After falling at No. 2 Florida Saturday, the Mississippi State men’s basketball team looks to end its eight-game losing streak Wednesday against Missouri.
The 17-6 (6-4) Tigers visit the Hump in search of their first SEC road win of the year.
This is the third meeting between the two teams with Mizzou leading the all time series 2-1.
MSU head coach Rick Ray said some despite the recent struggles, his team has a good mentality.
“Our freshmen need someone to look up to. Right now, to be honest, we don’t have that.” I’ve got really good kids. I just don’t have enough of them.”
MSU’s already-thin roster became even thinner last Saturday when State announced the suspension of junior guard Jalen Steele for violating team rules.
The Dogs now have six scholarship players and just eight players total on their roster.
Ray said Steele’s lack of discipline screwed the team and screwed his teammates.
“We’re already in a situation with a short rotation. Anything you do outside of the program like that — that’s bad,” Ray said. “It’s a selfish act now you’re taking away a chance for guys to go out, compete and win because you’ve now shortened the rotation.”
Due to Steele’s suspension, walk-ons Baxter Price and Tyson Cunningham saw extended minutes against Florida. Ray said the walk-ons have stepped up and taken responsibility in the absence of Steele.
“He (Cunningham) is our best communicator, and it’s contagious. Tyson is a smart kid,” Ray said.  “I was really proud of Baxter Price, talking about a kid who goes into No. 2 Florida and hasn’t played very much but does what he needs to do.”
The Tigers come in with one of the nation’s hottest players in point guard Phil Pressey, who is averaging 6.9 assists per game, which is good enough for eighth in the nation.
Ray said he has been planning for this matchup defensively.
“The key for us defending against Pressey and the ball screen action – we need both guys, the guy on the ball and the guy on screen, got to get that stop,” Ray said.
But Pressey is not the only threat in Mizzou’s arsenal. Laurence Bowers, who averages 14.9 points and 6.2 rebounds per game, and Jabari Brown, averaging 14.7 points per game, present the Tigers with multiple scoring opportunities.
Bowers and former UConn Husky Alex Oriakhi lead a Tiger team that ranks third in the nation averaging 41.9 rebounds per game.
MSU freshman guard Fred Thomas said he believes the Bulldogs’ struggles could perhaps end Wednesday night and praised the team’s hard work as of late.
“We are still going to have to come back and play hard. Coming up, we should get this win. We’ve been working hard in practice and watching film. We are gonna try to get this win,” Thomas said. “I wouldn’t say sad or mad – we can’t be that way. If we want to win games, we have to stay positive.”