Undeterred
January 11, 2022 | Men's Basketball, Joel Coleman
STARKVILLE – Not quite 72 hours after Mississippi State dropped an 82-72 decision at Ole Miss, Bulldogs head coach Ben Howland met with reporters on Tuesday to discuss what's next for his team. And what's next for MSU, it became quickly apparent, is that there seems to be a renewed focus ahead of Wednesday night's 6 p.m. home tilt against Georgia.
State isn't just saying it. Howland's guys are proving it.
"Talk is cheap," Howland said. "Performance and how you play is everything. I thought we had good energy and played hard and played together and played unselfish [in practice on Monday]. Those are the things we want. We got that [Monday]. Now we've got to build on that."
There's no use in any finger pointing or excuse making. None of that does any good anyway. To get better and move forward, the best medicine is brutal honesty.
Last Saturday wasn't MSU's best night – far from it in fact. State isn't running from it.
"Obviously we're very disappointed with how we played," Howland said. "For example, there was one time [Ole Miss guard Daeshun] Ruffin had the ball and we were supposed to switch. Neither one of our guys switched to him. We just left him alone for a wide-open three. It's simple things that just can't happen. It's just embarrassing when you put in so much time and effort. We've got to communicate better. I thought our defense in the second half was way better, but we can't wait until we're down big before we play with the aggression and fight and toughness you've got to have from the get-go. Hopefully we learned that more than anything."
It was a costly lesson for sure, but not a season-crushing one. In fact, ideally, it could serve as a boost that benefits the Bulldogs moving forward.
This is still very much a team with its destiny in its own hands. MSU sits at No. 45 in the latest NCAA NET rankings with plenty of season left. State will have multiple resume-boosting chances over the next couple of months, and plenty of talent to take advantage.
Let no one forget, before last Saturday, this was a Mississippi State team that was riding a four-game winning streak, including a resounding win over Arkansas in the first game of Southeastern Conference play. MSU's stock was on the rise. Then came the speed bump in Oxford.
Now MSU can do one of two things. The Dawgs can let that speed bump send their figurative Maroon and White vehicle out of control, or State can quickly reestablish direction.
So far, it's the latter. The Bulldogs are undeterred and driven to improve.
"We watched the whole [Ole Miss] game [Monday] as a team to try to learn from our mistakes and correct some of the things we did really poorly, and I thought we had a really good practice," Howland said. "The guys really got after it. That's always good after a disappointing defeat to come back and have a good practice."
Wednesday evening at The Hump against the SEC's other Bulldogs, Mississippi State looks to put even more distance between itself and its showing over the weekend. A win on the home court would certainly go a long way in the regrouping effort.
"Everybody is trying to do that for sure," Howland said of defending the home court. "That's why this game [Wednesday] is so important. We need to hold serve and do a good job. We need [our fans] so we can have a good homecourt advantage."
