SPORTS ON TV
Editor’s Note: The outdoor sporting events listed on The Area Slate may be postponed due to inclement weather today.
Today AUTO RACING 4 p.m.
FS1 — NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series: Practice, Daytona International Speedway, Daytona Beach, Fla.
6 p.m.
FS1 — NASCAR Cup Series: The Bluegreen Vacations Duel 1 and Duel 2 at DAYTONA, Daytona International Speedway, Daytona Beach, Fla.
COLLEGE BASKETBALL (MEN’S) 5:30 p.m.
BTN — Purdue at Maryland
6 p.m.
CBSSN — FAU at Middle Tennessee ESPN2 — Houston at SMU
ESPNU — Unc-asheville at Radford
7 p.m.
PAC-12N — Colorado at Arizona St.
8 p.m.
CBSSN — Santa Clara at BYU ESPN2 — Ohio St. at Iowa
ESPNU — Tennessee St. at Morehead St.
9 p.m.
FS1 — California at Southern Cal PAC-12N — Utah at Arizona
10 p.m.
CBSSN — Gonzaga at Loyola Marymount
ESPN2 — Stanford at UCLA
ESPNU — Oregon St. at Washington St.
COLLEGE BASKETBALL 5 p.m. 6 p.m. 7 p.m. (WOMEN’S)
ACCN — Syracuse at Florida St.
ESPN — Louisville at Notre Dame SECN — Tennessee at Arkansas
ACCN — North Carolina at NC State
7:30 p.m.
BTN — Michigan at Indiana
8 p.m.
SECN — Ole Miss at LSU
COLLEGE SOFTBALL 9 a.m.
ESPNU — Taxact Clearwater Invitational: Oklahoma St. vs. Texas A&M, Clearwater, Fla.
Noon
ESPNU — Taxact Clearwater Invitational: Louisiana-lafayette vs. Indiana, Clearwater, Fla.
SECN — Taxact Clearwater Invitational: Duke vs. Alabama, Clearwater, Fla.
3 p.m.
ESPNU — Taxact Clearwater Invitational: Florida St. vs. Arizona, Clearwater, Fla.
GOLF 3 p.m.
GOLF — PGA Tour: The Genesis Invitational, First Round, Riviera Golf Course, Los Angeles
NBA BASKETBALL 6:30 p.m.
TNT — Milwaukee at Chicago
9 p.m.
TNT — LA Clippers at Phoenix
NHL HOCKEY 8 p.m.
ESPN — New Jersey at St. Louis
SOCCER (MEN’S) 3:50 p.m.
FS2 — CONCACAF U-17 Championship Group Stage: Cuba vs. Guadeloupe, Group C, Guatemala City
6:50 p.m.
FS2 — CONCACAF U-17 Championship Group Stage: Costa Rica vs. Jamaica, Group C, Guatemala City
For the second time in the past month, Mississippi State's Petar Jovanovic was selected the Southeastern Conference Freshman of the Week for men's tennis.
Jovanovic was instrumental in the 24th-ranked Bulldogs' 4-3 win at No. 15 Florida State this past Sunday. He and doubles partner Gregor Ramskogler helped MSU claim the doubles point with their 6-3 win over Joseph Dous-karpenschif and Andreja Petrovic and was the first Bulldog off the court following his 6-2, 6-1 singles victory over Loris Pourroy at the No. 2 position.
The 6-foot-4 Jovanovic is currently riding a 13-match winning streak in singles play that dates back to the fall. It is State's longest winning streak since Nuno Borges won 31 consecutive matches in 2019.
The Podgorica, Montenegro native is now 10-0 during dual match play and 16-2 overall in singles for the year. He and Ramskogler are also 7-2 in doubles this spring. Jovanovic not only tops the team in singles wins but is also tied for the team lead having clinched three matches this season.
Jovanovic was also tabbed as the league's top freshman on Jan. 25.
Jovanovic is just the fourth Mississippi State player to win multiple Freshman of the Week honors since the conference started the honor in 2008. Jovanovic is the first Bulldog to win multiple SEC Freshman of the Week honors since Niclas Braun in 2016.
Malte Stropp and Florian Lakat hold the school record having won four SEC Freshman of the Week honors in 2011 and 2014 respectively.
Jovanovic and his MSU teammates return to action on Feb. 25 when they host a doubleheader against Tennessee Tech (10 a.m.) and UAB (3 p.m.).
Track and Field
Mississippi State long jumper Cameron Crump has been chsoen the Southeastern Conference Co-field Athlete of the Week following his record-breaking performance last weekend at the Tiger Paw Invitational.
Last weekend, Crump posted a top-10 national mark in the long jump and now sits inside qualifying position for the national championships (March 10-11; Albuquerque, N.M.).
Crump's first-place mark of 8.21 meter (26-11.25) in the long jump set a new school record and facility record at the Tiger Paw Invitational. He currently ranks second nationally and first in the SEC following his performance at the Tiger Paw Invite this past weekend.
Following last weekend's results, the Mississippi State men's track and field program is also ranked No. 19 in the latest USTFCCCA polls, it was announced by the organization on Monday.
Mississippi State is one of 10 SEC programs currently ranked in the top 25 in the latest National Track & Field Rating Index following a weekend of standout performances by the Bulldogs.
MSU will return to action on Feb. 24-25 when the Bulldogs travel to Fayetteville, Ark., for the 2023 SEC Indoor Track and Field Championships.
Women’s Golf
Golfstat, the leading ranking system in collegiate golf, announced their top 25 rankings on Tuesday. Heading into the second tournament of the spring, women's golf is the sixth-best program in the country. MSU was off this week but return to the greens of Las Vegas Nevada on Monday and Tuesday.
Golfstat uses Relative Rankings to calculate their rankings each week. Relative Rankings compare each team, one-on-one, against every other team in the country. A percentage value is applied to every one of those decisions. MSU clocks in with a 267/273 comparative record against the field for a 91.2% relative percentage. State holds a 12/15 comparative record against the current top 25.
Mississippi State is one of eight schools currently ranked inside the top 25 with two or more tournament wins in the fall. State is the second highest-ranked squad hailing from the Southeastern Conference with the University of South Carolina coming in one spot ahead at fifth, The Bulldogs went back-to-back in the Mason Rudolph Championship and Blessings Collegiate Invitational. Most recently, State finished second at the UCF Challenge to open the spring season. Individually, six Bulldogs are ranked in this week's Golfstat Top-250 Individual Rankings. Julia Lopez Ramirez leads the pack, moving up to fourth. Izzy Pellot stayed in the top 100 (95) after the best finish of her young Bulldog career in the UCF Challenge. Abbey Daniel moved up to 103rd this week after finishing tied for 14th in the UCF Challenge as Surapa Janthamunee moves to 116th. Rounding out the individual rankings this week is Hannah Levi and Ashley Gilliam who sit at 120th and 212th respectively.the No. 4 Bulldogs will return to the course for The Show hosted by UNLV in fabulous Las Vegas, Nevada on February 20-21st.