GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Somehow depth always seems to be a concern for Mississippi State men’s basketball when the Florida Gators pop up on the schedule.
It took only four MSU players in last year’s contest to stop them. The Bulldogs got every one of its points from starters Dee Bost, Renardo Sidney, Kodi Augustus and Ravern Johnson in route to an 71-64 upset victory in a nationally-televised atmosphere at Humphrey Coliseum.
Less than 48 hours after having his front teeth bonded together after catching an elbow in a home loss to Vanderbilt, MSU guard Dee Bost responded by leading all players with 24 points and five assists in 38 minutes.
This season he’ll have to be even more critical to the Bulldogs (17-4, 4-2 in Southeastern Conference) success as freshman backup point guard DeVille Smith is not expected to make the trip to Gainesville for the 12:30 p.m. contest against the 14th-ranked Gators program that will constantly run talented guards at MSU’s Bob Cousy Award finalist.
“We know their guards and they know us but it should be a good matchup,” Bost said after MSU’s 76-71 victory vs. LSU Wednesday night.
Florida senior point guard Erving Walker, who scored 10 points and had nine assists (one off his career high) to just one turnover, led the Gators to their fourth straight win and second on the road during a come-from-behind victory at Ole Miss Thursday night.
“He was great,” Donovan said after the win. “I thought he made some terrific decisions with dump-down passes to Patric (Young) and some great plays to get guys open 3-point shots. That’s his role, and he was at his best tonight.”
The Gators (16-4, 4-1) walked out of Starkville last year a lot less like the Elite Eight squad they would become less than two months later and with a lot more questions like ‘how did a team using only six players more than 16 minutes win?’
“We shot ourselves in the foot by not hitting shots from the free throw line,” Florida senior forward Chandler Parsons said. “We just did not play well at all. If we make our shots it totally changes the complexion of the game.”
This season Florida has the ability to run four guards (Walker, junior Kenny Boynton, freshman Brad Beal and Rutgers transfer Mike Rosario) that average over eight points per game into its rotation of perimeter threats.
It was the hot second-half shooting that allowed Florida to avoid a mid-week upset loss at Tad Smith Coliseum against Ole Miss. The Gators clawed back from a double-digit first-half deficit to win 64-60 on Thursday night. Patric Young scored 15 points and Boynton added 12 as Florida won for the sixth time in seven games.
“The best thing for us was we never panicked,” Boynton said. “We were playing defense but they hit shots. They hit tough shots and were just killing it. In the second half we guarded the 3-point line a little better, but really, it was just kind of the law of averages.”
Sophomore guard Jalen Steele, who went scoreless in 16 minutes against Florida last year, has had back-to-back 15-point efforts and will be called upon again to handle the scoring load from off the bench giving senior Brian Bryant a breather or an opportunity to take to Bost off the ball for a short stretch at point guard.
“”He has been feeling it,” MSU coach Rick Stansbury said. “We saw a different Jalen. He has been playing with a lot of confidence coming off of the Vanderbilt game, and he made a big shot for us coming off of the bench in the second half (Wednesday). Jalen gives you a great effort every night. I have complete confi dence in Jalen.”
Last year Rodney Hood was one of the many national television viewers of MSU’s upset win of Florida as the Bulldogs pulled out the victory on CBS but this season the former Gatorade Player of the Year out of Meridian High School will be asked to contribute much more than a normal freshman normally should be.
“Although our expectations were high, he has met all of them,” Stansbury said of his guard averaging 11.5 points per game. “He constantly stays poised and never speeds up the game when he doesn’t need to. You do not see many guys with a midrange game like Rodney has.”
According to the numbers accumulated Friday morning, MSU has an RPI number right now of 35 — in the neighborhood of solid status for an at-large berth into the NCAA Tournament but wins over top talent and ranked teams especially away from Starkville would look even sweeter in a few months when the selection committee meets in Indianapolis.
Right now the Bulldogs are 3-2 versus the RPI Top 50 with wins over West Virginia, Alabama and Vanderbilt currently on its resume.
“Anytime you can win on the road it is special,” Stansbury said. “It isn’t easy to do. However, like all games, it counts as one win. Don’t get too high, don’t get too low. It is a good accomplishment but it just counts as one win.”
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 41 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.