Mississippi State men’s basketball travels to College Station today to face Texas A&M in hopes of ending a three-game losing streak.
The Bulldogs (10-8, 2-3 SEC) began conference play with positive wins against Texas and Oklahoma, producing the best defensive efficiency rating in the SEC through two games, but saw old habits pop up again in ugly losses to Kentucky and Alabama, and, most recently, a heartbreaker at home against rivals Ole Miss.
Of MSU’s eight defeats so far this season, four have been by 15 or more points, and only three of the team’s wins have been by a margin of 15 or more. In each of the last three games, MSU spent the second half chasing the game and playing at a pace dictated by their opponents. Losses to Kentucky and Alabama both featured fast starts before collapsing in the minutes leading into halftime and falling behind for the rest of the contest.
The Bulldogs have had trouble with teams getting away from them, and even in games against Utah and San Francisco, where they were able to overcome double-digit deficits in the second half, things would have been a lot easier if MSU weren’t always playing from behind.
Hot press
In Texas A&M, MSU will face an opponent that lives on rotation and has the legs to stay fresh and run away from opponents over the course of a contest. There are 11 Aggies who see regular time on the court, averaging at least 11 minutes per contest, with six players averaging at least 20 minutes and zero players averaging more than 25 minutes.
“It’s a very unique style, don’t see it very often,” Jans said. “Played against a similar style once in my career at New Mexico State. A rival team, New Mexico, had a coach in a similar style to A&M, but it’s still different. What’s unique about it, the positives are that teams don’t see it every game. You have to do different things in preparation for practice with constant pressing, constant attack mode on both ends of the floor. You’re going to see more press attacks and different ways to press in one game than we’ve seen all year long.”
The Aggies (14-4, 4-1 SEC) will host MSU after playing three of their last four games on the road, including A&M’s only conference loss at No. 24 Tennessee in a double-overtime game. They’ve had several close calls, with four of the five games decided by five points or fewer, but they’ve maintained their strength in depth throughout each contest with three different leading scorers.
“They don’t take their foot off the gas, and on the offensive end it’s the same way,” Jans said. “Make or miss, they’re trying to respond and pushing the ball and trying to get an advantage early, then they shuttle guys in and out. They play 11 guys on a consistent basis, (I) don’t think anyone plays more than 24-25 minutes per game.”
Rapid rotation
One of the standout statistics for the Aggies is the number of players involved in the rotation, but specifically the number of scorers in the rotation.
Top scorers Ruben Dominguez and Rashaun Agee both average more than 13 points per game, but Rylan Griffen, Marcus Hill, Mackenzie Mgbako and Pop Isaacs all average at least 10 per game as well, offering several dangerous rotations and pairings for the Bulldogs to deal with in College Station.
“I think they have six (players averaging 10+ points per game), which is unheard of,” Jans said. “That means they’re scoring a lot of points if you have six guys averaging double figures, but they play both ends. They put a lot of pressure on you all the time, pressure that you don’t see very often. You miss a shot, they’re picking you up, sometimes trapping you. Miss a free throw, picking you up, sometimes trapping you.”
The Bulldogs faced a similar matchup with SMU, an opponent they share with A&M this season. The Mustangs have five players averaging at least 11 points per game, and their high-scoring lineup dealt losses to both the Bulldogs and Aggies in non-conference play.
While MSU doesn’t have a deep rotation and is heavily dependent on Josh Hubbard and Jayden Epps for scoring, there has been an emergence of talent at the three and four positions to help shoulder the burden on both ends. Sergej Macura and Achor Achor have developed into solid wing options and Jamarion Davis-Fleming is much further along as a freshman big than Jans initially anticipated.
If the Bulldogs can find scoring avenues outside of the backcourt they have a chance of causing problems against the Aggies, but it will take focus to overcome the Aggies’ ever-present fast tempo. The constant interruptions in play, the rotation and matchup changes are problems Jans is more than aware of going into the matchup.
“They give you so many different looks defensively, both in the full court and half court. Sometimes they dial it back, and it’s, ‘They’re in you and then they’re not.’ It makes the game a lot of start and stop, a lot of sputtering at times and it’s all by design. It’s a heck of a challenge. I’m looking forward to the next two days of trying to get our guys in the best position to handle the situation that they’re in.”
The Bulldogs and Aggies will tip off at 8 p.m. today in College Station. The game will air on SEC Network.
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