STARKVILLE – In each of his first two seasons as Mississippi State’s men’s basketball coach, Rick Ray watched as his team crumbled down the stretch.
The Bulldogs endured 13-game losing streaks both years as MSU struggled to finish on a high note.
It’s happening again. After blowing their third halftime lead in nine Southeastern Conference road games in a 66-56 loss to Vanderbilt Wednesday night, the Bulldogs have now lost seven of their last eight games and have suffered five consecutive losses for the second time this season.
With the regular season winding to a close, the Bulldogs have just one chance to finish on a positive note. Fortunately for the Bulldogs, Saturday’s 5:30 p.m. matchup is with the one team the Bulldogs have beaten in the last eight games.
Missouri (9-21, 3-14) will come calling as both teams scramble to make something positive happen in advance on next week’s SEC Tournament.
While Missouri offers MSU the opportunity to snap a four-game losing streak at Humphrey Coliseum, Ray’s Bulldogs will have to shake off another sluggish second-half performance at Vanderbilt, one that saw MSU commit 18 turnovers in the eventual 10-point loss.
”We took away our own opportunities to score there by not taking care of the basketball,” said Ray. ”It’s the same old bugaboo.”
The miscues are not a new problem.
The Bulldogs have fumbled the ball away often this season as they commit an average of 14.9 giveaways per game.
That average ranks No. 324 nationally out of 345 Division-I teams.
Worse, the Bulldogs have nearly twice as many turnovers (446) as assists (253) this season, good for No. 342 nationally. MSU’s assist total is by far the worst among major conference teams.
“We do some good things as a basketball team,” said Ray. “We defend the ball well, we rebound.
“But it all gets lost because we can’t take care of the basketball. When you’re giving up 20 points a night on turnovers, you can’t win.”
Still, some bright spots remain. Junior guard Craig Sword scored 20 points at Vanderbilt, the fifth time he’s topped the 20-point mark this season. All five big scoring nights for Sword have come in SEC play, including 27 at Ole Miss at 26 at Tennessee.
All five have come on the road.
Sword and senior Roquez Johnson each scored 22 points in MSU’s last game against Missouri, a 77-74 win three weeks ago.
“I thought we got a little lackadaisical out there and lost some discipline,” said Ray after the win, “but fortunately we were able to hang on for the win.”
Senior Night
Against Missouri, the Bulldogs will honor Johnson and point guard Trivante Bloodman for Senior Night.
Johnson, a 6-foot-8 post player from Montgomery, Alabama, averages 9.7 points and 5.4 rebounds for the Bulldogs.
“I will always appreciate Roquez Johnson for the fact that he stayed,” said Ray of Johson. “When I got here, he was on the team and he could have gone elsewhere. He could have chosen to take another way. But he trusted in me, he trusted in this program and I will always appreciate everything he has done for this team.”
Follow Dispatch sports writer Brandon Walker on Twitter @BWonStateBeat
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