STARKVILLE — Mississippi State men’s basketball coach Ben Howland doesn’t need to be reminded about the last time his team played at Humphrey Coliseum.
The Bulldogs were upset by Louisiana Tech, ending a run of 26 straight nonconference home victories that was the longest active streak in the Southeastern Conference. About a week later, MSU got some of its mojo back by taking down Big 12 opponent Kansas State in the Never Forget Tribute Classic.
Now, one game away from dynamic point guard Nick Weatherspoon’s return from suspension, MSU (7-2) hosts Radford (3-6) at 7 p.m. Wednesday at Humphrey Coliseum. A lot of excitement surrounds Weatherspoon’s return and the team’s potential with him back into the lineup, but Howland refuses to let his players focus on anything other than Radford.
“I would think that the last time we played at home was a good example of to not look past anybody,” Howland said. “If anybody is naive enough to think that we can look past anybody, they haven’t learned anything. So, there’s no chance that that’s going to happen.”
Radford has one Power Five win under its belt this year after beating Northwestern on the road Nov. 19. The rest of the year has been pretty bleak, including a 22-point loss to Duquesne last time out, a 17-point defeat at the hands of Monmouth on Nov. 26 and a heartbreaking buzzer-beating loss to UNC Greensboro on Dec. 7.
“They’ve played a very difficult schedule,” Howland said … “They have a really good guard who can score, Carlik Jones, who is a good player … “This is a team that is picked to win their conference. They play a difficult nonconference schedule, and we’re going to have to play well to have success.”
Ado stepping up offensively
MSU has always relied on starting center Abdul Ado to protect the rim and rebound. He’s excelled in both areas for a majority of his collegiate career. But in the Bulldogs’ past two games, Ado has been a major contributor offensively.
Entering MSU’s ill-fated matchup with LA Tech, Ado was averaging around three points per night. He scored nine points in the home loss, then contributed 13 in MSU’s win against Kansas State. Ado’s 13 points were a season high, and he also had nine rebounds against the Wildcats.
“It’s obviously great to see him gaining confidence, and our team finding him and feeding him,” Howland said. “There’s a lot of good passes. He got a couple of really big offensive rebounds against Kansas State … It’s definitely a positive for us.”
Stewart not treating new role differently
For the first time this season, redshirt freshman guard D.J. Stewart Jr. replaced Iverson Molinar in the starting lineup against Kansas State.
Howland said he started Stewart for defensive reasons and that he flat out deserved it.
Stewart made two crucial plays in the game’s final four minutes, helping MSU to a much-needed win. On the season, Stewart is averaging nearly 10 points per game.
It’s unclear if the Grace native will start against Radford or if the Bulldogs will put Molinar back in the starting five, but both guards are expected to play heavy minutes.
Either way is fine with Stewart.
“I treat it the same (as I would coming off the bench),” Stewart said of his first start … “We have to focus on (Radford), just learn from Louisiana Tech and keep going.”
Hodge is the former sports editor for The Dispatch.
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