STARKVILLE — In Josh Hubbard and Tolu Smith, Mississippi State has the foundation for any successful college basketball team: one star at point guard and another in the post.
But Hubbard and Smith cannot win games for the Bulldogs all by themselves, especially when Smith has been held in check for just six total points over his last three first halves. MSU will need more from the rest of the roster — particularly if Hubbard is unable to maintain his recent torrid scoring pace — as the Bulldogs (19-12, 8-10 Southeastern Conference) try to snap a four-game losing streak and lock up a trip to the NCAA Tournament.
Luckily for head coach Chris Jans and company, several of MSU’s veterans have continued to play well even during the skid. Fifth-year guard Dashawn “Rams” Davis had 15 points on 4-for-5 shooting from 3-point range in last Wednesday’s six-point loss at Texas A&M, playing 33 minutes despite coming off the bench. That performance earned him a start Saturday against South Carolina, and Davis poured in 16 points on 5-for-8 from the floor.
“We’re different when he’s engaged and the head of the snake defensively and getting into the ball,” Jans said. “He plays better offensively when he does that, too. Offense is a lot about confidence, and Rams is like a lot of players out there. When the ball goes through the net, his confidence rises, and when it doesn’t, it goes the other way. That’s the biggest thing with him, to see the ball go through the net both in practice and in games.”
Senior forward Cameron Matthews, who typically spearheads the Bulldogs’ defensive efforts, played 41 minutes in the overtime loss to the Gamecocks and tied a season high with 18 points to go along with 11 rebounds. To take some pressure off Davis and Hubbard, Matthews was also MSU’s primary ball handler at times, which also allows Jans to use his guards off the ball — as spacers, screensetters or even decoys.
The Bulldogs played well offensively Saturday against the SEC’s best defensive team, but their defense again let them down, particularly late in the game. Against an admittedly difficult stretch to close the regular season, with three ranked opponents in four games, MSU allowed an average of just over 80 points even after taking out the overtime period in the South Carolina game.
“By sheer numbers, it was a very poor performance by us defensively in terms of efficiency,” Jans said. “I’ve said over and over that our defense is not about certain matchups. There’s times where we want them to dominate that matchup, but overall, everybody’s involved in guarding the ball and having responsibilities depending on what’s going on. We just didn’t do a very good job against South Carolina.”
Scouting LSU
The No. 9 seed Bulldogs will begin their run in the SEC Tournament in Nashville, Tenn., against the No. 8 seed Tigers (17-14, 9-9), a team MSU defeated by 20 points in Baton Rouge on Feb. 24. That game still represents the Bulldogs’ last win, while LSU won three of its last four regular-season contests by taking advantage of a soft schedule. The Tigers defeated Georgia, Vanderbilt and Missouri in that stretch with a road loss against Arkansas.
Hubbard went off for 32 points in the teams’ last meeting, shooting 6-for-12 from deep, and Smith and KeShawn Murphy were each one rebound shy of a double-double. MSU held LSU to 3-for-17 from behind the arc and held the Tigers’ guards in check outside of Trae Hannibal, who averages 6.4 points per game but scored 22 that night.
“They’ve had really good 3-point shooting numbers the majority of the year,” Jans said. “They’re still doing that, percentage-wise, but from what I see in the four games they’ve played since us is they’re a little more aggressive offensively in terms of pushing the basketball and trying to score early.”
LSU is in fact fourth in the SEC in 3-point percentage despite the brick-fest against the Bulldogs, who have the conference’s best perimeter defense. Jordan Wright, the Tigers’ best healthy player, scores 15.1 points per game with 7-footer Will Baker also in double figures on average.
Most bracket experts see MSU as firmly in the NCAA Tournament field with a win Thursday, while a loss may well leave the Bulldogs on the wrong side of the bubble.
“Most of these kids have played in conference tournaments,” Jans said. “It’s just different. The intensity is different, what you’re playing for is different. It’s survive and advance, win or go home. Nobody wants to do that; everybody wants to stay as long as possible. What you’ll see is hyper-intense basketball games from everybody that’s down there. Hopefully we’re going to be one of those teams that figures out ways to win games.”
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