The Mississippi State Basketball team capped off their 2016 season on a high note with a 79-66 win over Auburn. The Bulldogs finished the season just below .500, going 14-16 on the season overall and 7-11 in SEC play. It was also the last game for senior’s Gavin Ware, Travis Daniel, Craig Sword, Johnny Zuppardo, Reggie Patterson and Fred Thomas.
Thomas said he was pleased with the outcome of the season despite the Bulldogs’ less than pleasing overall record.
“It has been going great,” Thomas said. “I think we’ve come together as a team and are building chemistry.”
It shows, MSU is 5-3 over the last eight games to finish out the season.
Even with the strong finish, many Bulldog fans felt it was a bit of a disappointing season.
Many expected MSU to finish in the middle of the pack in the SEC and potentially make the NCAA tournament. Much of that had to do with former high school McDonald’s All-American Malik Newman joining the team.
While Newman played below expectations, another true freshman had a breakout season.
Quinndary “Q” Weatherspoon has averaged 12.2 points a game, good for third on the team. He is also averaging 4.7 rebounds, good for second on the team and averaged 1.3 steals a game this season, which was the best average on the team this season.
While Weatherspoon found stardom this season, the leader of the team was the strong and steady senior forward, Gavin Ware.
Ware was a consistent force all season and led the team in points, averaging 15.8 a game. He also led the team in rebounds with 7.7 a game. Ware even anchored the team defensively, averaging 1.1 blocks a game this season.
Ware, listed at 260 pounds, said he attributed a lot of his success to getting in better shape.
“My first three years it was a big deal because I had to transition from a guy who is 280-290 that loves his grandma’s cooking to now where I have to watch what I eat. I just now have to buy in to staying healthy everyday,” he said.
While the season may have been a little lacking, there is much to be excited about, because the Bulldogs are not finished yet. MSU enters the tournament as the 11- seed and will take on the No. 6 seed Georgia on Thursday night. The SEC tournament is the last chance for MSU to make the NCAA tournament, but they would have to win four straight to do so.
If MSU had lost against Auburn, they would have to play a play-in game on Wednesday night, meaning it would take five games instead of four to win it all.
Head coach Ben Howland emphasized the importance of the game after it was over.
“Overall, this is a good win for us because it gives us some momentum going into the SEC Tournament,” Howland said. “Anything is possible here. We are excited.”