Dawgs’ Road To The Dance Paved By Toughness
March 20, 2024 | Men's Basketball, Joel Coleman
State remained resilient through season’s ups and downs.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Ask a room full of college basketball coaches what trait they most want their teams to possess and there's a good chance that 'toughness' would win such a poll.
A college hoops season isn't for the faint of heart. There are ups and downs. There are heartbreaks and triumphs. There are moments of exhilaration and times of desperation. It's an absolute rollercoaster. Only the most resilient survive to dance in March.
So, it's fitting then that when the NCAA Tournament's Round of 64 begins Thursday, Mississippi State will be one of the teams tipping it off. All year long, these Bulldogs have been committed to not simply talking about toughness but putting it into practice day after day after day.
"Beginning of the season, we had a common goal that we shared with one another," State guard Dashawn Davis said. "We just knew that any roadblocks or any hardships that we had, we had to get through it."
That's precisely what MSU did.
Mississippi State's road to the NCAA Tournament was far from a smooth ride on a perfectly-paved interstate. It was a trip down a deteriorated gravel back road with potholes that had the potential to bust the tires of the MSU machine.
If somewhere around September, you'd have known the list of trials and tribulations State was about to face, you'd have been justified in believing the challenge was just too steep for the Dawgs.
Star center Tolu Smith III? Hurt before the season and out for essentially two whole months with a foot injury. Another veteran starter and vital Bulldog, D.J. Jeffries, would later miss two weeks of action right in the middle of conference play with a knee ailment.
There was a disappointing early-December Quad 4 loss to Southern. There was the 3-6 start to the SEC slate. There was a four-game losing streak to close out the regular season.
All of the above and so much more could've derailed the Dawgs. It didn't. They were just too focused. They were just too driven. The group picked itself up – they picked each other up – time after time after time.
When Smith couldn't go, Jimmy Bell Jr. assumed the role of MSU's starting center and the Dawgs essentially didn't miss a beat. Bell started the first 14 games of the season and averaged nearly a double-double before Smith returned to the starting lineup in early January.
When Jeffries was out, Shawn Jones Jr. brought his energy and electricity to MSU's starting five and was instrumental in a five-game winning streak that turned State's season around. It put the Maroon and White back on a pathway towards a meaningful March.
And when the Dawgs lost each of their last four regularly-scheduled games, placing the team squarely on the NCAA Tourney bubble, the whole group rallied together for the SEC Tournament. State secured a double-digit win over LSU at the event, just ahead of one of the most impressive victories of the season – a 73-56 dismantling of No. 5 Tennessee.
The triumph over the Volunteers was MSU's third victory over an Associated Press Top-10 foe this season, exemplifying how there is no challenge too great for this pack of Dawgs to overcome.
And now, it's all led Mississippi State here. The Bulldogs are back on college basketball's biggest stage for a second-straight season.
There are no guarantees this time of year. Absolutely anything can happen. But MSU has every reason to believe in itself. Because, in a month known for it, the Bulldogs have already proven repeatedly they can thrive in the midst of madness.
It's about time to find out if they can do it again. Let's dance.
