Bulldogs Pick Up 20th Win, 66-43 Over Vanderbilt
May 25, 2016 | Men's Basketball
| Mario Austin dives to knock the ball away from Vanderbilt's Brian Thornton. (AP Photo/John Russell) |
Mario Austin scored 23 points and Mississippi State won a crucial SEC game 66-43 Wednesday over Vanderbilt.
With three regular-season games to play, the Bulldogs (20-7, 7-6 SEC) are in contention for their first NCAA bid in six years.
"It was a big win for us, no question," said Mississippi State coach Rick Stansbury. "Our team is fighting for NCAA positioning and we need to win games. Every game at this point in the season is important.
"We feel for sure our team has to be at least 8-8 in this league with our RPI and our strength of schedule."
Vanderbilt (14-12, 4-9) suffered through another dismal offensive performance and lost for the sixth time in its last seven games.
Mississippi State had lost five of six SEC road games before handling the Commodores with relative ease.
"We've gone into the locker room on the road ahead several games (this year) and we come back out and found a way to lose some focus," Stansbury said. "Tonight we never lost focus."
Junior forward Michal Ignerski scored 10 points for the Bulldogs, and point guard Derrick Zimmerman had 10 points, five assists and four rebounds.
Mississippi State held Vanderbilt to 31 percent shooting, including 2-for-20 (10 percent) from 3-point range.
"I thought defensively tonight we were very, very good," Stansbury said. "They got no easy looks tonight."
The Bulldogs shot 57 percent from the field and outrebounded Vanderbilt 41-19.
The Bulldogs took command of the game in the first half with a 14-2 run, taking an 18-6 lead. Vanderbilt missed 10 of 11 shots during that stretch, while Austin scored eight points during the run for the Bulldogs.
Mississippi State led 30-18 at halftime and then put together a 13-2 run early in the second half to take a 45-25 lead with 13:30 to play. Vanderbilt never came closer than 15 the rest of the way.
The victory was the Bulldogs' first at Vanderbilt since 1992 and was their largest SEC road victory since winning at Florida by 25 in 1990.
"We're a fragile group right now," said Vanderbilt coach Kevin Stallings, whose team had only four assists and 18 turnovers. "We're having trouble passing the ball to guys that are 10 feet away. We're not playing with any confidence."
MISSISSIPPI STATE (20-7)
Gholar 0-2 0-0 0, Ignerski 5-6 0-0 10, Austin 9-13 5-8 23, Zimmerman 5-7 0-0 10, Patterson 2-5 2-2 6, Goffer 1-2 0-0 3, Campbell 1-2 0-0 2, Gardner 0-0 0-0 0, Bowers 3-7 0-0 7, Stidham 0-0 0-0 0, Frazier 1-2 0-1 3, Harper 0-1 0-0 0, Carr 0-0 0-0 0, Smith 1-2 0-0 2. Totals 28-49 7-11 66.
VANDERBILT (14-12)
Thornton 2-4 0-0 4, Freije 2-7 2-4 6, Smith 0-2 0-0 0, Plavich 3-5 1-2 8, Moore 3-11 0-0 6, Holwerda 3-6 0-1 7, Coulibaly 0-0 2-2 2, Howard 2-6 0-0 4, Lakey 0-5 2-2 2, Przybyszewski 0-2 2-2 2, Carter 0-0 0-0 0, Hundley 0-2 0-0 0, Schnedlitz 1-1 0-0 2. Totals 16-51 9-13 43.
Halftime -- Mississippi St. 30, Vanderbilt 18. 3-point goals -- Mississippi St. 3-11 (Frazier 1-2, Bowers 1-2, Goffer 1-2, Ignerski 0-1, Zimmerman 0-1, Patterson 0-1, Gholar 0-2), Vanderbilt 2-20 (Plavich 1-3, Holwerda 1-3, Freije 0-1, Hundley 0-1, Smith 0-2, Moore 0-3, Lakey 0-3, Howard 0-4). Fouled out -- none. Rebounds -- Mississippi St. 41 (Gholar, Bowers 7), Vanderbilt 19 (Freije 5). Assists -- Mississippi St. 20 (Zimmerman 5), Vanderbilt 4 (Smith, Plavich, Moore, Holwerda 1). Total fouls -- Mississippi St.13, Vanderbilt 13. A -- 9,112.
