Mississippi State Basketball

Mississippi State fell to Georiga in the first round of the SEC tournament, and with the loss, the Bulldogs—of MSU—are on the edge of the bubble. SportsCenter just reported that Joe Lunardi listed Mississippi State as the third-to-last team in the field.

Now 21-11, Mississippi State's No. 65 RPI should fall a few spots, leaving the Bulldogs' fate out of their own hands. In other words, they'll need some other bubble teams to lose—Texas' win over Iowa State certainly didn't help.

The Bulldogs started 12-1, beating Texas A&M, Arizona and West Virginia along the way. Though those wins seemed important at the time, they hold much less weight now. The Aggies are currently No. 164 in the RPI while the Wildcats and Mountaineers stand at No. 82 and No. 51, respectively.

Mississippi State went just 2-4 against teams in the RPI Top 50, and losses to Georgia (twice), LSU and Auburn severely weaken the Bulldogs' resume.

Generally, the selection committee tends to favor teams who finished hot over teams who finished cold. That's why UConn found itself on the bubble, but the Huskies earned a spot by beating DePaul and West Virginia and taking Syracuse to the wire.

Unlike UConn, Mississippi State couldn't advance in the conference tournament after going 9-10 in its last 19 games.

You have to search hard to find something that will favor the Bulldogs, who lost six of their last eight games. They won at Vanderbilt, and they might be aided by the fact that Detroit won the Horizon League. However, the Titans were just 5-7 when they lost to Mississippi State.

Beating Alabama—No. 32 in the RPI—might improve Mississippi State's chances, but the Crimson Tide, who entered the first matchup at 13-3, went just 8-7 down the stretch.

Against feeble SEC competition.

While most college basketball insiders had programs like North Carolina, Kentucky and Ohio State in their preseason polls, one particular team, which resides in the same conference as Kentucky, has really opened some eyes in the early season.

That team: Mississippi State.

A year ago, the Mississippi State Bulldogs saw their program sink to an all-time low, and expectations were somewhat optimistic coming into the 2011-2012 season. However, the Bulldogs have caught the attention of the college basketball nation recently. Although it is early in the season, fans are wondering whether or not the Bulldogs are contenders or pretenders.

Mississippi State opened the season with a 76-66 home win over Eastern Kentucky and followed that with a puzzling 68-58 home loss to Akron, leaving Bulldogs fans befuddled. However, the Bulldogs have righted the ship and reeled off six consecutive wins.

Mississippi State currently sports a 7-1 record and is ranked 21st (Associated Press) and 24th (ESPN Coaches). It is the first time the Bulldogs have been ranked since the 2009-2010 season.

While many were searching for answers after the Akron loss, the Bulldogs maintained their composure. Two wins during the streak were over ranked teams: Texas A&M (69-60) and Arizona (67-57). Those two wins helped Mississippi State win the 2K Sports Classic (Coaches versus Cancer title) at Madison Square Garden in New York. 

This season has gotten off to a great start for MSU, but the previous year was a disaster. After starting last season at 4-0, things were looking upward for Mississippi State when the unthinkable happened. A fight between two teammates—Renardo Sidney and Elgin Bailey—gained national attention.

The altercation happened during a holiday tournament in Hawaii. Both Sidney and Bailey were suspended, but the Sidney was reinstated and Bailey ended up transferring to another program.

Sidney's reinstatement did not sit well with many MSU fans and media, leaving many to question head coach Rick Stansbury. The former McDonald's high school All-American would remain with the team, but that did not stop the internal bleeding, and the Bulldogs ended the season with a disappointing 17-14 record. 

It was a bitter end to a season that started with great promise. Rumors surfaced that Stansbury, MSU's all-time winningest coach, would lose his job, but he would survive.

Stansbury, in his 14th year with Mississippi State, has the second-longest tenure of any coach in the Southeastern Conference behind Florida's Billy Donovan. His resume is impressive: six NCAA tournament appearances, four NIT appearances, two SEC Tournament championships and five SEC Western Division titles.

However, where Stansbury has had a problem throughout his career at Mississippi State is convincing his players to remain with the program.

Over the course of his career at MSU, Stansbury has lost 13 players to transferring. Former starting guard Ben Hansbourgh left Mississippi State following the 2007-2008 season to transfer to Notre Dame, where he would become the Big East Player of the Year his senior season. Two players from last season, including Bailey, have transferred.

This has many wondering what's wrong with the Mississippi State basketball program. However, it is the in-house transfer of a player this season that is paying huge dividends.

Forward Arnett Moultrie transferred to MSU from UTEP (Texas El-Paso) after the 2009-2010 season. The 6'11" big man, along with Sidney, gives the Bulldogs an imposing front line. Moultrie is a workaholic a la Dennis Rodman on the glass (team-leading 10.8 boards) and is second in scoring (16.0 points per game). 

Moultrie dominated an Arizona team, minus last year's NBA first-round draft pick Derrick Williams, to the tune of 19 points and 10 rebounds. The breakout game happened on his 21st birthday.

MSU's other four starters have been huge. Point guard Dee Bost, in his fourth year as a starter, leads Mississippi State in scoring at 17 points a game. Bost has also been a pest on the defensive end (2.5 steals). Other notable starters include freshman swingman Rodney Hood (13.0 ppg), senior guard Brian Bryant (8.4 ppg) and Sidney (8.2 ppg).

For a freshman, Hood has been better than advertised. Wise beyond his years, the 6'8" Hood has a cool demeanor and can play multiple positions (small forward, shooting guard and point guard). He also has pedigree: His father (Rickey) is a former MSU player.

The talented but enigmatic Sidney looks to redeem himself from last year's debacle. After spending the offseason with former NBA guard John Lucas, Sidney worked on his endurance, which was a big problem a season ago. The junior center lost around 30 pounds over the summer, but his conditioning is still a problem this season. He's averaging only 22 minutes a game and has missed two games due to injuries. If the Bulldogs are to reach the postseason, Sidney will have to produce.

Stansbury has not had great depth in reason years, but this season is different. MSU goes eight deep, with players such as guard Jalen Steele (6.3 ppg), freshman point guard Deville Smith (6.0 ppg) and frontcourt player Wendell Lewis (5.8 ppg, 5.6 rebounds) providing the Bulldogs with excellent play off the bench.

Mississippi State has had the luxury of home-cooking early this season. They have yet to play an opponent on the road except for the two neutral-site games in New York.

However, MSU's SEC schedule will be a tough road. Currently, five SEC teams, including MSU, are ranked in the top 25. There are also no split divisions in the conference, which means the Bulldogs will have to survive the brutal conference schedule. A big test will come on February 21, when top-ranked Kentucky visit MSU. 

A dismal 9-7 conference record kept the Bulldogs out of postseason play last season. That record will have to improve if MSU hopes to make the NCAA tournament this year.

Stansbury hopes to quiet his critics this season. Mississippi State has not gotten past the second round in the NCAAs under Stansbury. Fans will expect nothing less of an NCAA bid this season, or the long-time coach may have a tough time answering those critics.

Any talk of the Bulldogs has to focus on Renardo Sidney. The junior power forward was a Top 10 recruit in 2009—a freakish beast of a man who seemed sure to succeed.

Other highly ranked players in that class—John Wall, Derrick Favors, DeMarcus Cousins, Avery Bradley, and Xavier Henry—have finished their college careers and moved on to the next level. Meanwhile, Sidney has starred in a bizarre and pathetic soap opera.

He was suspended for all of his freshman year and 30 percent of his sophomore season after his parents redefined the art of taking illegal benefits. To add to his issues, after he took the benefits, he lied repeatedly and creatively to the NCAA about it.

He wasn’t exactly the model citizen either when he returned late in non-conference play. First, he was suspended one game after his initial game for causing a disturbance in practice. He returned to action and celebrated that by getting in a brawl with teammate Elgin Bailey in the stands after a game.

That led to another two-game suspension. You have to wonder why the Bulldogs bothered with him at all, but his play in conference action provided some answers—he averaged 13 points and eight rebounds and was consistently almost impossible to guard.

He’s a difference maker on the court, even if he’s a liability off of it.

After the tumultuous start to his career, you might think he’d settle down and behave this year. Early indications are that you would be wrong. When the team went on a trip to Europe in August to play five exhibition games, Sidney skipped out and trained by himself in Houston.

If Sidney can stay on the court and play to his potential, then this team could be more than solid. But the chances of that working out for a whole season seem slim at best.

2011-12 Mississippi State Bulldogs College Basketball Outlook

The bright side for this team is that if and when Sidney has some issues, there is a nice backup. Arnett Moultrie transferred from UTEP and is now eligible. He averaged almost 10 points and seven boards as a sophomore and has worked on his game and his body during his year off.

Moultrie can quickly become more than a backup. If he and Sidney can find chemistry, they could be one of the best frontcourts in the SEC.

Dee Bost is another key to this team.  The senior point guard missed the first half of last year because of suspensions—a recurring theme for this squad—but came back strong, including piling up at least eight assists in six games. He’s a playmaker and versatile enough to play shooting guard to get another point guard, senior Brian Bryant or freshman Deville Smith, onto the field.

Coach Rick Stansbury has even talked about putting three guards on the court at once to pick up the pace and create some defensive issues for the opponent.

Sophomore Jalen Steele is another player to keep a close eye on. He was just finding his game and turning into a useful player last year when he tore his ACL. He’s back and ready to go. He could be a potent depth player off the bench or another part of what should be a very good backcourt rotation, if he is ready from the start.

Additions/Losses

The team certainly suffered some losses. Leading scorer Ravern Johnson graduated. His departure should mean less drama around the team though—he was suspended in February for tweeting critical comments about his coach.

Guard Twany Beckham left the team in January and transferred to Kentucky. Kodi Augustus was the only player to start every game last year, and he and his 12 points and seven rebounds are gone from the frontcourt.

Despite those losses, the team still has a lot of talent and is adding more.

Moultrie is a big addition. Aside from that, Rodney Hood is the prize of this class. The 5-star recruit was the Mississippi Player of the Year last year. He’s an all-around player who has a very good chance to be the third part of the Sidney-Moultrie frontcourt.

Those three together could be fun to watch, if they can manage to limit the drama.

Point guard Deville Smith is a 4-star guy who is more of a scorer than a playmaker, but who is relentless defensively. He had a great trip to Europe and is already the coach’s favorite, so he’ll have a chance to contribute right away.

Three other freshmen join the team but will likely be limited in their minutes in the frontcourt this year—Roquez Johnson, Shawn Long, and Latvian import Kristers Zeidaks.

All in all, the Bulldogs add a Top-15 recruiting class and a nice transfer, and they have the luxury of starting the season without long-term suspensions and without the attitude struggles that Johnson and Bailey brought.

2011-12 Mississippi State Basketball Schedule

The non-conference season is generally soft, though there are some tough games against Baylor, West Virginia, and future conference-mate Texas A&M.

Their SEC schedule isn’t as tough as it could be since they only face the three best teams in the conference once each—Kentucky, Florida, and Vanderbilt—and they get Kentucky at home.

2011-12 Mississippi State Predictions for College Basketball

If Sidney were a good citizen, then this team is a tournament-team for sure and would be a tough matchup once they get there. If he flakes out early, the team could still be decent and even be in the tournament mix.

The worst-case scenario would be if Sidney sticks around all year but continues to be a distraction and a negative influence.

I like the core the team has built, though, and I am reasonably optimistic that the new players can quickly be worked into the rotation. I’ll keep a close eye on Sidney and look to bet on this team while he’s in good form.

Doc Moseman is the owner of Doc’s Sports college basketball picks Web site.

If you are a Mississippi State fan, you have certainly loathed this past week.

There you were, basking in the glow of consecutive Egg Bowl victories, an eight-win football season, a New Year's Day bowl game and the hottest young coaching prospect in the country.

MSU’s athletic department went as far as to begin putting up interstate billboards that feature a picture of said coaching prospect alongside an MSU logo altered to say, “Welcome to OUR State.” Genius! Scott Stricklin.

But, somewhere in the middle of your maroon high, Renardo Sidney decided that you weren’t paying him enough attention…and he did something…something about it.

Renardo got himself suspended. Not once, but twice in a week—NO—in three days. All this less than two weeks after coming off a NCAA-levied suspension that lasted a year and nine games.

First, upon MSU’s arrival to Hawaii, where they played their games last week, Sidney had an undisclosed blowup at a teammate in practice. The blowup cost Sidney MSU’s game versus Washington State. With him watching on the bench, MSU lost by 26.

Off suspension again and back on the floor, Sidney and the Dogs next faced the University of San Diego.

In the USD game, Renardo was magnificent, scoring when given the opportunity, hustling up and down the floor, rebounding and defending the post. Everything you heard that Sidney couldn’t do—everything he wasn’t supposed to be. The writer of this piece was gushing on Twitter at the about-face we’d witnessed.

Then everyone in Mississippi went to sleep.

Before morning central time, one of the ugliest shiners in MSU sports history would be worn over and over and over and over again, on national television.

At 7:30 p.m. Hawaiian time, 11:30 p.m. here in Mississippi, Renardo Sidney and senior captain Elgin Bailey brawled through the stands and into the arena concourse. Fistfights usually last a matter of seconds. This one seemed to drag on for minutes.

The locals watched in shock. Teammates and coaches looked on stunned at what was happening right in front of them.

Luckily for Rick Stansbury, ESPN televised the tournament.

Manned, live cameras preparing for the next game, which was to tip off in about 10 minutes, captured the entire event. And on the slowest sports news day of the entire year, when 99 percent of our country’s population was at home parked in front of a television, the footage played over and over and over again, all day and night long.

Reportedly, it all started because Sidney wanted past Bailey. Bailey, senior and team captain, refused to move his legs out of the way so that Sidney couldn't pass.

The Rebel Black Bear cackles.

Sidney and Bailey were sent back to Jackson early, and on separate flights. Bailey is rumored to be on borrowed time with the team. Sidney, meanwhile, is suspended again…indefinitely this time. Heard that before.

I feel sorry for Renardo Sidney. He doesn’t realize that his actions, ultimately, only hurt himself.

Let’s face it; he’s not at MSU to get an engineering degree. He’s there to enhance his professional basketball prospects. NBA teams and scouts are certainly taking notes on Renardo right now and it’s not an easy read.

The larger failure here is that, at some point, people stopped raising Sidney to be a viable part of society and started raising him to be a pro basketball player. A reverse-trust fund, if you will. That is a true shame.

I wonder what percentage of his time each day, and each week, is spent with people who have absolutely zero to potentially gain from his basketball ability? I’d be willing to bet that it’s very little…if any at all.

From the time he got into high school, his world has not been normal. He’s been yanked from school to school; traveling thousands of miles around the country playing AAU basketball. After graduating from Peoples Middle in South Jackson, Renardo was yanked away from Forest Hill High in the same part of town before he could get in the door.

He was recruited to Piney Woods School, and when he was declared ineligible there by the MHSAA, moved out to Los Angeles where his father ultimately wound up with a job from a basketball shoe company.

Sidney only wound up at Mississippi State after almost everyone else including the two big L.A. schools—USC and UCLA—backed off, considering his eligibility case too toxic to attempt battling the NCAA on.

In the end, what kind of a human being will Renardo Sidney be when he is a grown-up? He is responsible for himself, having completely severed himself from a potentially lavish career in the only industry he’s been prepared to compete in, for his entire short life.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AWdQPT-H0Qc

Obviously, when you are part of a team, there are going to be disagreements and arguments.

Sometimes there will even be some pushing and shoving.  

But for things to come to blows, like they did Thursday night between Mississippi State teammates Renardo Sidney and Elgin Bailey in the stands during the Diamond Head Classic, it had to be bigger than just a disagreement.

Sidney was a highly sought after talent out of Los Angeles’ Fairfax High School. However, after choosing to play basketball at Mississippi State, the former McDonald's All-American has only played in two career games after losing his entire freshman season to an NCAA suspension.

The uber-talented Sidney might be an outstanding player on the court, but his off-the-court antics led to many teams passing on the forward.

This latest off-the-court situation might spell the end for Sidney’s career, really before it had gotten off the ground. Both players were suspended indefinitely after the fight.

"I'm very sorry for this incident," Sidney said in a statement released by the university. "I had no intention of this ever happening. I apologize for embarrassing my family, all the Mississippi State fans, my teammates and coaches. I will learn from this and move on."

The only problem is that he might have to move on away from basketball.

Many NBA general managers already thought of Sidney as a problem child, this just reaffirms the feeling.

"Our athletic staff, coaches and student-athletes have a responsibility to conduct themselves in a manner that brings credit and honor to our university," athletics director Scott Stricklin said in a statement. "The actions that took place Thursday night in Hawaii were embarrassing to all of us who love Mississippi State University and our athletic program. This behavior will not be tolerated."

When I look at Sidney, all I can think of is what a waste of talent he is. I really hope that he gets it together, but at this point I think he is a lost cause.

From the preseason ranking, loses to mid-majors and lesser conference foes, the buzzer beaters that resulted in multiple broken hearts, 2009-2010 is one to forget. To put it bluntly, MSU couldn’t finish or close out games. Sometimes, the main problem was showing up. In the first game of the season, after leading by 9, State fell to Rider (17-16) by 14 at home. 2 weeks later, State fell to Richmond (26-9) at home as well. Even though the Spiders went on to have a successful season, the Bulldogs at one point found themselves in a 14 point hole, only to lose by 1. Then there was WKU (21-16). A school of great tradition, but not a stellar year, beat  the Dawgs by 3, after leading by as much as 12. After a solid start in SEC play (3-0), State traveled to Tuscaloosa (Bama finished 17-15) and lost by 5, after not being able to overcome a 12 point hole. 5 days later, MSU visited Fayetteville in a dream scenario, to take on a struggling Arkansas team (14-18). What do I mean by dream scenario? Long story short, snow and weather conditions kept a usually raucous crowd out of Bud Walton arena, and only 3,500 attended the game. The Bulldogs led by as much as 12, only to fall by 5. After a lone win to lowly LSU, MSU hit a tough road stretch at UF and Vandy. State went on a 15-2 run in the final minutes at Vandy, in an attempt to make up for a 14 point deficit. They lost by 3, with a chance to tie at the buzzer. At UF, Aerosmith’s Same Ol’ Song and Dance couldn’t explain it any better. Down 12 at one point, the Bulldogs fought to make it a 4 point game in the final minute, but lost by 7. For those who might suffer from heart conditions, recalling any of the UK match ups just might do you in…read with caution. Just a refresher, State led by 7 with 2:40 to play, and to skip a rampage of information, let’s just say they lost by 5 in OT. After the first heartbreak to the Cats, MSU ran off a streak of 3 wins in a row, before heading to Auburn (15-17). Knowing that they could not fall into the temptation to try to out-shoot the Tigers, the Bulldogs did not contest shots, and allowed Auburn to shoot 51%, falling behind by 11, and losing by 9. Then there was the much hyped, much-needed possible win versus #13 UT. Remember this one, with tourney implications on the line, the Vols stormed out to a 17-0 lead, and instead it looked like UT was the team fighting for their lives and in need of a big win. MSU lost by 14, and Varnado and Stewart’s senior day was ruined. With the bad taste in their mouths from the regular season that had just transpired, the Bulldogs set out to earn a NCAA berth, with solid play in the SEC Tournament. Strong wins over UF and Vandy, placed State head-to-head with #2 UK once again. After matching each other step for step, MSU stretched the lead to 5 with just 2:30 to play, but State missed critical free throws was outscored 7-2 in that final span. The Cats forced OT on one of the most controversial plays in State’s basketball history, and then won the game by 1 in the extra period. Later that night at 6pm, the Bulldog Nation sat in front of their tv’s, as the Bulldog players watched from the Golden Triangle Airport. One regional bracket after another went by, and never once did we see that beloved M-State logo pop up in any of the slots. UF’s and Minnesota’s entry, only served as salt in the wound. Heart break had been served twice in one day. Later that night, MSU received a #1 Seed in the NIT, and from the start MSU fans eyed the possible second round battle with historic UNC. The Bulldogs would get their chance. The Bulldogs held a 12 point lead in the opening minutes, only to cough up the lead and trail by 6 at the half. After watching a very exciting second half, State fans saw the Bulldogs push the lead to 3 with 1:38 left. One off-balance, off the glass 3 by UNC, a blown opportunity to tie or win the game by State, and a miraculous lay up over the 6-9 frame of college basketball’s leading shot blocker, resulted in MSU’s final heartbreak of the 2009-2010 season. A season of not finishing games, or being able to close out games, was over. It’s hard to believe that the Bulldogs were able to claim the SEC West, especially in a season with so many frustrations. The sad thing is, the Bulldogs were just shots and seconds away, from making this a season to remember, but instead, 2010 will go down as one to forget. Put aside the officiating at times, and the fact is we didn’t win games.

Those of you who have read my work before, you know I have my opinions about Rick Stansbury. But, I will say in watching him walk off the court at the end of the SEC Championship game, and at the end of the UNC game, it was the look of a coach who was only defeated due to his players not executing what he had ask them to do. Be that a certain style of defense on a final play, or one in which a player didn’t take the shot he drew up in a timeout. That’s speculation, but it’s different than what I’ve felt or seen before from Stans. With that said, for the 12 year in a row, a couple of things that I’m getting sick of seeing year in and out, are the following: (1) We take our foot off the pedal, way to early. If I’m the only State fan who feels this way, let me know. But take the UNC game for instance, State was up 16-4, hot from 3 and all around, and then what all Bulldog fans refer to as  “Stans’ Ball” kicked in. What’s that? It’s simply gaining a large lead, and instead of pushing your lead out even further, you play a Dean Smith style of 4 corners, with no intention of looking to shoot the ball, til 6 seconds are left on the shot clock. Also known as a period in which, other teams get the idea, force turnovers off lazy passes, get out in transition, and completely swap their old circumstance for your new one…which is TIMEOUT! Up 16-4, next thing you know you are down 20-19. That’s a 16-3 run, and thanks to letting the Heels back in the game, you are down at the half. Gotta fix this. (2) We need a X’s and O’s coach, to assist Stansbury in game winning situations. Take the first UK and UNC games. Both games we had offensive possessions to put the games away. In both cases, we gave either Bost or Stewart the ball, and told them to drive and draw the foul, rather than drawing up a play that put our guys in the position to make a shot to seal it. Teams are so immune to that technique now days, that they expect it. As far as defensive chances to close out games, the opportunities were there. I can’t help but think of Patrick Patterson’s wide open baseline jumper that forced OT versus UK, or this past weekend’s game winning drive and lay up by Larry Drew II. In both cases, the defensive set up was a joke. Gotta fix this. (3) Finally, we have to win the games we should win. No excuse for loses to WKU and Rider. I feel like a broken record, but a Stansbury team is gonna lose 4 or 5 games a year, that they shouldn’t, that’s just a reality. Our team has to be ready to play, regardless of the opponent. Want to know how to fall out of the national spotlight, and lose your ranking? Lose these games. On the opposite side of the spectrum, we can’t wait to start playing during the final 5 minutes against the UF’s, the Vandy’s, etc. Common trends, that need to be stopped. As much as I like Stans, these things are major areas of weakness every year. Gotta fix this.

I do give credit where credit is due, and Stansbury deserves some considering what he was able to accomplish considering our roster situation. John Riek was suspended for the first 9 games, due to NCAA sanctions. That time away, took game conditioning and valuable experience away from the 7 footer from the Sudan. Not only that, but after this year it was quite apparent that Riek still needs recovery time for his knee to heal. State also missed out the physical play and presence of Elgin Bailey. The Junior had provided valuable rest to Varnado in years past. Not only that, but Bailey also held his own on D, in rebounding, and wasn’t bad at finding his way into the scoring column. There is always the Renardo Sidney case, which I won’t delve into. But after the first 10 games or so next year, Sidney should find his way onto the court, possibly earlier depending on the appeal. Last but not least, Dee Bost’s stamina was pushed to the limit this season, due to a preseason injury to Twany Beckham. When you consider the fact that 2 of these injuries, contributed to the fatigue of our 2 best players (Varnado and Bost) night in and night out, it makes you wonder the season we might have had, with health on our side. One thing we will always wonder about though is, the duo that never was…that being Varnado and Sidney side by side.

Overall, what’s your feelings about next year? Positive or negative? No clue what to expect? This is the last basketball post of the year, so rest assured the basketball talk is over.

Well boys, that was one crazy day of basketball. Vandy, UF, Richmond, Georgetown, Marquette, Notre Dame, UNLV, and Texas, all fell to lower seeded teams. 6 double-digit seeded teams won yesterday, marking the most since opening day of the 1991 tourney. 10 games were wins by 5 points or less, and 7 of those 10 were by 3 or less. As for me and my bracket, I only picked one of those upsets, in #11 Washington over #6 Marquette. Yeah, my bracket is in terrible shape. Watching UF and Vandy’s effort yesterday, sure made me wish that MSU had been invited…think we’d have given a little more than what was shown by those 2 yesterday. But then again, BYU forced UF into 21 turnovers, and had 12 steals, and against teams like that, State struggles. But, if they carried over that intense, desperate style of play we saw exhibited in Nashville, who knows? Let’s just hope the Dawgs return to that form vs the North Carolina Tar Heels on Saturday (11 am).

I was looking over the MSU/UNC match up, and the advantage on paper clearly falls to the Bulldogs. State’s playing at home, where they are a solid 13-3 on the year. Whereas, when UNC finds themselves away from Chapel Hill, they are a weak 2-8. The Bulldogs are a much better defensive team, allowing only 64.6 ppg, while the Heels give up 72.3 ppg. North Carolina does hold the offensive edge, averaging 3.5 ppg more than MSU. Reading Gregg Ellis’ Facebook page last night, he noted that this game has the media excited, saying  “this is the second-highest credential request of the year.”  Without doing your research, it would be easy to think of this as the first meeting between the two  schools, but it’s actually the 5th. The Heels hold a 4-0 advantage in the series (all games at UNC), which hasn’t been renewed since the 1965 season. If it was any other year, I’d say that MSU would have to play a flawless game to beat UNC, but not this year. There’s no doubt that the Heels might have more talent on their young team than we do with our older and more experienced roster, but this is one case where I’ll trade experience for talent. UNC has 7 McDonald’s All-Americans on this year’s team, but no one would have expected a .500 finish for the regular season. North Carolina can thank quality wins this year over the likes of Michigan State and Ohio State, as to why they even qualified for the NIT. Anyway, enough said, here’s you look at the Heel’s production leaders:
Deon Thompson- 13.8 ppg, 6.3 Rebs
Ed Davis- 12.9 ppg, 9.2 Rebs
Tyler Zeller-9.6 ppg, 4.7 Rebs
Will Graves- 9.3 ppg, 4.7 Rebs
Larry Drew II- 8.4 ppg, 2.5 Rebs
Marcus Ginyard- 8.2 ppg, 4.7 Rebs

And what would this preview be, if there wasn’t a prediction on the other side of it? The best way that State can approach this game vs another historic program such as UNC, is to follow suit with the way they whipped a program of the same caliber earlier this year. That other program, UCLA, who the Bulldogs torched 72-54. MSU has to handle this game looking beyond the other team’s rich traditions, and beat the current young men who wear those famous uniforms, not the ghosts of the program. Prediction: State comes out, inspired by the name of the opposition, and the presence of Roy Williams, and plays all out. In my crystal ball, I can see this one almost going the same way as the Bruin’s game. The Dawgs hit 12 three’s, Varnado has 7 blocks, Stewart plays great D, Ginyard turns it over 5+ times, Bost leads MSU in points, and the Dawgs roll on to victory 79-64. Your Prediction?

Don’t know how many of you tuned in last night for MSU’s NIT match up with Jackson State, if you didn’t, well you didn’t miss much. I guess the typical way to describe this one was about the same way you could describe the match up between these two universities on the football field in 2009. How’s that? Well for the most part, it was close for a while, the more talented team tried to do a little more than they should have at times, fumbled around…oh, there was that one kid on the lesser talented team who showed out, but in the end, the cream rose to the top, and the reserves were brought in to finish the game. Sound about right? If you need a more parallel translation, State only led by 5 at one point in the 2nd half (by as much as 22 eventually); once the Tigers were within 5, the Dawgs went on a 20-5 run; the Bulldogs only hit 8 of 29 from behind the arc (good for 27%); and JSU’s Garrison Johnson stole the show, with 32 points (6-14 from 3pt); 13 different Bulldog’s got to play, and State won by 14. Hope that sums it up. The main shift in momentum took place after JSU’s Phillip Williams punched at Dee Bost’s groin (real classy). After that, Bost jump started the Dawgs the way that Phil Turner usually does.

MSU Leaders- Jarvis Varnado- 21 pts, 11 rebs, and 3 blks. Dee Bost- 18 pts, 4 rebs, 6 asst, and 3 stls. Kodi Augustus- 13 pts  and 5 rebs. State finished with 12 steals, on a not-so-bad attendance night, 4,433, considering the fact that this was a NIT game, and since students are away for Spring Break. State now focuses their attention on the UNC Tar Heels. State is 0-4 all time vs North Carolina, with all those meetings taking place in Chapel Hill. The Heels have had an inconsistent year, with quality wins over VT, Michigan State, the Ohio State University, and even Wake Forest. Even with those to brag about, the Heels were only able to sweep one ACC team this season (NC State), finished 16-16 overall, and 5-11 in conference play. A year removed from winning the Nat’l Championship, settling for the NIT isn’t what the Carolina Blue Nation expected, especially since Roy Williams was able to roster 7 McDonald’s All-Americans. UNC advanced to the 2nd round last night, after defeating William & Mary. Tar Heels Deon Thompson and Marcus Ginyard, led the way with 20 and 12 pts, respectively. NC shot 49% on the night, which was enough to top WM’s 41%. The 17-16 Heels, travel to Starkville on Saturday, to face the 24-11 Bulldogs. Should be an interesting match up.

Right after the talk had died amongst the Bulldog Nation, Rick Stansbury’s argument about John Wall’s lane violation during the final play of regulation, has stirred up some emotions once again. Coach Stans will more than likely be fined for his comments, which were as follows:  “I’ve been at this a long time, and one thing I’ve learned: At Mississippi State, you’re supposed to take it and be quiet. I had a hard time swallowing this pill because so much was at stake and my players were affected. When does the truth matter?”  Though many may call it crying or whining, the Bulldogs missed out on a call that would have more than likely sealed up State’s 4th SEC Tourney Championship. I guess its whining when a smaller, less respected fan base and team have it happen to them, rather than it sounding like someone screaming  ‘bloody murder’, from a larger fan base and more respected team. Rule 9, Sect. 1, Article 2, Part G: [Players not in a legal marked lane space shall remain behind the free throw line extended and behind the three-point field-goal line until the ball strikes the ring, flange or backboard, or until the free throw ends].

Anyway, I’m done talking about the UK game, just like Stansbury standing up for his and our Bulldogs.

Spring football starts in 6 days! I feel a personal day coming on! And have yall seen the ticket prices this year!?!

When the book is closed on Mississippi State’s season, the focus will be on the missed opportunities at the free throw line, not the putback by DeMarcus Cousins as time expired in regulation to send the game to overtime.

As good as Mississippi State was supposed to be this season, winning yet another SEC West division title with the leading shot-blocker of all time in college basketball in Jarvis Varnado and sharpshooter Barry Stewart, what was supposed to be a certain bid in the NCAA Tournament has evolved into the waiting game for the Bulldogs.

Why?

The Bulldogs going into today had an RPI of 43 and a record of 23-10 after beating Vanderbilt in the SEC semis, with good wins coming against Ole Miss twice and Old Dominion in the regular season.

After the start of the new year, if one looked at their wins, the only two that would stand out would be the wins against Ole Miss, which could also be on the outside looking in with their RPI of 54.

But the Bulldogs played close against Kentucky (RPI 5) and Vanderbilt (RPI 36), a Bulldog fan would say.

True, but they lost to Rider (RPI 183) at home as well as Arkansas, Western Kentucky, Alabama, and oh yeah, Auburn in the last game ever at Beard-Eaves.

That doesn’t bode well for a team that wants to make the NCAA Tournament for the third straight season.

Losing to Tennessee is one thing, but losing to Western Kentucky and Rider?

Those losses aren’t in the category at all.

In a few minutes, as we all sit around our televisions, the people of Starkville better face the cold hard truth about being left out.

Sometimes, the truth is best served ice cold, and in the case of Mississippi State, it was served by John Wall and Cousins.

You had your chances and you blew them.

Deal with it.

If you paid any attention last week to some quotes within the MSU camp, you might have heard the phrase “fighting for our lives”, and MSU appears to be doing just that, trying to guarantee their spot amongst the final 64 next month. On Saturday, State traveled to one of the SEC’s toughest venues, in Columbia, South Carolina. Even though the Gamecocks’ overall record is nothing impressive, USC was 11-3 at home (now 11-4), with wins over teams such as #2 UK. The Bulldogs not only left Columbia with a win, but rather handled the Gamecocks for much of Saturday evening. State was very impressive in (1) controlling Devan Downey, (2) shooting the 3 ball, and (3) putting the game away. To put the latter in perspective, (1) Downey came in averaging 27 ppg in SEC play, but was held to only 12, which was his second lowest output of the year. (2) MSU shot 47% from downtown, hitting 10 of 21 shots, led by Barry Stewart who hit on 5 of 7. (3) And finally, USC got the game back to within 2 (39-37) at the 16 minute mark, but an 11-0 run by the Dawgs kept the Cocks out of striking distance for the rest of the evening. MSU led by 16 (60-44) at the 9 minute mark, and would go on to win by 13, 76-63. Stewart wasn’t the only Dawg who played solid: Jarvis Varnado finished with 19 pts and 12 rebs, Kodi Augustus pitched in 13 and 9, Ravern Johnson put up 15 and 5, and Dee Bost posted 11 with 7 assists. With the win, State clinched at least a share of the SEC West, and hold the tie-breaker over Arkansas and Ole Miss…so in other words, get started on our banner please. The Division Crown is the Bulldogs’ 7th, and State has now won 3 of the last 4 titles. Just weeks ago, MSU was losers of 4 of 5, and making the Big Dance or even winning the West, simply looked improbable. But, when things looked the worst, the Dawgs began to claw. Now winners of 6 of their last 7, State is among the SEC’s hottest teams, they’ve clinched the West and a bye in the SEC Tourney, and quite possibly have found their way off the bubble, and into March Madness contention. If anything silences critics, it’s winning, and Rick Stansbury has found a way to do just that. I for one, have been critical of Stans at times this year, but I have to applaud him for his improvements within the areas of game planning, player utilization, and closing out games. With that said, not closing out the UK game with a 7 point lead in the final minutes, and needing a 3 pointer in the final seconds of the LSU game-just to win, says what it says about this coach and team. But, for this bunch to achieve what they have considering season long injuries to Bailey and Beckham, while still awaiting the availability of Sidney, says a lot as well. As for the road ahead, which team that takes the court, and which coach that takes the sidelines, we’ll just have to wait and see. State has 2 regular season games left, this Wednesday at Auburn, and Saturday at home for #17 UT. As for Barry Stewart and Jarvis Varnado, these last two match ups will be their final regular season games in Maroon and White. Barry will graduate as MSU’s best 3 point shooter in school history (statistically), and with the most minutes played. As for Varnado, he will more than likely win his 3rd consecutive SEC Defensive Player of the Year, and graduate as the only player in college basketball history, with 1,000+ points, 1,000 + rebounds, and 500+ blocks in a career. How do you guys see the final 2 going? Do we need both W’s or just one to be ok for Tourney consideration? One things for sure, beating UT will greatly aid our chances, improve our RPI, and impress the analysts, who are infatuated with UT every year. Auburn will be dangerous on their home rims, and have given us fits over the last 5 years or so. For some reason, we always just try to out shoot the Tigers, rather than playing our usual defensive style, and that calls for some high scoring battles. If we can handle the rest of the season, with the same fire that the Dawgs showed at Columbia, the Dawgs could go far in both tourneys. In Baseball news, hmmm…how do I put it, how about embarrassing. State was 9-0 against SELA, until this weekend, in which the Diamond Dawgs were swept by the Lions. Coach Cohen was blunt as usual, about his team’s performance: “We are better than we were this weekend and we will continue to get better…Since this had to happen, I liked the way that it happened. It stings and I want our guys to fill that sting…Not everything will always go our way…We know how it feels when we don’t do our job.” Amen to all that, because you can’t get swept by the Southland Conference. Maybe you lose one to their stud on Friday, but you take care of business the rest of the weekend. Recap… Friday -Nick Routt pitched 8 inn, 6 hits, 1 run -Johnathan Ogden was 3-4 -State blew bases opportunity in 8th -Gave up 3 run 9th to SELA for loss Saturday -State committed 5 error. -Dawgs had 11 hits, 3 from Luke Adkins -Chris Stratton got the loss, (1-1) now, 5 runs, 2 earned, 5 hits in 2 inn. Sunday -State failed to score in final 5 at bats. -Had runners on 2nd and 3rd with one out in the 9th, Powers and Duffy failed to come through. -Russ Snead hit his first HR of the yr, Dawgs got 2 runs in 1st. -Dawgs were out hit 15-11. I also wanted to hear yalls’ opinion on the Tourney picture. If you are friends with me on Facebook, as some of you are, my status on Saturday was: “ESPN is taking the Big East out to dinner tonight, they are in love you know.” I mean when you have 17-12 teams, with losing records in their conference, being talked about over a MSU or better teams, it’s ridiculous. Pretty sad. SEC has to get 4 in, period. We are not the Big East, but for them to get 8-9 teams in, is a crime. Guess that’s what happens when the ACC and Pac 10 suck, you gotta fill the spots with somebody, but still.