STARKVILLE — It wasn’t the end to nonconference play that Mississippi State men’s basketball wanted.
Leading for a good portion of Tuesday’s game against Drake, it looked as though the No. 15 Bulldogs, even against their best nonconference opponent, would prevail, taking a 12-0 record into conference play.
However, the finale of that game was anything but as MSU fell, 58-52, to its fellow Bulldog opponent in Lincoln, Nebraska, its first loss of the season.
An 11-1 record before the daunting task of playing in the Southeastern Conference, especially under first-year head coach Chris Jans.
Here’s a quick synopsis of the “first half” of the 2022-23 season.
Defense reigns supreme
When Jans came to Starkville, it was almost a guarantee that the defensive side of Mississippi State would pick up, as during his coaching career, his teams have produced great defensive statistics.
The same is very much true for the Bulldogs, who — despite some higher point totals given up toward the end of nonconference play — are still third in the country in points allowed.
MSU has given up just 52.6 points a game this season and has allowed opponents to shoot 35.85 percent from the field, sixth best in the nation.
Mississippi State is among the best at rebounds per game, 3-point percentage allowed, rebound margin and turnover margin.
The Bulldogs have played together as a team and have played great team defense against quality opponents like Marquette, Utah and Drake, just to name a few.
As it stands, that mark would easily set a new program record for lowest scoring defense, nearly five points per game lower than the current record of 57.5 PPG allowed during the 1981-82 season.
Offensive struggles loom large as schedule turns over to SEC
The defensive success that the Bulldogs have sustained in the early going is something to be revered, but on the other side of the basketball, the offense is a large area of concern.
It’s a good thing that the Bulldogs have a top-five scoring defense in the nation, because right now, MSU is tied for 279th in the country in scoring offense, scoring 68.2 points a game.
That turns into a point differential of +15.6 overall, but among SEC schools, Mississippi State is in the bottom three, ranked 12th of 14, with Vanderbilt and South Carolina scoring less on average overall.
Mississippi State is also 11th in the conference and is tied for 262nd in the nation with a 42.7 percent field goal percentage on the season.
Both of those numbers are concerning with teams like Tennessee, Alabama, Kentucky and more coming up on the schedule.
Missouri, which just defeated No. 16 Illinois in a neutral-site game on Thursday, is 11-1 because the Tigers lead the conference and are top-five in the nation in field goal percentage and scoring offense.
MSU might have gotten away with bad shooting games in nonconference play, but once SEC play rolls around, every missed shot and missed scoring opportunity is that much more crucial.
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