Dawgs Dialing In On Defense
December 09, 2021 | Men's Basketball, Joel Coleman
Ahead of Mississippi State’s Saturday matchup against Colorado State, the Bulldogs are focused on being stingy.
STARKVILLE – Leading in a sport where it's often the highest scorers that get the lion's share of attention, Mississippi State head coach Ben Howland has always been consistent in his belief. Defense comes first.
Given that, it shouldn't be too much of a shock to learn that this past Wednesday, the first hour and a half of MSU's practice was spent on improving the Bulldog defense. It's the team's focus ahead of a key game against undefeated Colorado State on Saturday at 1 p.m.
Only days after an 81-76 Sunday loss to a Minnesota team that shot over 49 percent from the field and over 41 percent from three-point range, State was ramping up to try and ensure there is no repeat this weekend. Six days sit between that defeat and Saturday's upcoming tilt. Howland wasn't going to let the time go to waste.
"I think [the added time between games] was important for us," Howland said. "What happens is we're practicing for the 30 practices prior to the start of the season, then the season starts and it kind of changes to where we're preparing for games. [On Wednesday], we got the chance to get back to some basics. Like we were terrible in our transition [defense last Sunday], so we had to go back to the beginning. The same drills we were doing back in June and July, [on Wednesday], we did them again just to reset our fundamentals of what we're supposed to do in transition. Same thing defending the ball. We were breaking stuff down…We're not going to beat teams in the SEC or anybody that's left on our schedule unless we're better defensively."
State certainly seems to be at its best when the team is at its stingiest. Remember the Bulldogs' 4-0 start to the year? It was sparked by defense.
"We kind of have to get back to the identity of playing defense better," guard Iverson Molinar said. "That's got to be our main focus. Back in the first couple of games of the year, we held [the first two opponents to 49 points]. We're trying to get back to that. That's our mindset for this game."
In fact, MSU held three of its first four foes to 49 points or less. No matter how much the level of competition might fluctuate throughout the season, those types of defensive performances are still the goal.
Yes, even against a Colorado State team that is among the country's best offensively. That Rams offense, it's pretty good, right Coach Howland?
"I'd say it's better than pretty good," Howland said. "They're in the top five in three-point percentage and overall field goal percentage. That's very unique. I think they're probably the most underrated team in the country right now."
Howland believes the Rams are an NCAA Sweet 16-caliber of a team. That leaves no chance they'll be overlooked by Mississippi State, especially after what happened last Sunday. The Bulldogs make no bones about it. They were disappointed to drop the game to Minnesota. But there's no changing it now. All MSU can do is zero in on the task at hand.
"If we beat Colorado State, that'd be a huge win for our resume," Howland said. "That's what we lost out on against Minnesota at home…But you get back on the horse. We have another game coming and it's a tough one."
And the key to whether the Bulldogs can emerge from it successfully, at least in Howland's eyes, is – you guessed it – defense.
MSU currently sits in the middle of the SEC pack in terms of scoring defense. State allows 61.5 points per game and opponents are shooting at a 39 percent clip. There's room for improvement and Howland hopes to see that improvement starting on Saturday.
"We've got to hang our hats on and have more pride about how we're doing defensively," Howland said. "Give Minnesota credit [last game]. They had things they did that caused issues, but at the end of the day, it comes down to us being able to defend better. If you play great defense, you always give yourself a chance to win."
