Week Of Opportunities, Challenges Awaits
January 24, 2022 | Men's Basketball, Joel Coleman
Bulldogs face a couple of road tests without Tolu Smith.
STARKVILLE – It's been a good news, bad news few days for Mississippi State.
Good news: The Bulldogs rolled to a win on Saturday over instate rival Ole Miss.
Bad news: Star forward Tolu Smith went down with a knee injury against the Rebels.
Good news: MSU learned on Sunday there is no structural damage in Smith's knee, and he's considered week-to-week.
Bad news: Smith is almost assuredly unavailable for at least this week's difficult two-game stretch that includes a pair of road contests against nationally-ranked foes, first at No. 12 Kentucky on Tuesday, then at No. 13 Texas Tech in the Big 12/SEC Challenge on Saturday.
To sum it all up, the next few days aren't going to be easy for the Bulldogs. The fact of the matter is, they weren't going to be easy anyway, regardless of Smith's status.
That leaves MSU with two options. The Bulldogs could sulk about their challenging circumstances or move forward and try to take advantage of a pair of incredible resume-building opportunities. Mississippi State has chosen the latter.
"I'm sad [Smith] isn't available to play in these games for him and for us," Howland said. "That being said, we've got to go out and make a few alterations to take advantage of playing a little differently without him."
There's no question Mississippi State is a much stronger team with Smith. It really goes without saying. Smith was the Southeastern Conference's leading rebounder a season ago. He's a double-double threat every time out. However, the reality is, these Bulldogs this year have grown accustomed to going to battle without their talented big man. They've played more games without him than with him.
It's been a frustrating year for Smith. He's dealt with several health issues, ranging from offseason surgery on one foot, to a broken pinky toe on the other. Now comes the knee.
Smith has played in only eight of State's 18 games this season. The Bulldogs have been able to absorb that blow by going 8-2 in the games Smith has missed. Can they circle the wagons and succeed in Smith's absence again? That's the big question moving ahead into this week.
As for the subplot, who's going to step up? Perhaps it's Cameron Matthews. More often used as a defensive spark off the bench, he has started seven games already this year and shined in those chances. Could Javian Davis or Andersson Garcia or Derek Fountain take advantage in what'll likely be larger roles? They'll almost assuredly have to if Mississippi State is to make noise this week.
Because again, this week is a tremendously tough task even if Smith is at 100 percent. With him down, the Bulldogs will have to get a true teamwide effort to fill in the gap.
And boy, if State could get one or both games this week, what a monumental shot in the arm it'd be.
As of midday Monday, MSU sits at No. 45 in the NCAA's latest NET rankings. If that figure doesn't mean much to you, the bottom line is this – the Bulldogs are on the NCAA Tournament bubble and could use a statement win or two to help with the goal of solidifying a date to March's big dance. This week's games provide the chance to earn just that.
Both Kentucky and Texas Tech begin this week in the Top 15 in the NET. Kentucky is ninth. Texas Tech is 14th. That means a victory for Mississippi State at either place would be a Quadrant 1 triumph – the best notch on the belt you can have when making your postseason case.
So yes, the coming days are huge for Mississippi State. It's time for most of the Bulldogs to put their heads down and go to work on the court. Meanwhile Smith gets back to work off it so he can rejoin his teammates for the year's final stretch.
"Thankfully, he has a really good family and a really supportive mom and dad that are really good in terms of helping him remain positive," Howland said of Smith. "Tolu is a very Godly young kid. He's very prayerful, so he's strong mentally…He's just got to keep fighting through the adversity that he's had to deal with."
