“Once we start playing as a team and playing together, we get into a groove. Right now, we are in the groove so we just have to keep going and going and get us a win. I’m tired of losing.”
MSU center Charles Rhodes blurted out the preceding quote following State’s 81-66 loss against Kentucky Wednesday night.
It’s understandable why Rhodes is tired of losing. Having scored about one-third of the Bulldogs’ points in the game against Kentucky, his efforts still weren’t enough to amount to a win.
The Dawgs (11-10, 1-7 SEC) havenow lost seven straight, for the first time since the 1986-87 season. Six of those seven losses have been by double digits.
However, their eyes remain ahead, not behind, toward SEC West opponent Auburn (9-9, 1-6 SEC), who State will face Saturday at The Hump. The Tigers have had a similar season as the Bulldogs. Their only SEC win came against Georgia by one point. Their overall record sits at .500, while the Dawgs sit at only one game above it.
Though the Bulldogs’ skid continues, the seven-game cloud has a silver lining. For the first time in these seven games, the Bulldogs never trailed by double digits in the first half. In the previous six losses, MSU had trailed by at least 13 points in the opening half.
An aura of improvement hovers above the squad.
“We’re playing hard out there and that is the thing you have to do when things aren’t going your way,” State head coach Rick Stansbury said. “You can’t think about winning and losing. You have to think about playing hard. There are just some things that we have a deficiency in, and all we can do is keep plugging away and getting better in those areas.”
No team made it even to the postseason National Invitational Tournament last year with a sub-.500 record, so keeping their heads above the water is important for both the Bulldogs and the Tigers when keeping one eye out for postseason play.
“We need a win desperately to get back on the road, and [it is] the only way we are going to get out of this funk,” says MSU senior Jamall Edmondson. “We have a very winnable game coming up on Saturday, so we are looking forward to playing hard. Auburn is a good team, but we are going to match up well because they play a four guard front like we do. We are looking forward to it.”
The Bulldogs tip off against the Tigers at 6:00 at the Hump Saturday night.