STARKVILLE — Mississippi State is preparing for a 3-point barrage.
Facing No. 18 Arkansas on Thursday in Fayetteville, the Bulldogs will take on the Southeastern Conference’s most prolific shooting team from behind the arc as they desperately search for their first victory since a Jan. 10 meeting with Ole Miss.
“We can’t let them score how they like to score consistently,” head coach Nikki McCray-Penson said. “For us, we’re going to have to match their energy and effort in transition.”
Sitting below .500 in SEC play for the first time since the 2013-14 season, MSU has been a mixed bag in defending the 3-point line. In a Jan. 3 overtime loss to Kentucky, a team that averages just under 7.4 makes per game from behind the arc, the Wildcats shot an absurd 14 of 28 from 3-point range as the Bulldog defense floundered in its help-side rotations.
It was this same meager defending that saw Alabama, the conference’s second-most prolific 3-point shooting team, knock down 11 of 30 attempts from distance during the Crimson Tide’s Jan. 14 win in Starkville.
Then there’s Arkansas.
Through 10 SEC games this winter, the Razorbacks are draining a smidge under 10 3-point buckets per contest, good for the nation’s eighth-best mark and nearly two makes more than the next closest conference opponent.
Arkansas’ offense flows through one-time Oklahoma transfer Chelsea Dungee. In 21 games this year, Dungee leads the SEC in scoring at 21.4 points per game and is one of four Arkansas players to attempt at least 96 shots from 3-point range. Of those players, all four are converting at least 36.5 percent of their 3-point shots, while guard Amber Ramirez leads the pack with a 45.6 percent conversion rate on her team-leading 125 attempts from distance.
“We have to guard them, that’s the biggest thing,” McCray-Penson said. “We have to get them out of 3s that they’re normally getting. We can’t let them get to the free throw line. We’re going to have to guard.”
Though it’s a limited measuring stick given COVID-19 related cancelations and a shorter non-conference schedule, MSU has actually improved in its 3-point defense from a year ago percentage-wise. In Vic Schaefer’s final season in Starkville, the Bulldogs surrendered a 31.7 percent 3-point shooting mark to opponents compared to just 27.7 percent this year.
That said, opponents are finding clearer looks on 3-point attempts. In 13 games this year, MSU is allowing 5.2 3-point makes per game, compared to 4.4 a season ago. The Bulldogs have also seen opponents’ made field goals jump from 22.1 to 22.5 and points per game shift from 60.6 in 2019-20 to 65.5 in 2020-21.
Having lost defensive stoppers in Jordan Danberry (graduation) and Chloe Bibby (transfer), MSU has struggled to find capable defenders in its rotation. Junior Xaria Wiggins is as good a one-on-one defender as the Bulldogs have, but she’s appeared in just five games due to varying injuries and continues to work back to full fitness.
Sophomore Rickea Jackson still projects as a capable defender given her size and length on the wing at 6-foot-2, but she’s been bogged down by offensive woes in recent weeks.
Five star-freshman Madison Hayes has been perhaps the brightest defensive spot. The third McDonald’s All-American to ever sign with MSU, Hayes currently sits tied for fourth on the team with 0.6 steals per game and second in rebounding at 4.8 per contest despite averaging just 18.5 minutes per game. More recently, she was thrust into the starting lineup the past three contests and she’s played more than 20 minutes in each of MSU’s last four games.
Facing a guard-heavy and trigger-happy Arkansas backcourt Thursday, Hayes and Wiggins will likely be called upon in a heavier fashion than they have been all season in hopes of knocking the Razorbacks off their game. If not, the Bulldogs will be headed toward a fourth straight loss in a season that hinges on its final six games amid an NCAA tournament resume that’s grown murkier by the week.
“Practices have been really energized; they’ve been really good,” McCray-Penson said in reference to MSU’s 13-day layoff since its last game. “Just trying to keep them engaged, especially with not playing and seeing everyone else play.”
Ben Portnoy reports on Mississippi State sports for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter at @bportnoy15.
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