STARKVILLE — Mississippi State men’s basketball coach Ben Howland decided to make a change.
Instead of starting freshman guard Tyson Carter, Howland started sophomore Xavian Stapleton on Tuesday against Alabama because he wanted a bigger defensive lineup. But the second-year MSU coach felt the move was a mistake after his team trailed by double digits for the second part of the first half.
Carter didn’t let the non-start bother him as he scored 10 points off the bench in a 68-58 to Alabama on Tuesday night at Humphrey Coliseum. The loss was MSU’s fourth-straight in a Southeastern Conference opener.
“Sitting on the bench you kind of see everything that goes on, so once you get in it’s kind of easier,” Carter said.
Carter started MSU’s first 12 games. He said Howland approached him Monday about the change and that he was fine with coming off the bench.
The 6-foot-4, 167-pound Starkville native was 4 of 7 from the field, including 2 of 3 from 3-point range. He had two rebounds and one assist in 23 minutes.
“I thought Tyson did a great job off the bench, offensively in particular,” Howland said. “He lets the game come to him. He’s got to rebound better. He doesn’t make mistakes offensively.”
Freshman center Schnider Herard drew his first career start. He started because sophomore forward Aric Holman was late for the walk-through and shootaround. With school being out until Monday, Howland called Holman’s absence “inexcusable” and said there was no reason for him to be late.
Alabama coach Avery Johnson said he contemplated changing his starting lineup after seeing MSU’s changes, but he decided against it.
Herard scored four points and had five rebounds and four fouls in 16 minutes. Holman had five points and five rebounds in 25 minutes.
Although sitting on the bench, Carter already had a reason to play well.
“I felt like I had to play better anyway. This is SEC play, we’ve all got to up our level of play,” Carter said.
Stapleton MRI
Stapleton was taken to the locker room with 10 minutes, 3 seconds remaining in the second half.
He returned to the bench some time later with his knee brace in his hand and never checked back in. Stapleton, who had to sit out last season after transferring from Louisiana Tech, tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee in August 2015 and last spring.
“Felt something he thought popped and he was like, ‘Oh no, it’s happened again,’ ” Howland said. “Our team doctors have looked at it and said, ‘No, it’s not an ACL.’ He’s going to get an MRI (today) to see if there’s anything there, and we’ll know more on that (today).”
Stapleton had five points in 14 minutes in his second start. He made his MSU debut in an 86-44 victory against Southern Mississippi on Dec. 19 in Jackson. He has played in all four games since that game.
Howland said it was “scary” when he saw Stapleton walk to the locker room.
“I was a little worried for him after everything he’s been through,” Howland said. “He actually thought he (tore his ACL again). I was very thankful that did not occur, and hopefully it’s not anything serious.”
Rebounding margin
The Crimson Tide outrebounded the Bulldogs 43-26. The minus-17 rebounding margin is the largest for the Bulldogs this season.
Howland said MSU didn’t get enough offensive rebounds and said that it was his fault for not using his bench more. The Bulldogs had five offensive rebounds to the Crimson Tide’s 12.
Mario Kegler led MSU with seven rebounds (six defensive).
Alabama freshman Dazon Ingram had a game-high nine rebounds (eight defensive).
“Rebounding is always a point of emphasis for us to be successful. Coach Avery wants me to go get the offensive rebound when I can, and on the defensive end he wants me to get the rebounds, too, to be able to push it on the break,” Ingram said.
DawgTalk begins today at the Veranda
“DawgTalk With Ben Howland” will debut from 7-8 p.m. tonight at the Veranda in Starkville.
Hosted by veteran broadcaster Jim Ellis, the show will air each Wednesday through March 1. It will feature game previews and recaps with second-year coach Ben Howland. MSU women’s coach Vic Schaefer will appear Jan. 11, Jan. 24, and Feb. 15.
Fans are encouraged to come to the show each week and can also call 866-998-4893 to be a part of the show. The show can be heard locally on the following stations: WWZQ-AM 1240, WAMY-AM 1580, WFCA-FM 107.9, and WKBB-FM 100.9. It also is available via free live audio streaming on HailStateTV (www.hailstate.com/hstvlive).
Follow Dispatch sports writer Ben Wait on Twitter @bcwait
Ben Wait reports on Mississippi State University sports for The Dispatch.
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 46 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 46 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
