Mississippi State
13-8,1-7SEC
#11 TCU
16-5,5-3Big 12
Dawgs Take Down No. 11 TCU
January 28, 2023 | Men's Basketball, Joel Coleman
State earns overtime win over the Horned Frogs.
STARKVILLE – Mississippi State has been knocking at the door of big win after big win of late, only to not see the door answered. On Saturday, the Bulldogs kicked it down.
State shook off weeks of frustration with a hard-earned, goosebump-raising 81-74 overtime win against No. 11 TCU at Humphrey Coliseum.
"I feel like we've gone through trials and tribulations, but we've stuck together and fought together," MSU guard Shakeel Moore said. "This win means a lot for us."
Tolu Smith had a monster day as he tied his career high with 27 points, recorded his 19th career double-double as he brought down 13 rebounds as well, not to even mention his five assists, four blocks and steal.
"Tolu, he's battled this season as well," Moore said. "I'm really proud of him and that's the Tolu I know. When he's on like that, no one can hold him under the basket."
Cameron Matthews notched his own double-double with 10 points and 10 boards for MSU. Three other Bulldogs scored 10 points or more as Dashawn Davis tallied 16, Moore had 11 and Tyler Stevenson totaled 10.
But this was a victory defined by so much more than numbers. It was about resiliency. It was about toughness. It was about grit. It was about the ability to stay the course and not be shaken by the games that'd come before.
The big baskets were many. There was Davis' corner 3-pointer with 55 seconds remaining in regulation that turned a 64-63 State deficit into a 66-64 lead.
Then, after TCU tied things up to force overtime ahead of an easy layup to go up two points early in the extra frame, Moore delivered a pair of treys in less than a minute span that both gave MSU a four-point advantage and figuratively blew the roof off of The Hump.
"Those shots were huge," Moore said of his and his teammates' crucial buckets. "Plus, our sixth man – our crowd – it's tough [for opponents] to go against that. I feel like they matched our energy and I feel like that's what got us those shots and helped us execute."
For much of the day, it seemed as though late heroics wouldn't be necessary. Mississippi State essentially controlled the entire first half.
Just 20 seconds into the contest, Matthews delivered a dunk that put MSU up 2-0 and State was in command. When Davis sank a 3-pointer with 7:14 left in the first half, the Bulldogs captured their biggest lead at 23-11.
TCU slowly chipped away at its deficit as halftime neared. The Horned Frogs scored the final five points of the half as MSU took a 31-25 lead into the break. Then, on the other side of the intermission, TCU finally caught all the way up.
A trey from TCU's Emanuel Miller knotted things at 33-all with 17:27 left. It was the first time the Horned Frogs had been tied since the game was 0-0. With 15:31 left, TCU took its first lead at 38-37 on a long-distance shot from Chuck O'Bannon. Things were nip and tuck the rest of the way.
With 4:32 remaining in the second half, Damion Baugh of the Horned Frogs connected from outside the perimeter and gave his team a four-point edge. Suddenly, MSU found itself in a position it has been in so many times of late – close but needing a strong finish. This time, the Dawgs delivered.
They fought back, took a brief lead before falling down again with 1:39 on the clock, then received the late-in-regulation heroics of Davis ahead of the overtime magical moments of Moore.
Watching it all was head coach Chris Jans, who seemed to beam with pride postgame as he enjoyed the victory and savored his bunch being rewarded for their resilience of late.
"It's really easy to start listening to the noise and other people [when things aren't going well] and I understand how that works," Jans said. "But from what I could see for the most part…they stuck together and kept working. Our practice intensity hadn't dropped. Our focus was really good, and that's from everybody. It wasn't just the guys playing all the minutes. It's so impressive to be around young people that even when they're not playing and the team isn't doing as well as everyone wants them to, they continue to stay the course and work and grow and get better."
Now, the Bulldogs will attempt to carry Saturday's momentum forward. Next up for MSU is a trip to South Carolina for a 5:30 p.m. game on Tuesday. It's a trip the Dawgs will make with a renewed sense of confidence given the takedown of TCU.
"I definitely see this as a boost," Matthews said. "We've just got to go out and take care of business and get this thing on the road."
Time will tell what happens in South Carolina. Yet there's no denying MSU will head eastward reinvigorated. The recent disappointments are a thing of the past. And now, they can stay there as the Bulldogs have turned to a new page of this season's story.
"I don't know what we would've done if we'd lost, I can't lie," Matthews said. "But we don't have to talk about that because we won."
