JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — You’ll have to forgive Dominique Dillingham if she isn’t well versed on 1980s pop music.
The Mississippi State junior guard wasn’t born until 1995, so it’s not surprising she didn’t recognize or know the words to Kool and the Gang’s song “Celebration” as it blared throughout Veterans Memorial Arena on Sunday afternoon.
Sitting in the MSU locker room, Dillingham could hear the song, which was released in 1980, and the sounds of the South Carolina women’s basketball team celebrating its 66-52 victory in the championship game of the Southeastern Conference tournament. Afterward, Dillingham admitted she liked the song. She also acknowledged she didn’t care for sitting in the locker room while another team celebrated.
“I didn’t like to hear it not for us,” Dillingham said.
None of the Bulldogs enjoyed watching confetti fall from the rafters and the Gamecocks celebrating the final step on a 19-0 run through the SEC. Despite the disappointment of losing to South Carolina for the second time this season, there were plenty of signs of growth for MSU. A year after losing as a No. 3 seed in the SEC tournament, MSU backed up its second-straight No. 3 seed with a victories against Vanderbilt and Tennessee on Friday and Saturday. The win against the Lady Volunteers was the Bulldogs’ second in a row after losing the first 36 meetings.
The 2-1 showing at the SEC tournament left MSU at 26-7 entering a week off prior to the announcement of the NCAA tournament’s 64-team field next Monday. MSU has assured itself a bid, but the only question is where it will wind up. On Saturday, Charlie Creme, espnW’s bracketologist, moved MSU from a No. 5 seed at Florida State to a No. 5 seed at Syracuse. He said online that MSU could move up to a No. 4 seed for a chance to play host to the first and second rounds of the NCAA tournament if it defeated South Carolina on Sunday.
Unfortunately for the Bulldogs, that didn’t happen. Now they will have to play a waiting game and see if any other top seeds stumble in their conference tournaments. MSU’s best team to watch is DePaul, which was a No. 4 seed, according to Creme, on Sunday prior to its game against Butler in the Big East Conference tournament.
MSU coach Vic Schaefer has stayed away from speculation about his team’s chances of earning an opportunity to play host to the first and second rounds of the NCAA tournament for the first time. He mentioned the words “NCAAs” in his post-game remarks, saying he feels his team is “built for it,” meaning the grind of playing in a conference tournament, or in two games on a weekend knowing that a loss ends your season.
Schaefer didn’t use playing three games in three days as an excuse for his team’s loss Sunday, even though he admitted the 58-48 victory against Tennessee was a “physical and emotional game.” He said turnovers, especially ones at the top of the key, proved to be too much to overcome against a South Carolina team with size, speed, and experience.
That being said, Schaefer feels the Bulldogs’ resume warrants consideration for a top-16 seed, especially since the SEC is the No. 2 league in terms of conference Ratings Percentage Index (RPI) behind the Pacific-12 Conference.
“We have won 13 SEC games. We tied for second in this league and we just played for the championship of the tournament,” Schaefer said. “If that is not enough, it’s a shame. I think our kids have done enough. We have done it in a very difficult conference. What more can you say? Thirteen SEC games, really?”
A year ago, MSU was in a similar position with a RPI in the high 20s and a Strength of Schedule (SOS) in the low 70s. It entered the game against South Carolina with a RPI of 22 and a SOS of 69. Both stats figured to improve after playing the No. 3 team in the nation.
Still, Schaefer wasn’t sure if his team’s resume was going to be good enough to play at home again and build on a season in which the program set an overall attendance record of 80,705, which included a state of Mississippi record crowd of 10,626 for the first meeting against South Carolina.
“I think it is a tremendous accomplishment for any team to win 13 conference games in any league, much less in our league,” Schaefer said. “But I don’t have a voice or a vote, so we will see how it all plays out.”
Dillingham agreed MSU is “built for” the rigors of elimination basketball in March. She feels the team learned lessons from losing to Duke in the second round of the NCAA tournament last season in Durham, North Carolina. She also feels the Bulldogs learned lessons in their three-game run to the SEC tournament title game.
“We were in the game at the four-minute mark (in the second quarter) and we kind of fell apart,” Dillingham said. “That was a make-it or break-it point for us where we lost the game. We competed with them all night long. I think that little stretch kind of broke us, but we can compete with anybody. We’re learning to build together. Everybody is learning how to do more things.”
Next season, Dillingham, Breanna Richardson, and Ketara Chapel will be seniors. Chinwe Okorie, who sat out her freshman season, could earn another year of eligibility, but all of the Bulldogs will be older and more experienced. MSU figures to gain scoring punch and experience with the addition of Roshunda Johnson, a transfer from Oklahoma State. Standout recruit Jacaira Allen also has the potential to make a difference
Dillingham said the positive MSU can take from losing to South Carolina is it now knows how it feels to reach a SEC title game — the second one in school history — and to hear another team celebrating a championship. She doesn’t want to experience that feeling again. That’s why she, too, is eager to get back on the court and play in the NCAA tournament.
“No matter where we play we will be ready,” Dillingham said. “We have a really good basketball team. We will be ready no matter where we land or if we host or if we don’t host.”
Follow Dispatch sports editor Adam Minichino on Twitter @ctsportseditor
Adam Minichino is the former Sports Editor for The Commercial 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 40 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 40 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
