Mississippi State guard Shakeel Moore played one of his best games of the season when the Bulldogs faced Alabama on Jan. 15 at Humphrey Coliseum.
The North Carolina State transfer scored 15 points thanks to a 9-for-9 performance at the foul line. He was stout on defense in MSU’s 78-76 win. And he threw down an emphatic dunk in the process.
But since scoring 18 points in the Bulldogs’ following game against Florida, Moore has gone cold. He hasn’t scored more than 10 points in any game since, and he didn’t even start Saturday in a loss at LSU.
So Mississippi State coach Ben Howland hopes something as simple as seeing the Crimson Tide across the court again Wednesday will awaken Moore from his cold spell.
After all, something has to.
“One thing I do know is the last time we played Alabama, Shakeel played really well,” Howland said.
That hardly means it’s guaranteed to happen again when the Bulldogs (14-10, 5-6 Southeastern Conference) take on the Tide (16-9, 5-6 SEC) at 6 p.m. Wednesday at Coleman Coliseum in Tuscaloosa.
But with the recent dip in production from the shooting guard spot, Mississippi State needs help desperately, and Moore is as good a candidate as any to provide it.
Howland said he hopes the sophomore guard’s strong workout Monday is a positive sign as MSU gears up for its second matchup with Alabama this season. The Crimson Tide entered the AP poll Monday as the No. 25 team in the country.
Alabama has won five of eight games since losing in Starkville a month ago. The Tide beat Arkansas, the SEC’s hottest team riding a nine-game win streak, 68-67 on Saturday in Tuscaloosa.
MSU came out on top in a similarly close game with Alabama back in January, going 28 of 38 from the free throw line — Howland said he would take a similar performance — and snaring 18 offensive rebounds to the Tide’s 13.
“I thought what we did in that game is we did a good job attacking the glass,” Howland said.
Like Mississippi State, Alabama ranks in the top 30 in offensive rebounding. The two teams are somewhat similar with strong offenses and inconsistent defenses, but the Tide possess the edge in both categories.
Guards Jaden Shackelford (17.3 points per game), Jahvon Quinerly (13.9) and Keon Ellis (11.6) lead Alabama in scoring. Quinerly — a five-star high school recruit who transferred in from Villanova — has been coming off the bench of late, something Howland expects to continue Wednesday night.
“He’s still to me just an incredibly dangerous player,” the Mississippi State coach warned.
Alabama also recently benched center Charles Bediako, allowing Juwan Gary and Noah Gurley to start at forward. Gurley had two key makes down the stretch of the Tide’s win against Arkansas, including the winning shot.
It’s nothing new for an Alabama team with the No. 1 strength of schedule in the country and the No. 1 collection of impressive wins to match. According to the KenPom.com rankings, the Tide have beaten four top-10 teams and six teams in the top 25: No. 1 Gonzaga, No. 4 Baylor, No. 8 Houston, No. 10 Tennessee, No. 16 LSU and No. 22 Arkansas.
But some of their losses have left a lot to be desired. Alabama has fallen to No. 67 Davidson, No. 86 Iona and the two worst teams in the SEC: Missouri and Georgia.
So it remains to be seen whether the Bulldogs will see Jekyll or Hyde on Wednesday night in Tuscaloosa. Regardless, they’ll need Moore to again be at his best.
“I’m counting on Shakeel to dig his way out of this shooting slump,” Howland said. “Even if he doesn’t do that — if he just does the other things that he’s capable of — he helps us.”
Murphy to undergo surgery
Freshman forward KeShawn Murphy will undergo hand surgery on Friday in Columbus, Howland said.
Murphy will have a procedure on his left hand performed by Dr. G. Chris Galjour at the Columbus Orthopaedic Clinic. The freshman from Birmingham, Alabama, is redshirting this season.
The surgery will increase Murphy’s dexterity, according to Howland; his legs are improving after an unspecified injury that has kept him out all season.
Howland said Murphy has been doing individual drills but will be “incapacitated” and unable to play any basketball for about six weeks.
Theo DeRosa reports on Mississippi State sports for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter at @Theo_DeRosa.
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