Heads Down, Work To Do
December 13, 2021 | Men's Basketball, Joel Coleman
Mississippi State focused on shaking off recent losses and pressing forward.
STARKVILLE – It was a blunt assessment from Mississippi State head coach Ben Howland, but one that underscores where the Bulldogs stand at the moment.
A reporter posed the question to Howland at his Monday press conference regarding how MSU is playing right now.
"We're coming off two losses…so we're not playing good enough," Howland responded.
There's no running from it, by Howland or anyone else. Mississippi State had a pair of chances to boost its resume in recent days. Instead, the Bulldogs fought back from a pair of 14-point deficits against Minnesota only to lose by five back on Dec. 5. State led for much of the game against Colorado State last Saturday, only to fall by three.
Opportunities were missed. For a team with NCAA Tournament aspirations, the two defeats weren't ideal. Yet they also weren't season-killers.
The Bulldogs are but nine games into their long gauntlet. The last couple of contests might've increased the urgency of what's to come, but it didn't alter the goal. And understand there remains a very clear path towards that goal.
"As of right now, we wouldn't be [in the NCAA Tournament]," Howland said. "But the good news for us is we've got 10 or 11 games in our conference coming up where they're all Quad 1 games against really good teams. I explained it to our team. We're right there…We're not far away. We've just got to keep grinding away and hopefully get healthy here so we can be at full strength."
It certainly would be a boon for the Bulldogs if they could catch a break on the health front. Cameron Matthews' hip is a bit banged up. Rocket Watts continues to recover from offseason surgery on his own hip. Both played this past Saturday, but neither are at 100 percent.
Then there's last season's Southeastern Conference rebounding king, Tolu Smith. Smith didn't play on Saturday. He's got a fractured pinky toe – the latest blow in what's been a frustrating season for Smith after he missed the year's first four games recovering from an offseason procedure on his opposite foot.
"He could play right now, but he can't really move to the level he needs to in order to be effective," Howland said. "It's hard for him, but he's been through some similar situations…He's just got to fight through it."
Fight. It's just where Smith and all these Bulldogs are right now. The positive – aside from the opportunities ahead – is that Mississippi State sees flashes of who it believes it can ultimately be.
Take, for instance, MSU's scoring. Four different Bulldogs (Iverson Molinar, Smith, Garrison Brooks and Shakeel Moore) average double figures a game. A fifth (D.J. Jeffries) averages just under, at 9.2 per contest.
"Having good balance and having multiple guys – four or five guys – in double figures has always to me been a sign that you're a good team when you can do that," Howland said. "Last year, we had three guys that consistently were there and that was it. [This year] we have different guys that can get there too."
The Bulldogs sure do. Along with the five aforementioned top scorers, Watts, Matthews, Cam Carter and Javian Davis all have tallied double figures in at least one game this season.
Additionally, Molinar is among the SEC's top five in both scoring and assists per game. Moore is third in the league in steals per game. Brooks is eighth in the conference in rebounds per outing.
Individuals are performing. The Bulldogs are showing glimpses of greatness. But they're not there yet.
The path to getting there starts Tuesday in a 7 p.m. home game against Georgia State. With heads down, the Bulldogs have work to do.
"We've just got to make sure we take care of business," Howland said. "We cannot afford to lose that game and that game is a good win if we win because they're going to win their league again. That's why we're playing them. They were picked to win their league. They won it last year. They're going to be in the NCAA Tournament. We've got to take that opportunity."
