Mississippi State men’s basketball coach Ben Howland has transitions on his mind.
Not only is Howland preparing to lead the Bulldogs into the grind of an 18-game Southeastern Conference schedule — during a pandemic, no less — but Mississippi State’s very first SEC game will be an early test of its strength and stamina as the 2020-21 campaign rolls on.
That’s because Georgia, the first opponent on the conference slate for Howland’s maroon and white Bulldogs, has used a potent transition offense to get out to a 7-0 start.
“They’re coming at you so hard,” Howland said during Monday’s media availability session. “They run the floor so hard.”
Georgia pushes the ball hard off both made shots and misses, taking 34.5 percent of its field goal attempts in transition — good for No. 13 in the country, one spot behind the unstoppable offensive force that is Gonzaga, the nation’s top-ranked team.
So when Mississippi State (5-3) visits its fellow Bulldogs at 6 p.m. Wednesday in Athens, Howland knows what his team will be up against.
“It’s going to be a very formidable opponent, and we’re going to have to play really well to have success on the road at Georgia on Wednesday,” the coach said.
Howland’s Bulldogs have taken care of business in each of their past two games, wins of 16 and 39 points against Central Arkansas and Mississippi Valley State, respectively.
And though neither the Bears nor Delta Devils — the worst team in Division I, per KenPom.com — is a world-beater, Georgia’s opponents thus far this season have generally lacked quality, too.
The best win for the red and black Bulldogs came Dec. 19 against Cincinnati, an 83-68 Georgia win. But third-year coach Tom Crean’s team hasn’t played anyone near the level of the Bearcats, KenPom’s No. 77 team; Georgia’s next-best win is against No. 147 Montana. Plus, all seven games have been in the friendly confines of Stegeman Coliseum in Athens.
That doesn’t mean Howland is ready to write off his foes, though. As of the end of MSU’s win over Valley on Dec. 21, the coach had yet to watch any film from Georgia’s first six games; he’s now watched quite a few. And what Howland has seen has left him impressed.
On Monday, apart from Georgia’s willingness to get out and run (the Bulldogs’ tempo ranks 19th in the country), Howland pointed to his opponents’ offensive rebounding rate of 38.6 percent, No. 11 in the nation. He noted that Georgia sits one spot ahead of Mississippi State in total rebounding, something that will be critical Wednesday evening.
“We’ve got to do a great job of blocking them out,” Howland said.
He also brought up the multiple defenses Crean and his staff employ: a zone (that can feature the occasional trap), man-to-man and a rare but effective press. Georgia ranks 10th in the country in steal percentage, making each Mississippi State possession crucial.
“We’ve got to handle the ball, take care of the ball, make good decisions with it,” Howland said.
Despite Georgia’s excellence in a few key areas, though, Wednesday’s matchup is far from a mismatch. Mississippi State slots in at No. 81 in the KenPom rankings; Georgia is just behind at 85th.
Howland stressed that getting his key players fresh ahead of Wednesday’s game and the rest of the Bulldogs’ season will be paramount. He said he plans to deploy an eight- or nine-man rotation, pointing to guards Iverson Molinar and D.J. Stewart and forwards Tolu Smith and Abdul Ado as the team’s likely minutes leaders going forward.
With 18 SEC games and a Jan. 30 SEC/Big 12 Challenge contest against Iowa State, the Bulldogs will certainly need to be ready.
“We’ve got a grueling 19-game schedule ahead of us against really good teams night in, night out, and having stamina and keeping ourselves fresh will be very important to having success,” Howland said.
Theo DeRosa reports on Mississippi State sports for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter at @Theo_DeRosa.
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