Tuesday, the Mississippi State University men’s basketball team traveled to the University of South Carolina to take on the Gamecocks, coming back to Starkville with a 66-51 victory.
MSU’s season has been a roller coaster, to say the least. After an 11-0 start, the Bulldogs have experienced both a three and five-game losing streak. Mississippi State has struggled against SEC opponents. They are 2-7 against their own conference, but things are starting to look up.
The Bulldogs followed an impressive win against the No. 11 Texas Christian University Horned Frogs with a dominating win in South Carolina. Guard Shakeel Moore and forward Tolu Smith paved the way for a 15-point win on the road. Moore shot 9-11 from the field while knocking down two triples. The junior guard also picked up four rebounds and three steals.
After the win, Moore spoke on his performance and how it felt for the Bulldogs to get back on track.
“This feels great,” Moore said. “Our team continues to stick together and fight together.”
Is South Carolina the best team? No. However, the Bulldogs’ toughest opponent this season has been the Bulldogs. Last night, Mississippi State stayed out of their own way and came away victorious. The team only attempted 12 three pointers in the game. If this number seems low to you, then it’s a good thing.
Mississippi State has struggled greatly from behind the arc, but they continuously attempt 15 shots from three in a game. Although most are open looks, the team cannot capitalize. Last night, they relied on their ability in the paint and drive to the basket to have one of their best offensive games in the conference.
If the Bulldogs want to put together a winning streak and get hot going into the SEC tournament, they need to establish this game plan. They must let Smith dominate, and they must rely on the athleticism of their guards to get to the basket. Defensively, they can play with any team in the country.
Bulldogs head coach Chris Jans discussed the importance of the road win against the Gamecocks and the upcoming home game against the University of Missouri.
“We knew this one [against South Carolina] we had to get,” Jans said. “We needed to get a road win. It was against a team that we felt like we matched up with pretty well, and we wanted to carry that momentum into Saturday when we’re going to play a really, really good and really talented and well-coached Missouri team that has all the numbers.”
It would be easy for many casual fans to look at this team’s record and say they are not good enough to compete in the SEC. However, what those fans won’t tell you, but I will, is that Mississippi State took the University of Alabama Crimson Tide, which is a top-five team, to the buzzer in a three-point loss. They won’t tell you that against Tennessee, Mississippi State led by as many as nine and was within three with five minutes left.
Does this team have some bad losses? Yes, of course, but they also have some serious fight in them. With nine games left, the Bulldogs are going to need every ounce of fight they have left to right the ship and make a run in the SEC tournament.