Already without leading scorer Quinndary Weatherspoon, Mississippi State was also missing freshman Lamar Peters on Monday, after he didn't show up to the game against Northwestern State.
Head coach Ben Howland sent a team trainer to check on the guard about 50 minutes prior to tipoff, after he was a no-show for the team's shootaround. The trainer found Peters asleep in his dorm room. Peters then found out the hard way that he would not play in the game, according to the Clarion-Ledger.
"I told him to stay. That's ridiculous. That's embarrassing," Howland said. "Everybody has an iPhone that has an alarm on it. Put your alarm on. You already know he's been suspended once already this year, so it continues to happen, which is really disappointing."
Peters was suspended by Howland for the Bulldogs' game against Central Florida earlier in the season for undisclosed reasons.
Despite being shorthanded, the Bulldogs defeated Northwestern State 65-59 behind I.J. Ready's 14 points and Aric Holman's 13.
Weatherspoon's and Peters' absences resulted in Eli Wright's first career start, and walk-on guard Nick Singleton received his most significant minutes of the year. Singleton finished with five points, his first points of the season.