I have to say that I was minorly impressed with Mississippi StateOs 23-point victory over those crazy creoles from Louisiana State on Saturday. What really impressed me was the exhibition State put on from behind the three-point line. The Bulldogs were 9 for 15, and Ontario Harper, who scored a career-high 16 points, was a perfect 4 for 4. The real hero of the game, however, was senior Brandon Carr. With time winding down and MSU only up 20, Carr sped the ball up the floor, pulled up from behind the line and banked in a three-pointer at the buzzer to give Mississippi State a dramatic 23-point win. Needless to say, the crowd went ballistic. The bad thing about that was LSU is going to remember that incident when we go to Baton Rouge in a couple of weeks, but who cares? So, Brandon, we salute you.
LetOs get down to business now. With the win Saturday, State moved to 3-3 in the SEC. Pretty good for this point in the season, but there is something odd about that record. The three are wins at home. Which means the three losses are on the road. Simply put, not winning a road game could seriously hurt the BulldogsO chance to make the NCAA tournament field. So if there is such thing as a must win game this early in the season, this Wednesday is it.
Wednesday night, the Bulldogs will travel to Auburn to take on the struggling Tigers. Auburn is not a very good basketball team, but winning on the road in the conference is still tough. If State can win this game, it would help the ODawgs more than you would think. Winning road games always seems to be well-rewarded, and it is something that MSU must do since its strength of schedule is rated so low. A record of 21-9 or even 22-8 could give MSU another National Invitational Tournament trip, but 23-7 or 24-6 could land the ODawgs in the big dance. Sure, itOs too early to speculate, but my point is simple. You have to win on the road if you expect to get your dance card punched, and State has some golden opportunities on the way.
Lastly, I havenOt even been sports editor for a month, and I am already having to apologize. It didnOt take me long to realize that I had misidentified Lyndon Johnson as the president of the United States in 1975. The truth is, Richard Nixon was the president at that time. Johnson was president after John F. Kennedy in 1963. With all due respect to our two former presidents, I bet Johnson and Nixon are rolling over in their graves and laughing heartily at my mistake. Not to mention all my former history teachers in high school.