The Mississippi State University men’s basketball team advanced to 7-0 on the season after defeating the University of Omaha Mavericks 74-54 Monday night. 
MSU kept the streak going Monday night with a smooth-sailing win. The Bulldogs kept their momentum rolling after winning the Fort Myers Tip Off. Against Omaha, Mississippi State had a slow start, but the team that has impressed in recent weeks eventually showed up.
Chris Jans’ squad is still finding their identity on offense, but on defense, they know exactly who they are. The Bulldogs’ win was fueled by intense team defense. MSU had eight blocks and 12 steals as a team. No team has scored more than 55 on the Bulldogs this season.
Head coach Jans knows the team he has right now and understands how good the Bulldogs have been on defense so far this year.
“That’s our calling card right now, that end of the floor,” Jans said. “We have to be really good because the ball is not going in the net real well.”
Although the offense struggled again, the Bulldogs were able to create offense through intensity on defense. Mississippi State scored 18 points off forced turnovers in their 20-point victory.
Despite having five steals in the first half, Jans wanted more on the defensive end of the floor. Forward KeShawn Murphy, who had eight points and three blocks, talked about Jans’ message to the team during the game.
“He said we weren’t playing hard enough,” Murphy said. “So, turn up the intensity and play as a Bulldog.”
Despite how good the defense has been so far and how good it could be moving forward, the Bulldogs need to find some consistency on offense if they have tournament aspirations. Tolu Smith has provided a bulk of the scoring early in the season. Against the Mavericks, he had 12 points in 26 minutes of action.
The glaring area for improvement on the Bulldogs’ offense has been their three-point shooting. Monday night, they shot 7-23 from deep, which is right around how they’ve shot from behind the arc all season. If the squad can find some more consistency from three, they could be a problem, especially considering how well they play defensively. 
Mississippi State will host Mississippi Valley State University on Saturday at 1 p.m. as they look to remain undefeated.