After the 20-point defeat at the hands of the University of Georgia Wednesday night, the Mississippi State University men’s basketball team has lost six games in a row. 
Head coach Rick Ray said he was frustrated with the lack of effort in the second half against Georgia.
“The effort was there at the start of the game, that’s what is so disappointing,” head coach Rick Ray said.
The Bulldogs shot 33.9 percent from the field and only made three of their 25 three-point attempts. MSU assisted on only eight of their made baskets and missed nine free throws. 
MSU’s struggles on the road have been evident this season, but it appears its road woes are spreading on to its home floor. 
“Mississippi State committed a turnover on one in every four possessions against SEC opponents,” ESPN insider John Gasaway wrote about last year’s team. “That, plus a near-total lack of offensive boards meant the MSU offense was simply starved out in terms of field goal attempts.”
This season, the Bulldogs have not been any better in those aspects. According to kenpom.com (the leading website in advanced basketball statistics), MSU is ranked No. 272 in turnover rate and the same rank in offensive rebounding rate. There are only 351 teams in college basketball. MSU is in the bottom four in both of these categories in the SEC.
According to kenpom.com there are four major factors that contribute to success on offense: effective field goal percentage [(.5*3FGM + FGM) / FGA], free throw rate (FTA / FGA), turnover rate (TO / Possessions) and offensive rebounding rate [OR / (Offensive Rebounds + opponent’s Defensive Rebounds)]. 
The Bulldogs struggle heavily in two of the four factors, but how do they stack up in the other two? MSU is No. 206 in effective field goal percentage and No. 118 in free throw rate, its best category.
These four factors combine together to form an adjusted offensive efficiency rating, or AdjOE. MSU has a 97.7 AdjOE of 97.7, which ranks No. 291 in the country, coming in dead last in the SEC. 
The Bulldogs’ 13-11 record has benefited from, statistically, the weakest non-conference schedule in all of college basketball. 
The schedule will continue to get tougher as the Bulldogs search for answers as they head into the final stretch of games for the season.