After his team’s win over Auburn last Wednesday, Charles Rhodes stopped for a brief moment and reflected on the fact that his team had clinched a share of the SEC Western Division title.He then made it clear that a share was not what the Bulldogs were seeking.
“We came into the season not wanting to share,” Rhodes said. “And when clutch time comes, we probably won’t be sharing one.”
It turned out clutch time came early for Mississippi State. The Bulldogs (20-8, 11-3 SEC) used 20 points from Ben Hansbrough and a 15-point, eight-rebound performance from Rhodes to propel them to a 68-59 victory over the Florida Gators (21-8, 8-6 SEC) at the O’Connell Center on Saturday afternoon in Gainesville.
The victory over the Gators sealed the deal for the Bulldogs and gave them their fourth SEC Western Division title in the last six seasons. And it was a victory that the Bulldogs attempted to put away early in the contest.
Mississippi State jumped out to a 14-4 lead only six minutes into the game and wouldn’t relinquish it throughout the remainder of the contest.
“I thought our kids did an unbelievable job from the start,” Mississippi State head coach Rick Stansbury said. “We spurted out and kept the crowd out of it.”
The Bulldogs utilized their strengths during the win against the Gators. They used their defense to stifle the Gators during that opening run and sustained their defensive rhythm through the game.
Florida connected on only two of its first nine field goals during the initial stretch, and it became indicative of what was to come for the Gators, who shot only 36.1 percent from the field.
“They did what they have been doing for the past 13 games: blocking shots and relying on their length, athleticism and quickness,” Florida head coach Billy Donovan said.
And the Bulldogs used each of those characteristics in the victory.
Shot-blocking came from Jarvis Varnado, who had 11 points and 11 rebounds. His shot-blocking comes as no surprise since he came into the game as the nation’s leading shot-blocker, and he continued that trend by swatting seven shots in Saturday’s game.
Those seven rejections sent him past Tyrone Washington and into second place on the Mississippi State career blocked shots list.
Length, athleticism and toughness came in multiple forms on the Mississippi State defense. But those characteristics became specifically obvious in Hansbrough.
The sophomore dove for loose balls and hit 3-pointers at key moments for the Bulldogs. Arguably his most important 3-pointer came with 2:37 left in the game.
The Gators were trailing by six points and were making one last run for the lead when Jamont Gordon brought the ball down the court.
He started to penetrate the defense but then found Hansbrough behind the arc. Hansbrough drained the shot and sent the Bulldogs ahead by nine points, which was a lead the Gators would not shrink.
Barry Stewart also sank some timely shots and collected 10 points to become the fourth Bulldog in double-digits in the game.
Mississippi State improved its record to 12-1 when four or more players score in double-digits.
With the SEC Western Division crown in their possession, the Bulldogs can now turn their attention to a possible SEC regular season title.
They will attempt to increase their hopes for that title on Wednesday night when they travel to face Vanderbilt (24-5, 9-5 SEC) at 7 p.m.
The Commodores are reeling from a 78-73 loss at Arkansas on Saturday, but Vanderbilt has been unstoppable this season in Memorial Gym and currently stands 18-0 in games played in the venue.