Putting The Clamps On
February 23, 2024 | Men's Basketball
Bulldog defense seems to be strengthening as March nears.
STARKVILLE – Mississippi State netted 83 points en route to its victory over Ole Miss on Wednesday night, but somehow, the stellar offensive performance was not the highlight of the night. Defense was.
It's no secret that the Bulldogs are a formidable opponent for any offense to face. Gritty defense has always been the pride of head coach Chris Jans and his staff. That was certainly the case against the rival Rebels.
"We just really locked down, got into stances and defended them," Jans said. "We didn't make any major changes with our structure."
This success extended well beyond the starting five and into every player who saw a few minutes of action on the hardwood.
"We had so many productive guys come off the bench and do a lot of things that don't even show up in the stat sheet," Jans said. "I thought that was a big difference in the game."
From Dashawn Davis' tough play along the three-point line to the dominance that Jimmy Bell Jr. demonstrated under the basket, it's safe to say that pretty much every Dawg had his day.
One particular student-athlete that stood out just a bit above the rest? Cameron Matthews. Aside from stuffing the stat sheet with 11 points, six rebounds and three steals, the senior forward provided the defensive spark that his team needed. Wherever the Rebels attempted to go on offense, he always seemed to be there.
The veteran earned some well-deserved praise from his second-year coach.
"I thought Cam set the tone defensively with some big plays, some hustle plays," Jans said. "People talk about 50-50 balls. Well, he got a ball that was 20-80."
It certainly seems like MSU is looking more like its old self on the defensive side of the court. Matthews emphasized this in the team's postgame press conference.
"We're getting back to playing defense," Matthews said. "Early in the beginning of the season, we were okay, but we weren't to our full potential. So, I feel like we are getting back to that defense we were last year."
While Matthews and fellow forwards Bell and Tolu Smith III handled business closer to the paint, State's perimeter defenders shut down an Ole Miss offense that is used to running primarily through its guards. There wasn't much that the visiting shooters could do with the likes of Josh Hubbard and Shakeel Moore following their every move.
Moore, who played nearly the entire game and finished the night with 12 points, explained how his position group kept the Rebs off the board.
"That's what we have been stressing, just to guard the ball in our practice and preparation," Moore said. "So, it wasn't anything too much that we changed. We just had a little more grit to us on defense."
Now, the Bulldogs turn their attention to something that begins in just a few short days: March.
This year has been filled with many thrilling victories, but State has its eyes on the prize and a spot in the NCAA Tournament again. With a couple of massive wins already on its resume, the team has caught the eye of the national media and made a name for itself with just a few more games left in the regular season.
Nevertheless, there's still work to be done. Mississippi State will hit the road three times and host two ranked conference opponents over the next few weeks. The situation that the Dawgs are in now is quite similar to the one that they faced last year. They caught fire at the right time and found themselves in the big dance, and Jans believes that his student-athletes are capable of doing the right things to hear their name called on Selection Sunday once more.
"We've got to do the things that got that done last year, and we're on our way," Jans said. "We've still got a bunch of games left against some great teams and opportunities."
As State looks to continue riding this four-game win streak, the program is going to keep doing exactly what it has been. The Dawgs are playing impressive basketball right now, and the sky is the limit for how much they can succeed over the coming weeks.
"Overall, we've adopted the mantra we've tried to establish since we've been here," Jans said. "We're going to defend, we're going to rebound, and we're going to be tougher than the team we're playing."
Not only does their skipper believe it, but so does each player sporting the Maroon and White. That can get them anywhere.
"I think we've got a pretty good path ahead of us," Moore said.
