STARKVILLE – There’s no rest for the weary.
And for Mississippi State’s basketball team there’s no time to sulk after watching Ole Miss guard Stefan Moody pour in a career-high 29 points to win in the Humphrey Coliseum for the fourth time in the last three decades Thursday night.
There’s no time for any of that, because approximately 42 hours after Ole Miss pulled out of Starkville with a 71-65 win, No. 18 Arkansas is pulling in to take on the Bulldogs at 3 p.m. on Saturday afternoon.
“This is the first time we’ve had this quick turnaround,” said MSU coach Rick Ray, whose team fell to 12-14 on the season, 5-8 in Southeastern Conference play Thursday night. “We have to look at why we lost this game and we’ve got to address it. We also have to mentally prepare for a very good Arkansas team.”
Being prepared against Arkansas will be key for MSU, which scored a season-low 41 points – nine in the first half – in a 20-point loss in Fayetteville two weeks ago. Now, on the heels of their third loss in the last four games, MSU must rebound quickly to take on a Razorbacks’ team that is firmly in contention for an NCAA Tournament berth.
“It’s very disheartening that we lost to (Ole Miss),” said MSU guard Fred Thomas. “But we will get over it and be ready for Arkansas. We have to find a way to protect our home court.”
That’s something MSU hasn’t done since a Jan. 31 win over LSU, a stretch that now includes home losses to Alabama and Ole Miss. In the Feb. 7 loss at Arkansas, All-SEC forward Bobby Portis lifted the Razorbacks, scoring 19 points and grabbing 11 rebounds to turn back an MSU squad that made just two of 21 shots in the first half.
For Thomas, the key for the Bulldogs is to put that game in the rearview mirror.
“Just come out and play hard,” said Thomas. “I think we came out pretty slow. They made a couple shots. You can’t come out slow against teams like that. You have to play hard every possession.”
Junior guard Craig Sword, still dejected after the Ole Miss loss, agreed.
“We can’t worry about how we played up there,” said Sword, who scored a team-high 19 points against the Rebels. “That game is over. We just have to get into our scouting report and be ready to play on Saturday.”
According to Ray, one crucial point for MSU will be the ability to quickly move on from the loss to Ole Miss and get ready for Arkansas.
“This loss hurts,” said Ray, who is now 2-5 against his arch-rival. “Just the fact that we played so well and did some good things in spurts. It hurts to lose any game, not just a game to Ole Miss. But we have to put that aside now and be ready for a very good basketball team.”
n Johnson possibly out: MSU might have lost more than a game on Thursday night. Forward Roquez Johnson, MSU’s leading scorer on the year, missed the final 25 minutes of the game after sustaining an apparent head injury late in the first half.
After the game, Ray couldn’t comment on Johnson’s availability for Arkansas.
“We will have to evaluate that, see where he is,” said Ray. “Obviously he hasn’t gone through any tests yet but it’s possibly a concussion. We will see where it’s at and we will make any decision that has to be made.”
Follow Dispatch sports writer Brandon Walker on Twitter @BWonStateBeat
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