STARKVILLE — Coaches throw out platitudes all of the time in their post-game news conferences.
That’s why it wasn’t surprising to hear Arkansas women’s basketball coach Jimmy Dykes praise No. 7 Mississippi State on Sunday after his team dropped an 80-55 decision at Humphrey Coliseum. Dykes said the Bulldogs are more than a one-player team even though sophomore guard Victoria Vivians — the team’s leading scorer at 17.9 points per game — attracts most of the attention, at least when it comes to offense.
“(MSU coach) Vic (Schaefer) has got a good ballclub,” Dykes said. “They are better than they were last year. I know that.”
But how much better is MSU when compared to the 2014-15 team? It depends on which numbers you decide to examine as No. 7 MSU (16-1, 3-0 Southeastern Conference) prepares to face No. 24 Missouri (14-2, 1-2) at 7 tonight in Columbia, Missouri.
The Bulldogs enter the matchup with a chance to start the season 4-0 in SEC play for the first time in program history. MSU was in a similar position last season thanks to an 18-game winning streak to open the campaign, but a loss at Vanderbilt ended that run and a 3-0 start in the SEC.
This season, MSU has recorded its highest ranking in program history in The Associated Press Top 25 and in the USA Today poll (No. 6), which is voted on by Division I coaches. In 18 other statistical categories measured by the SEC, MSU is better in 11 compared to last season. The difference is minimal in several of the categories, including scoring offense (+1.6 ppg. better), scoring defense (0.4 ppg. better), and field goal percentage (0.5 percent better), so it is hard to get a definitive answer from numbers.
That being said, MSU hasn’t lost a game it was supposed to win this season. Schaefer made a similar argument about the 2014-15 team, which lost double-overtime games to LSU and Kentucky and still went on to record a program-best 27 wins and advance to the second round of the NCAA tournament.
This year’s team has its sights set on eclipsing those marks. Improved production and efficiency in terms of rebounding margin (+9.9 per game), assists (16.8), turnover margin (+10.1), assist-to-turnover ratio (+1.2), and 3-pointers made (6.4) show the Bulldogs might have the depth and versatility to realize those goals.
Schaefer, though, isn’t convinced.
“There are days I think we are a lot better than last year, but then there are some days I don’t think we are as good,” Schaefer said. “That doesn’t surprise me.”
MSU’s fourth-year head coach isn’t surprised by his team’s ebbs and flows because of its youth. Juniors Ketara Chapel, Dominique Dillingham, and Breanna Richardson are the team’s biggest contributors with the most experience.
Junior Chinwe Okorie would be in that group, too, but she sat out her freshman year due to NCAA eligibility issues, so she is only in her second season of action. Other than Chapel, Dillingham, and Richardson, MSU relies on sophomores and freshmen to carry the load, which bodes well for the future, particularly with the anticipated arrival of newcomers like Jacaira “Iggy” Allen next season and Myah Taylor in 2017-18. MSU also will add point guard Roshunda Johnson to the mix next season. Johnson is sitting out this season after transferring from Oklahoma State.
With plenty of options in the backcourt, Schaefer has been most pleased with the production Okorie and freshman Teaira McCowan have delivered at center. Okorie (8.4 ppg., 6.5 rebounds per game) and McCowan (8.7, 6.9) combine to average 17.1 ppg. and 13.4 rpg., which is better than the combination of Martha Alwal and Okorie (12.9, 10.3) last season.
“I think our five players, our two-headed monster, is statistically off the chart,” Schaefer said. “That position averages 13 rebounds a game and close to 20 points a game, so I think that position is really solid right now. I think it is better in most regards (compared to last season).”
Schaefer said Okorie and McCowan are still learning on defense, especially when it comes to helping their teammates. He said Alwal was so valuable because she was a strong help defender who could erase defensive mistakes by blocking shots.
Schaefer also said the point guard combination of sophomore Morgan William and freshman Jazzmun Holmes is “getting better every week.” William, who served as an understudy last season to senior Jerica James, has come on in the last month and is scoring and assisting at a higher rate than James (9.1 ppg., 5.4 assists per game/5.8, 3.1) compared to this time last season.
Schaefer also likes the contributions sophomore Blair Schaefer and Kayla Nevitt have provided off the bench.
“I think this team, as I have said, has a chance to be better,” Schaefer said. “But I don’t want to be as good as the 2014-15 team. I want to be better than that team.”
A key to realizing that goal is winning games like tonight’s matchup. The Tigers are back home after a week that saw them lose at home to Tennessee (71-55), win at Georgia (54-48), and lose at South Carolina (83-55). Freshman Sophie Cunningham leads Missouri in scoring (14.3 ppg.) and field goal percentage (54.3 percent).
Junior Jordan Frericks, the Tigers’ leading rebounder (7.8), paces the team in scoring (10.3 ppg.) in the SEC.
In October 2015, Schaefer was asked if his team was ready to face the expectations of the 2015-16 season. At the time, MSU was ranked just outside the top 10.
“Are we ready? I think that is yet to be seen,” Schaefer said. “I think the one thing this team has done a great job of is they haven’t drank the Kool-Aid. They have done a good job of putting their head down and going to work. I think they have done a good job of doing that and getting ready for the next day or the next week. We don’t get caught up too much in all of the hype.
“I was proud of them last year because, obviously, they made some pretty big strides in a short period of time, and I thought they handled it extremely well. I thought the only game we didn’t handle that really well was the Vanderbilt game there when we were 18-0. I think it just finally caught up to us a little bit.
“The team has a different feel for me in that I think a little bit we have been under the radar the three years I have been here. Those days are over. Are we going to be able to embrace all these expectations out there that people have of us, think we should have? That is the challenge.”
So far, MSU has been up to the challenge. It has established itself as a top-10 team in both polls and it has a tough loss at Texas and an impressive victory against nationally ranked South Florida at a neutral site in its two biggest games. Tonight’s game should give MSU another opportunity to show it has taken another step from last season and that it is ready to contend for a SEC title.
“It is all a learning process,” Schaefer said. “I don’t think anybody is drinking the Kool-Aid. There are days when we’re real young and we act young. … The one thing this team has done is when the lights come on they have competed. I have been pleased there. They have played the game awfully hard and are honoring the game and respecting the game, and that has to do with how you play the game. They have done a good job of that. I don’t think we have stuck our head in the clouds. They are trying to keep their heads in our locker room and let everybody else do what they want to do.”
MSU also is better this season in free throw percentage (72.5 percent), offensive rebounding (19.7), and average home attendance (4,214). The 2014-15 team is statistically better than the 2015-16 team in scoring margin, field goal percentage defense, 3-point field goal percentage, 3-point field goal percentage defense, blocked shots, steals, and defensive rebounds.
Follow Dispatch sports editor Adam Minichino on Twitter @ctsportseditor
Adam Minichino is the former Sports Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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