On To The Next One
February 29, 2024 | Men's Basketball, Joel Coleman
Three huge opportunities on deck as State looks to solidify March resume.
STARKVILLE – Tuesday night didn't go the way anyone in Maroon and White had hoped.
In a contest that an unbiased observer would surely label as one of the best college basketball games of the season, Mississippi State took one of the country's most decorated programs to the wire before ultimately dropping a 91-89 decision to No. 16 Kentucky on a bucket in the final second of action. It was the kind of defeat that, for some teams, might stick in the mind.
Some teams – but not this Bulldog team. So said its veteran leader only moments after the buzzer sounded on Tuesday.
"We have three more [games] left, so it's on to the next one," Tolu Smith III said. "It's down to the wire [of this season]. So, we're worrying about the next game now."
And why not? There is no need to dwell on momentary disappointment. For one, in the ultra-tough Southeastern Conference, losses happen. Not to mention, for Mississippi State, everything it wants is still right in front of it.
Invites to March's big dance haven't been sent out yet. However, the current metrics say MSU has every right to be checking the mailbox in a couple of weeks.
The Dawgs are hovering around a top-30 NET ranking. ESPN bracket expert Joe Lunardi projected State as a No. 8 seed in his latest round of NCAA Tournament predictions.
Besides all that, MSU passes the eye test with flying colors. Just ask the head coach that barely squeaked by the Dawgs earlier this week.
"[Tuesday's game wasn't like] a first or second-round NCAA game," Kentucky head man John Calipari said. "[It was like] you're in the third round. That's who you're playing. [Mississippi State] is that good.
"They beat Tennessee [in Starkville]. They beat Auburn here."
That's just a pair of the Quad 1 wins MSU boasts this season. State has also bagged neutral-site triumphs over Washington State and Northwestern. Additionally, the Dawgs are an impressive 10-2 combined in games against Quad 2 and Quad 3 foes.
But besides all that, State is simply playing good basketball right now. MSU was riding the SEC's longest winning streak with five straight victories before narrowly falling to Kentucky. The team has seemingly been hitting its stride on both the offensive and defensive ends. You don't have to work too hard to find reasons to praise pretty much everyone on the roster.
Josh Hubbard continues to put together one of the best debut seasons in school history, already nabbing five SEC Freshman of the Week awards and scoring 30-plus points in each of the last two games.
Cameron Matthews is Mr. Everything for State, providing offense, defense, rebounding, leadership and the list goes on and on.
Smith simply does what he does, and that's continuing to prove he's one of the country's premier post players.
You can keep going. There's Shakeel Moore's big shots, D.J. Jeffries' elite guarding, Jimmy Bell Jr.'s strength and toughness, Shawn Jones Jr.'s remarkable energy, Dashawn Davis' late-season surge, KeShawn Murphy's resilience, growth and production that State head coach Chris Jans says has changed the very look of State's team.
Everyone is playing a part in pushing this team towards, not just March, but a run throughout the month.
So, don't expect last Tuesday to linger. It's now a thing of the past.
For these Bulldogs, their eyes remain straight ahead and these guys are laser focused. How could they not be?
"By the time we play our next game [Saturday at Auburn], it's going to be March," Jans said. "These games are very meaningful, and I'm sure when they tip the ball on Saturday that they'll be ready to go."
