MSU (16-2, 3-1 Southeastern Conference) plays host to Ole Miss (9-8, 1-3) at Humphrey Coliseum.
“I am really proud of our crowds,” MSU coach Vic Schaefer said. “We have some free pizza and some T-shirts and things like that, but it isn’t like we’re going out and giving away 1,000 tickets. Our crowds all have been very legitimate. I think it says a lot about our state, which is a tremendous state, and the support from women’s basketball.”
Tonight’s game will be the 90th meeting in a series Ole Miss has dominated 63-26 over the years. MSU leads the series 23-11 since 2000, and has won nine of the last 11, including the last three in a row, and eight in a row at home.
It also will be the first of two regular-season meetings. The teams will play at 4 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 21, at the Pavilion at Ole Miss.
Any record that is set tonight could be in jeopardy next month in Ole Miss’ new facility, which seats 9,500. All of the talk about breaking records is a far cry from 2010, when MSU had a crowd of 2,134 for its 73-54 victory. The 2009-10 MSU team advanced to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA tournament for the first time in program history.
In Vic Schaefer’s first season as head coach at MSU in 2012-13, a crowd of 1,531 watched the Bulldogs beat the Rebels 72-57.
Total attendance for MSU women’s basketball games at Humphrey Coliseum has increased from 22,384 in 2012-13 to 48,733 in 2013-14 (when MSU advanced to the quarterfinals of the Women’s National Invitation Tournament) to 67,598 last season, which was a record-setting 27-win season.
Tonight, Schaefer anticipates a great atmosphere to help his team rebound from a 66-54 loss to No. 24 Missouri on Thursday at Columbia, Missouri. The loss snapped the Bulldogs’ 11-game winning streak. MSU owns a 15-game winning streak in Humphrey Coliseum, which is ninth longest in the nation (second in the SEC).
“I will be shocked if it is not 7,000 or 8,000 people,” Schaefer said. “We had a great crowd for Arkansas (5,712 for an 80-55 victory on Jan. 10), so I think (tonight) will be a great opportunity for Bulldogs and Mississippi State University to really showcase our program on national TV.”
MSU also will have opportunities to pack Humphrey Coliseum against No. 2 South Carolina on Jan. 24 and No. 13 Tennessee on Jan. 28. It also will play host to No. 24 Missouri (Feb. 7), No. 9 Kentucky (Feb. 18), and Alabama (Feb. 28). MSU is fifth in the SEC in average attendance (4,214 in 10 dates). South Carolina (14,533) leads the league and is followed by Tennessee, Kentucky, and Texas A&M.
“I don’t think it will be our largest crowd this year,” Schaefer said of the game against Ole Miss. “It may be, but we have some other teams coming in, and if we do our part as the season goes, we are still winning people over that come to see us play once, they come back. It was a cold, drizzly day when we played Arkansas and we had 5,700. I am really proud of our fan base and what we have been able to do. I am proud to be in the state of Mississippi and being a part of it.”
MSU is third in the SEC and 16th in the nation in scoring defense (53.0 points per game). The Bulldogs are second in the league and 13th nationally in 3-point field goal percentage defense (25.3 percent).
MSU also are fourth in the nation in forcing 24.2 turnovers per game. The Rebels rank just ahead of MSU in the category at 25.4.
“They are really athletic and have a lot of quickness and speed and are going to press us,” Schaefer said. “They play pretty hard. Those are all things that at times can give us some issues, so we are going to have to be ready to go (tonight), and I am sure we will be.”
NOTES: Tickets are $5 for adults. Admission is free to high school and MSU students. The first 500 MSU students in attendance will receive a free StarkVegas T-shirt, and free pizza will be available to students while supplies last. Fans can also get free glow sticks, and Elvis will be in attendance. … Bully’s Kidz Kourt opens at 5 p.m. in Mize Pavilion, offering games and inflatables for children.
Adam Minichino is the former Sports Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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