Mississippi State
15-11,6-7SEC
Missouri
10-16,4-9SEC
Getting Back On Track
February 19, 2022 | Men's Basketball, Joel Coleman
Bulldogs earn much-needed win and hope it’s the start of a late-season push.
STARKVILLE – Everyone knows it. The fans inside the Humphrey Coliseum knew it. Mississippi State players and coaches certainly were aware. The Bulldogs' backs are up against a wall.
A recent skid has seemingly put MSU on the outskirts of the NCAA Tournament picture. Then came Friday night – an evening where the Bulldogs are hopeful they've gotten right back on track.
State topped Missouri in convincing fashion, 68-49. Wins are always sweet. Victories after the few weeks MSU has had? Well, they're like a huge breath of fresh air.
"It was a big relief," D.J. Jeffries said. "We've been fighting so hard these last couple of games to get a win and we finally got one. We're just trying to start a little streak here."
You can't start streaks until you win the first one. Maybe, just maybe, Friday night was indeed the spark to get the fire going.
There was a lot to like about how the Bulldogs played. There were things to build on, bottle up and hopefully take forward.
How about that MSU defense? State limited Mizzou to just 31 percent shooting as a team. The Tigers shot a mere 25 percent in the first half as the Bulldogs built a 34-23 lead over the game's first 20 minutes.
"We did one of our best defensive jobs in a long time," head coach Ben Howland said.
Meanwhile the Bulldogs ended the night shooting 49 percent, led by four different players who reached double figures in scoring. Tolu Smith led the way with 16 points. Iverson Molinar tallied 13, Jeffries totaled 12 and Garrison Brooks added 10.
The MSU bench chipped in 15 points all told, paced by a standout showing from Mr. Energy himself, Andersson Garcia. Garcia had seven points and eight rebounds over his 16 minutes of action.
Yet the big story wasn't any individual performance, but the end result. There's no running from how much State needed to find itself back in the win column.
"We needed it desperately," Howland said.
The groundwork for Friday was laid in previous days. In the midst of State's recent struggles, Bulldog veterans called a team meeting. No coaches. No interruptions. Just straight talk amongst the guys.
"We kept it real and basically expressed to each other what we needed to do and needed to figure out," Smith said. "I think it was a good talk for us…That just goes to show that your team wants to win and we're not going down without a fight. Just having that passion and that drive that each of those guys has, it motivates me and motivates my team. I'm just glad to be able to talk to those guys with authenticity."
Words mean little if they're not backed up by actions and on Friday, the Bulldogs walked the walk. They had to have the win over Missouri. They got it.
Forget talk of bubbles and big dances. At this point in the year, the goal has to be just win the next game on the schedule. Do that, and the Bulldogs can then just let the chips fall where they may.
"We're just taking everything one game at a time," Jeffries said. "We're not overlooking anybody. We kind of messed ourselves up with that little losing streak, so we're just trying to build and win and get our name back in that [NCAA Tournament] conversation and go from there."
Simply put, all that's left to do for the Bulldogs is fight – fight for each other, fight for the fans and fight to prove nothing's over until it's over.
And understand, for Mississippi State, no matter what rankings, projections or anything else says, it's not over. Why would it be? There are still games left on the schedule, so there's still hope.
"We're not going to give up," Smith said. "Nobody's going to give up. Please don't give up on us State fans. We're just going to keep pushing."
