STARKVILLE — Craig Sword knows why the Mississippi State men’s basketball team’s next game is critical.
Last season, MSU suffered a 32-point loss to Alabama and allowed that negative energy to carry over to 12 more devastating Southeastern Conference losses in a row. Following an 80-61 loss to Alabama on Wednesday at Coleman Coliseum, Sword hopes the same malaise won’t envelope MSU.
“We just have to look past the Alabama game and move on,” Sword said. “That’s something we didn’t do last year. We would stay on that last game way too long and it would carry over. We can’t do that now.”
Sword, a sophomore guard, had 12 points against the Crimson Tide (8-8, 2-1 SEC). He said MSU’s performance lacked effort and had less to do with its lack of depth or experience.
With Texas A&M (12-4, 3-0) riding a four-game winning streak entering its game against MSU (11-5, 1-2) at 12:30 p.m. Saturday (WCBI) at Humphrey Coliseum, MSU coach Rick Ray knows his program has to regroup to avoid falling into a losing skid.
“We haven’t had a lot of success here, but when we do, our guys get so wrapped up in that success and they don’t carry it over in the next game,” Ray said. “After some success we don’t remember who we are as players and people.”
Following the 16th loss by 15 points or more in Ray’s 48-game tenure in Starkville, the Bulldogs’ second-year head coach said he was more disappointed with his team’s lack of accountability and maturity than anything he saw on the floor.
“We started off doing what we can’t do and that’s shooting jump shots and turning over the basketball,” Ray said. “Eventually those two things carry over into not following simple instructions on defense as well to allow (Alabama) to have some momentum early.”
Sophomore center Gavin Ware said MSU has to find a way to execute its game plan more efficiently so it can overcome the ups and downs in a game.
“We have to find a way to handle adversity, and we didn’t do what we were supposed to do before the game and then make any adjustments as players at halftime to jump over that hill and win the game,” Ware said . “We just weren’t tuned in. We had guys going in and out, and it was very difficult for us to find that spark with any combination.”
Texas A&M coach Billy Kennedy’s team is coming off a 75-67 victory against South Carolina on Wednesday. The Aggies also have victories against Arkansas and Tennessee in league play. Against South Carolina, Shawn Smith hit a 3-pointer in front of the home bench as the shot clock expired to give Texas A&M a 61-57 lead with 5 minutes, 51 seconds left. With a season-high crowd providing a home-court advantage, Texas A&M then forced a turnover on a shot clock violation to build the momentum.
“The whole possession really epitomized the game for us,” Kennedy said. “We had to grind that whole possession out, and we had a guy who hadn’t shot it that great from three hit a big shot in the corner.”
Texas A&M is on its first three-game winning streak in conference play under Kennedy, who is in his third year with the Aggies. The victory helped Texas A&M stay atop the SEC standings with No. 7 Florida at 3-0.
“Everyone showed up tonight because we needed it,” Texas A&M leading scorer Jamal Jones said.
Texas A&M is allowing 60.2 points per game, which is second to the Florida’s 59.6 in the SEC. The Aggies’ defense likely will force the Bulldogs to hit from the perimeter, which is something they couldn’t do against the Crimson Tide. Alabama’s defense held Sword to 12 points and six free throw attempts. The loss was the first game Sword and his teammates had trouble finishing attacking the basket.
“A lot of that has to do with talent, too,” Ray said. “We’re not a good finishing team at the rim, and it shows sometimes when we miss point-blank range layups.”
MSU could be without point guard IJ Ready, who suffered a head injury on a fall to the floor Wednesday. Ray said he was fairly certain the 5-foot-10 freshman suffered concussion symptoms before he received a diagnosis.
Follow Matt Stevens on Twitter @matthewcstevens.
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