The only thing colder than the damp February air was the shooting performance of the Mississippi State Bulldogs Wednesday night against the No. 17 Georgia Bulldogs. The result¥Georgia”s first win in Starkville since slap bracelets were the rave. That”s right, the first time in 11 years that the visiting Bulldogs have left Humphrey Coliseum victoriously came at a time when State could have closed the margin on second place in the SEC West.
MSU head coach Rick Stansbury commented on his team’s 4-27 performance behind
the arc in the 86-68 loss, “We were stone ice cold. I have no answers to why we didn”t make shots. Guys that have made shots all year just didn’t tonight.”
Inside the three-point line State shot an impressive 22-33; however, due to the arctic perimeter, Georgia”s 2-3 zone crashed the inside players of State, making it difficult for entry passes to the post, resulting in turnovers and missed opportunities.
“Tonight was the first time that we have been outworked all season.” Stansbury said. Stansbury credited the hard defensive work of Georgia and the way that UGA out-boarded his team 40-28 as keys to the game.
On the offensive end, Georgia shot a tough 50 percent from the field and sank 17 of 19 free throws, making it impossible for State to complete a comeback, despite valiant efforts.
The first half featured both teams running up and down the floor and was fairly balanced. Georgia scored the last four points of the first half, while State could not put points on the board in the final 2:12.
Georgia came out of the locker room with a 7-0 run in the first two and a half minutes of the second session. UGA held a firm grip on the lead until State cut it to four with eight minutes remaining. On the ensuing possession, Georgia”s Jarvis Hayes made the three-point dagger that killed the MSU run.
In addition to the 18 scored by Hayes, the Georgia offense also thrived on 21 points from Steve Thomas, 18 points from Ezra Williams and 11 from Rashad Wright. These tallies shadowed State’s offensive postings that featured 15-point performances from Mario Austin and Marckell Patterson, as well as a 12-point effort from Derrick Zimmerman.
Despite Georgia maintaining a double-digit lead the final seven minutes of the game, student members of Rick’s Rowdies continued to cheer the MSU efforts even after the buzzer, exemplifying loyalty to their ‘Dogs. The SEC East leading Bulldogs have posted road wins at Kentucky and Florida earlier this season and refused to be intimidated in Wednesday night’s triumph at The Hump.
Four of State”s seven remaining games will be home contests, and the road games are at LSU, Vanderbilt and South Carolina. All three of which have losing conference records, so anything can still happen if the Bulldogs rebound quickly. Knowing this, Stansbury closed with, “We’ve gotta get back up. We will play each game one at a time.”
The immediate future will not get any easier for MSU, as the SEC West leading Alabama Crimson Tide comes to Starkville on the heels of a 20-point thrashing of the second place Ole Miss Rebels. Alabama brings a No. 5 ranking with them for the 2 p.m. Saturday rematch of a physical game that the Tide won on Jan. 19 in Tuscaloosa.
After Saturday, State will travel to Baton Rouge, La., to take on the LSU Tigers, and will return home Feb. 16 to play Auburn at The Hump.