Mississippi State
13-7,4-3SEC
#13 Texas Tech
16-5,5-3Big 12
Bulldogs Drop Decision At No. 13 Texas Tech
January 29, 2022 | Men's Basketball
LUBBOCK, Texas – Facing a tough road test against No. 13 Texas Tech, Mississippi State came up on the wrong end of a 76-50 decision during Saturday's Big 12/SEC Challenge at the United Supermarkets Arena.
MSU (13-7) had three players score in double figures. However, the Bulldogs were unable to overcome a Red Raider defense that forced the Maroon and White into 22 turnovers.
Iverson Molinar, D.J. Jeffries and Rocket Watts all reached double figures for Mississippi State.
Molinar totaled 12 points and has now scored in double figures in all 20 games to begin this season.
Jeffries tallied 11 points, and Watts added 10 points off the bench. Jeffries has reached 10-plus points during seven of his last 11 outings. Watts has scored 19 total points off the bench over his last two games for the Bulldogs.
Texas Tech (16-5) grabbed a 6-4 advantage less than three minutes into the game, and the Red Raiders never trailed again.
Ahead 26-20, Texas Tech closed the half with 11 of the last 13 points to take a 37-22 spread into the locker room. The Red Raiders sank 14 of their 20 shot attempts over the contest's final 20 minutes to close out the 26-point decision.
FROM THE LOCKER ROOM – COACH HOWLAND
"Well, that was a very, very tough day to be handled the way they handled us. They defended us so well. They forced 22 turnovers which turned into 24 points. They scored in the paint all day long, 44 points. I was telling on the radio just now that I think they [Texas Tech] is the best team in their league. They've got to be one of the best teams in the country, and I'd be surprised if they're not an [NCAA] Elite Eight, [NCAA] Final Four team."
"We didn't handle their defensive pressure at all today, and that was really frustrating. We had 22 turnovers, and you just can't turn it over against good teams. The one thing I told our team afterwards is we had the toughest schedule of anybody in the country this week— [playing] at Kentucky [and] at Texas Tech. And, you know, Tech is just a monster in terms of how big and physical and strong they are."
"Tomorrow, we're back [at practice] instead of having a day off. We have to walk through their stuff [South Carolina] and practice again on Monday. When you get beat that badly, you have to flush it and move on. We won't dwell on this at all. Everyone on the team felt horrible about how we played. I'm not going to belabor the point. We've lost two in a row to two of the best programs in the nation [at Kentucky and at Texas Tech]. We've got to come in and get a win on Tuesday against a feisty South Carolina team."
- Mississippi State was dealt a 76-50 loss at No. 13 Texas Tech to fall to 13-7 overall.
- The Bulldogs are in the midst of six of seven games against NCAA NET Quad 1 opponents from Jan. 25-Feb. 16.
- As a team, Mississippi State shot 19-of-48 from the field (39.6 percent), 4-of-16 on three's (25.0 percent) and 8-of-12 at the charity stripe (66.7 percent).
- The Bulldogs scored nine of the game's 11 points on second-chance opportunities.
Iverson Molinar
- Led the Bulldogs with 12 points, nine coming during the opening half.
- Extended his streak to 20 consecutive games in double figures to start the season.
- The 20-game run is the longest for a MSU player to start the season since Tony Watts piled up 10-plus points during all 28 games in 1991-92.
- Added seven points and four rebounds.
- Started his ninth game of the season.
- A team-leading three steals, multiple steals during seven of his last 10 games
- Notched 11 points, two steals and two assists.
- 10-plus points in seven of his last 11 outings.
- Multiple steals for the third time this season.
- Rocket Watts and Andersson Garcia were State's top performers off the bench.
- Watts secured 10 points, his second-highest scoring output of the season.
- Garcia chipped in six points, five rebounds and a steal.
UP NEXT
Mississippi State embarks on its February sprint with nine games over a 26-day stretch. The Bulldogs meet South Carolina on Tuesday. Tipoff is set for 6 p.m. CT from Humphrey Coliseum. Te game will be televised by ESPNU and streamed online courtesy of www.WatchESPN.com and the ESPN app.
Visit www.HailState.com for the latest news and information on the men's basketball program. Fans also can follow the program on its social media outlets by searching 'HailStateMBK' on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
