STARKVILLE — The Mississippi State women’s basketball team has found a way all season.
Whether it was on a record-setting 20-0 start or on a current six-game winning streak, the Bulldogs have continued the program’s record-setting pace of the past four seasons. MSU has climbed to program-best No. 3 rankings in The Associated Press and USA Today Coaches polls thanks to an experienced and deep lineup that has turned blowouts against it into routs for it.
But No. 3 MSU enters the final stretch run of the regular season facing possibly its biggest challenge of the 2016-17 season. With expectations at an all-time high, MSU (26-1, 12-1) will look to keep pace with No. 6 South Carolina atop the Southeastern Conference standings when it takes on No. 23 Texas A&M (19-7, 9-4) at 4 p.m. today (SEC Network) in College Station, Texas.
A win today would give MSU a regular-season sweep of Texas A&M and would secure it at least a top-two seed in the SEC tournament on March 1-5 in Greenville, South Carolina. On Thursday, MSU guaranteed itself at least a top-four seed and a double bye with a come-from-behind 58-49 victory against Georgia at Humphrey Coliseum.
The game is part of a swing that features Kentucky (Thursday in Lexington, Kentucky) and Tennessee (next Sunday in Starkville). The final three regular-season opponents have been at or near the top of the league ever since Schaefer arrived at MSU. In that time, Schaefer has elevated MSU into the same realm of those three and, in some cases, surpassed them, which makes the challenge of this stretch even more important.
“Every night is not going to be a 20-point win,” Schaefer said Friday in media availability. “I think the thing we all get lost in — everybody — is how difficult it is on Feb. 17th to be 26-1. I can’t reiterate that enough, and we’re doing it in the biggest, baddest conference in the country.”
Schaefer continued his thought by saying it is “funny how expectations have changed so drastically in a short period of time.” He said it isn’t fair, but, like he has said all season, the Bulldogs have to embrace it, or “live it,” which is what they have done to reach their new heights.
MSU, which has a Ratings Percentage Index (RPI) of No. 4 through games played Thursday, is in position to earn a No. 1 seed for the NCAA tournament for the first time in program history. Multiple victories in the last three regular-season games would solidify that spot and, possibly, help it move up one or more spots.
In the first two NCAA Reveals by the NCAA tournament selection committee, MSU has been a No. 1 seed. The top four seeds earn the right to play host to first- and second-round games. Under the current bracketology, MSU is projected to be sent to Stockton, California, as the lowest of the four seeds.
MSU also could have an opportunity to affect its NCAA tournament seeding at the SEC tournament, where it likely will be placed on the opposite side of the bracket as South Carolina. Texas A&M, which lost to LSU on Thursday in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and Texas A&M are tied for third three games back of South Carolina and MSU.
Today’s game adds to the intrigue in that it is a return home for Schaefer, who was a longtime assistant and associate head coach for Gary Blair at Arkansas and at Texas A&M. Both men helped lead Texas A&M to the national title in 2011.
The recent struggles of multiple Bulldogs add another layer to the intrigue. Seniors Breanna Richardson and Chinwe Okorie and junior Victoria Vivians have had off games in the last few weeks. Vivians, MSU’s leading scorer at 16.5 points per game, is shooting 5 of 36 from the field in the last two games. As a result, her shooting percentage has slipped to 37.9 percent, which is lower than what she shot last season (38.2 percent) in MSU’s record-setting 28-win season.
In addition to lower production from three key players, MSU is trying to work junior transfer Roshunda Johnson back into the rotation. Johnson had two turnovers in one minute against Georgia after missing the game against Ole Miss due to precautionary medical reasons. Prior to that, she had 17 points in a win against Vanderbilt after missing the game against Missouri to be with her ailing mother in Little Rock, Arkansas.
Schaefer said senior Ketara Chapel, who has been a starter for much of her career, sophomore center Teaira McCowan, and sophomore guard Jazzmun Holmes have played well off the bench to make up for the lack of production from the others. Still, he said the Bulldogs have to “get back to work” and fix their problems.
“The season is a long way from being over,” Schaefer said. “If we’re doing things right, we’re going to be playing a while. There is time to get better. Whether you’re a freshman or a senior, there is time to get better, and we have to answer that.”
Schaefer said his players have to “look at themselves in the mirror” to address whatever issues they have. He stressed the importance of getting into the gym and doing extra work, whether it is shooting, ballhandling, or conditioning. He said that work will be vital if the Bulldogs want to realize their goals.
Schaefer has said all season that “winning masks your issues.” He also has said all along that the Bulldogs have a lot of room for improvement. He said the ability of senior Dominique Dillingham to score pushes MSU to another level. Unfortunately, MSU also struggles when Dillingham shoots like she did against Georgia (0-for-7 from the field).
Fixing those issues add a few more storylines to the next three games, which shouldn’t be new because MSU has set so many records in the last four seasons. The difference, though, is the Bulldogs rarely have had so many players working through issues at the same time, so Schaefer knows now is the time to get everybody back on track.
“We have three to go. Three monsters. Murderer’s row,” Schaefer said. “It is not OK to lose, and I don’t need to lose to wake up or to get our kids’ attention, and they shouldn’t need that, either.”
Follow Dispatch sports editor Adam Minichino on Twitter @ctsportseditor
Adam Minichino is the former Sports Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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