Mississippi State
15-8,3-7SEC
Missouri
17-6,5-5SEC
Momentum Keeps Building As Dawgs Top Mizzou
February 04, 2023 | Men's Basketball, Joel Coleman
MSU tames the Tigers behind another impressive defensive effort.
STARKVILLE – If the ground shook beneath your feet on Saturday night, it was for good reason. The Humphrey Coliseum rocked time and time again as Mississippi State won its third in a row and continued to build momentum with the season's homestretch nearing.
MSU topped Missouri 63-52. Another big night from Tolu Smith and the same high-energy, stingy defense this year's State squad has become known for paved the way for the triumph.
Smith notched his 20th career double-double and his fifth in the last seven games as he scored 25 points to go along with 12 rebounds. Cameron Matthews, D.J. Jeffries and Tyler Stevenson all totaled 10 points apiece for the Bulldogs, but it was on the defensive end where MSU shined the brightest.
"In our game prep, [head coach Chris Jans] was talking about how [Missouri] is really good when they are feeling good, so our main objective was to get to the ball and make them as uncomfortable as we could," Matthews said.
The mission was accomplished by Matthews and his teammates.
Missouri's 52 points were more than 30 points below the group's season average coming into Saturday. The Tigers also shot just 32 percent from the field – 16.5 percentage points behind the pace they'd set before arriving in Starkville.
Jans credited MSU's defensive gameplan to the scouting of Bulldog assistant coach George Brooks.
"It was the hardest prep that I've had since I've been the coach here," Jans said. "[Missouri] plays a style that you don't see very often… But I thought our guys had great intensity and focus from the get-go. They were really good in preparation for this game. I felt good leaving shootaround [before the game] about where they were at in terms of their understanding. It's not about what the coach knows. You can watch film until the cows come home. It's about what [the players] know when the ball is tipped. Coach Brooks and the rest of the guys did a good job of making sure [the players] knew what we were trying to do."
Mississippi State never trailed in the game. The Bulldogs jumped out to an early 8-1 lead in just over three minutes' time. When Shakeel Moore sank a 3-pointer with 16:43 left in the first half to establish MSU's quick seven-point advantage, Missouri called a timeout and The Hump crowd roared in approval as the Dawgs took control.
By halftime, Mississippi State was in front 33-27. The Bulldogs stretched their lead to 14 after the break when Smith slammed one home to make it 45-31 with 13:35 remaining.
A 10-0 Missouri run briefly gave the Tigers hopes of a comeback as they got within four points, however they'd get no closer.
With six minutes left, Matthews hit Stevenson on an alley-oop, and Stevenson jammed it home to stretch State's lead back out to 11. The Bulldogs then led by double figures the rest of the way to keep their good vibes from the past week-plus going.
First, there was the win over then-No. 11 TCU. Then came an always-difficult Southeastern Conference road triumph at South Carolina. Now, add a victory over an ultra-tough Missouri squad to the ledger.
Next up for Mississippi State, LSU visits the Humphrey Coliseum for an 8 p.m. game on Wednesday. It's another chance for the Bulldogs to keep adding to their growing resume.
After a tough January, suddenly MSU is streaking. Because of State's resilience, now anything is possible.
"They kept working," Jans said of his group. "They didn't start pointing fingers. They didn't listen to any noise [when things weren't going as well]…I think it's a testament to who these guys are, how they feel about one another and hopefully a little bit of belief in what we're trying to do, not only with this team, but in our program for the long term. I was as proud of the team as I've been in a long, long time because it's hard. I kept telling them, 'We're a good basketball team and we'll get a chance to show it if we can stick together, block the noise out and keep working,' and they did that."
