STARKVILLE — After two injury-plagued seasons that depleted his roster, Mississippi State men’s basketball coach Rick Ray was dealt a pair of heavy blows as he prepares for his third season in Starkville.
On Monday, MSU announced guard Craig Sword, MSU’s leading scorer a year ago, will miss four to six weeks due to a back injury that will require surgery, while Johnny Zuppardo, a 6-foot-9 forward who transferred from Jones County Junior College, will miss the 2014-15 season after suffering a torn anterior cruciate ligament.
Sword, a junior shooting guard from Montgomery, Alabama, led MSU with 13.7 points per game as a sophomore. He will be sidelined for the rest of the preseason after he has surgery for a bulging disk in his back. That surgery is scheduled for Thursday in Nashville, Tennessee.
Zuppardo will miss the season after an MRI revealed the Bay St. Louis native tore meniscus and the ACL in his left knee. A power forward who led Jones County to the NJCAA National Championship a year ago, Zuppardo will apply for a medical hardship.
MSU will play an exhibition game Nov. 6 against Delta State. It will open the season Nov. 14 against Western Carolina at Humphrey Coliseum.
More honors for Prescott
Two days after leading the MSU football team to its third-straight win against a top-10 opponent, MSU junior quarterback Dak Prescott was rewarded for his efforts by the Southeastern Conference. For the second time this season, Prescott was named the league’s Offensive Player of the Week after a 367-yard, three-touchdown performance in a 38-23 takedown of No. 2 Auburn.
Prescott rushed for 121 yards and two scores and threw for 246 yards and a touchdown to lift MSU to a 6-0 start, a 3-0 mark in league play, and, as of Sunday afternoon, the No. 1 ranking in the Amway Coaches Poll (USA Today) and The Associated Press Top 25.
The Haughton, Louisiana, native shared the award with Alabama wide receiver Amari Cooper in Week 3 of the season after leading MSU to a 34-29 win against then-No. 8 LSU in Baton Rouge, splitting the honor.
MSU-Kentucky kickoff announced
The time has been set for the No. 1 MSU football team’s game at Kentucky. After enjoying a bye week on the heels of the victory against Auburn, the Bulldogs will venture out on the road for the second time in league play and will play the Wildcats at 2:30 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 25 (WCBI). It will be the second-straight game for MSU to appear on CBS.
The other times for games that week are: 11 a.m. — Alabama-Birmingham at Arkansas (SEC Network); 3 p.m. — Vanderbilt at Missouri (SEC Network); 6:15 or 6:30 p.m. — Alabama at Tennessee OR South Carolina at Auburn OR Ole Miss at LSU (ESPN, ESPN2, SEC Network)
Johnson added to Mackey Watch List
Fresh off of his best game of the season, MSU tight end Malcolm Johnson received national attention Monday afternoon, when he was named to the John Mackey Award Midseason Watch List.
The John Mackey Award is given annually to the nation’s top tight end. Johnson has 10 catches for 135 yards and two touchdowns. On Saturday, Johnson had five catches for 60 yards. Two catches in the fourth quarter led to 10 points and helped the Bulldogs stretch a 28-20 lead into a 38-20 cushion.
The John Mackey recipient will be announced Dec. 10 before being presented live Dec. 11 at The Home Depot College Football Awards Red Carpet Show on ESPNU. Semifinalists for the award will be announced Nov. 17, followed by finalists Nov. 24.
Follow Dispatch sports writer Brandon Walker on Twitter @BWonStateBeat
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