STARKVILLE — A five-game winning streak in the middle of Southeastern Conference play would put a target on any team’s back. Especially when the second game of that streak was an upset victory over the defending national champions in front of a sold-out home crowd.
Mississippi State had vaulted itself into a tie for second place in the conference with five consecutive wins and seemed to be playing simply for SEC and NCAA Tournament seeding down the stretch. But a blowout home loss to an inferior Florida team, followed by a heartbreaking overtime defeat against the Bulldogs’ biggest rival, have brought MSU back into murkier waters.
“It’s as simple as this — we’ve been chased,” head coach Sam Purcell said. “We got up to second in the SEC at one point (and) we were being chased. Now we have to have a hunting mentality. We have to hunt the top. We can’t be comfortable, not that we ever were, but you’re getting everybody’s best shot. It’s reality.”
Putting together four complete quarters has remained an issue for the Bulldogs (20-7, 7-5 SEC). Early on in conference play, the third quarter was MSU’s Achilles heel as the Bulldogs were outscored in that period in each of their first six SEC games, with particularly catastrophic showings at Arkansas and at home against Tennessee.
More recently, the first quarter has given MSU fits. On Feb. 4 at Texas A&M, the Aggies raced out to an 11-2 lead after four minutes before the Bulldogs settled down and ultimately pulled away for the win. Against the Gators a week later, MSU trailed by 11 after the opening quarter, thanks in part to Jessika Carter going to the bench with an ankle injury. And Sunday at Ole Miss, the Rebels led 20-8 before the visitors began to weather the storm.
“We have to be a four-quarter team. In that winning streak, we were playing four quarters of winning basketball,” Purcell said. “We’ve talked about not being a third-quarter team. Now we’re not a first-quarter team. So I’m trying to find answers as a head coach to get back to (good) starts. I’ve referenced this last year, that is something I’ve always taken pride in. When we come out the gate, I’m able to adjust, but we have to figure that out really quickly.”
Scouting Kentucky
The Bulldogs are back at Humphrey Coliseum on Thursday night to battle the Wildcats (10-16, 3-9), who are still by far the worst team in the SEC as far as the NET rankings are concerned — checking in at No. 157, Kentucky is 61 spots below Georgia, the next-lowest team in the conference.
That said, MSU’s win over the Wildcats in Lexington on Feb. 1 was anything but smooth. Coming three days after the Bulldogs’ big triumph against LSU, Purcell’s team came out sluggish offensively before managing to build a seven-point halftime lead. MSU proceeded to blow that lead in the third quarter and needed to come back from a six-point deficit in the final minute to force overtime before ultimately avoiding what would have been a disastrous loss.
“I’ve talked about this with the SEC. From top to bottom, everybody’s good,” Purcell said. “Everybody’s athletic. It’s anybody’s night. Obviously it’s a team we barely beat in overtime, and I’m expecting it to be a really tough game.”
Since the teams’ last meeting, the Wildcats dropped a tight game at Georgia and were blown out by Texas A&M and Auburn before defeating Florida at home — something the Bulldogs were unable to do — by four points on Sunday. Sixth woman and South Carolina transfer Eniya Russell led Kentucky with 24 points in that win as the Wildcats outscored the Gators 27-17 in the fourth quarter.
Ajae Petty, formerly of LSU, averages a double-double with 14.3 points and 10.6 rebounds per game, ranking third in the SEC in boards. Oregon transfer Maddie Scherr is putting up 13.3 points per contest and had a team-high 19 in the first matchup with MSU.
Overall, Kentucky is at or near the bottom of the conference in most statistical categories. The Wildcats are dead last in free throw percentage (63.3), rebounds per game (34), scoring defense (74.6 points allowed per game) and opponents’ field goal percentage (46.3). They also turn the ball over more often than anyone else in the SEC, have their shots blocked the most and are ahead of only Georgia in scoring offense.
Kentucky frequently utilizes a four-guard lineup, so Purcell could counter by playing some small ball of his own. Lauren Park-Lane, Mjracle Sheppard and Jerkaila Jordan have shared the floor at times lately, and such a lineup could be a good match for the Wildcats’ speed.
“They’ve got really good players,” Purcell said. “When they are clicking and they’re on together, that’s what makes them a scary team. Even though you could easily get caught looking at their record and games lost, when they’re dialed in and they’re playing as one, they have a lot of talent and they can beat you, which we learned firsthand at their place.”
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 24 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 24 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
