TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Mississippi State men’s basketball coach Rick Ray knew his scouting report wasn’t understood and likely would be executed poorly.
Hours before MSU’s game against Alabama on Wednesday night, Ray saw mannerisms and attitudes in the team’s shoot-around at Coleman Coliseum that made him believe his team wasn’t mentally ready for a Southeastern Conference road game.
“Let’s just be honest, we’re not talented enough to not be locked in at this point in time,” Ray said.
Ray knew the task would be to contain senior guard Trevor Releford, but MSU was unable to execute that game plan, as the SEC’s sixth-leading scorer had a game-high 28 points in a 80-61 victory.
“Trevor Releford is good player, and it’s no big secret he went out and played the way he did tonight,” Ray said. “We made Trevor Releford better than he is by not doing what we’re supposed to be doing with our defensive assignments.”
Releford maneuvered his way through a mix of defenses and players designed to go 10 of 13 from the field. At one point in the first half, the 6-foot guard had 14 of the Alabama’s first 20 points and had six straight baskets to help the Crimson Tide improve to 8-8 and 2-1 in the SEC.
“We simply didn’t do what we were supposed to do from a scouting report standpoint,” Ray said. “When you are game planning for something and the opposite happens, you aren’t going to have any success. Our whole plan was to hold on to Trevor Releford and he went off.”
In the days leading up to the game, Ray said his task was to bring his players back down to reality following a 76-72 home victory against Ole Miss. Once again, the Bulldogs’ second-year coach was less than pleased with team’s reaction to success.
“We haven’t had a lot of success here, but when we do our guys get so wrapped up in that success and they don’t carry it over in the next game,” Ray said. “After some success we don’t remember who we are as players and people.”
On the other end, Alabama coach Anthony Grant praised his team for what he called “scouting report defense” by recognizing MSU’s path to success was taking the ball to basket. The Crimson Tide contested every shot, and their commitment to defense allowed only sophomore Craig Sword (12 points) to be the only perimeter player to score in double figures.
“We made it a point of emphasis to guard without fouling because Craig Sword was getting to the line 14 times a game, which is spectacular,” Grant said. “We went into practice constantly reminding our guys to not let them penetrate into the lane, and we did a great job of that.”
Releford, who came into Coleman Coliseum averaging 18.2 points per game, abused point guards IJ Ready and Trivante Bloodman. Releford’s only mistake was picking up a technical foul for trash talking Bloodman following a layup for his 14th point.
“It is definitely fun when you execute as a team and you are doing everything right,” Releford said. “Coach Grant preaches how fun that can be to us every single day.”
With 12 minutes, 19 seconds remaining, Releford forced Ray to call timeout following back-to-back 3-pointers that gave Alabama a 53-35 lead. At that point, Releford had 20 points and was 7 of 9 from the field thanks to wide-open looks.
“When the second three went down, I was telling him to shoot another one,” Alabama freshman forward Shannon Hale said.
Due to limited depth and early foul concerns, MSU (11-5, 1-2) eventually had to go with a lineup that featured 6-5 Fred Thomas as its tallest player. MSU’s inability to defend without fouling allowed Alabama to shoot 58.6 percent after a 1-of-6 start.
The loss represented MSU’s 16th loss by 15 points or more in Ray’s 48-game tenure in Starkville.
Just four nights removed from getting to the free throw line 41 times against Ole Miss, MSU had 16 attempts. MSU’s lack of aggressiveness against Alabama’s mix of full-court traps and zone defense led to its downfall.
“Nobody came prepared, and coach (Ray) said he could tell from the walk-through we weren’t prepared at all for this game mentally or physically,” Sword said.
For the first time since the 2007-08 season, MSU has a losing record in the SEC after three games. It will play host to Texas A&M (12-4, 3-0) at 12:30 p.m. Saturday.
Follow Matt Stevens on Twitter @matthewcstevens.
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