STARKVILLE — Vic Schaefer had to adjust his eyes.
For years, the veteran coach has watched his teams come to embrace terms like “blood baths” and “train wrecks” as part of an aggressive in-your-face style of play that revolves around suffocating defense. It’s no wonder then that Schaefer has earned the nickname “Secretary of Defense” for his players’ penchant for diving on loose balls, helping teammates by taking charges, and playing defense with a mind-set that takes it as an insult when a team scores.
So when MSU raced out of the starting blocks and scored 80 or more points in eight of its first nine games, Schaefer delighted in his team’s ability to make a scoreboard pop and acknowledged that defense often is the last thing a young basketball team takes to heart.
Sixteen games into the 2014-15 season, Schaefer isn’t sure how much things have changed.
On paper, everything is rosy. MSU has climbed to No. 17 in The Associated Press poll thanks to a program-best start. MSU passed one of its biggest tests Friday in a 64-56 victory against No. 19 Georgia on Friday at Humphrey Coliseum in the Southeastern Conference opener for both teams. MSU will put its 16-0 record and its status as one of four remaining undefeated teams in Division I basketball on the line at 2 p.m. today when it plays at Missouri.
“I wish I knew the answer,” Schaefer said Saturday when asked if his team has improved defensively from earlier in the season. “I know what the statistics say, but I think the film shows something a little different.”
The numbers say MSU leads the SEC and is eighth nationally in scoring (83.4 points per game). They also suggest the Bulldogs have turned up the intensity on defense because they have held opponents below 60 points in 11 of the past 12 games. MSU has held opponents to 30.1-percent shooting from the field in that stretch. That mark has lowered the team’s field goal defense to 33.7 percent, which is third in the SEC and 14th nationally.
So all is well with Schaefer, right?
Well, not exactly. It’s more of a mixed bag, kind of like what transpired Friday. Georgia went 5 of 11 from 3-point range in the first half against a team that is No. 1 in the nation in 3-point field goal percentage defense (18.9 percent). MSU addressed that topic at halftime and didn’t allow Georgia (0 of 10 in the second half) another 3-pointer en route to a key victory in front of a season-high crowd of 4,114.
MSU will have to play the same kind of defense it played in the second half today. Missouri, which is coming off a 63-53 loss to Tennessee on Friday, is sixth in the league in 3-point field goal shooting (32.3 percent), but it leads the league with 108 3-pointers.
Schaefer said Saturday that was part of his message to his players following the victory against Georgia. He also has stressed the importance of rebounding, especially after Arkansas-Pine Bluff had 15 offensive rebounds in MSU’s 83-26 victory on Monday and Georgia had 20 on Friday.
“We have to learn from our mistakes and not let victory sugar-coat our problems,” Schaefer said. “We still have lots of breakdowns and lots of issues. I think we play hard to an extent at certain positions. I don’t think we play hard at one position in particular. We just have to keep working. We have to understand our five parts have to work together. It doesn’t do any good for four of them to be playing their guts out and for the other one not to be.”
With 13 of 14 players apparently healthy and available against Georgia, Schaefer trimmed his rotation to 10 players, including eight who logged double-digit minutes. Sophomore center Chinwe Okorie, who started her 16th game of the season, played only eight minutes after picking up two fouls early in the game. Senior center Martha Alwal, who missed the first five games of the season returning from back surgery, played 31 minutes, one shy of her season high. She had 10 points and seven rebounds and played a key role with classmate Kendra Grant, who had 11 points and seven rebounds in a season-high 21 minutes.
MSU also received solid play at point guard from senior Jerica James (five points, four assists, one turnover, two steals in 18 minutes) and freshman Morgan William (11 points, one assist, two turnovers in 18 minutes). But Schaefer knows things will get tougher before they will get easier, so he wants his players to tighten up across the board.
“In some areas I have seen improvement, but we still aren’t tough in the paint defensively, whether it is post defense or keeping them off the offensive glass,” Schaefer said. “And that is not just a five-player issue. That is a one through five player issue.”
Schaefer also is interested to see how freshman forward Victoria Vivians rebounds from a five-point effort against Georgia. The 6-foot-1 forward entered the game leading the team in scoring (16.3 ppg.), but she was 2 of 9 from the field and tied her season-low for points with five. Senior Shacobia Barbee spent most of the night guarding Vivians and sacrificed her scoring to take her out of MSU’s offensive equation.
“When that happens the other four have to use it to their advantage because it opens up the floor for them,” Schaefer said. “The other part of that is she is going to have to become a triple-threat player and have it already in her mind that if they take this away, I am going to this. If they take that away, I have got this. You always have to be one step ahead. … She will get it. We have more than one player, so while I would like to see her get 15 a night, people are going to spend a lot of time focusing on her and that should spend a lot of time opening up for the other ones.”
Follow Dispatch sports editor Adam Minichino on Twitter @ctsportseditor
Adam Minichino is the former Sports Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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