Just A Bulldog Minute: Three Obstacles For Mississippi State Men’s Basketball

What the Mississippi State men's basketball team must overcome to see a positive outcome in this week's matchups.

Heading into this week, the Mississippi State Men’s Basketball team sits at a 14-8 record. On Wednesday, the Bulldogs will head to Athens to take on Georgia and will be back in Humphrey Coliseum for a matchup against the Missouri Tigers on Saturday.

As the team dives deeper into the season, more challenges arise. There are three big obstacles Mississippi State must overcome to ensure more promising outcomes this season.

At the beginning of the season, Washington State and Northwestern fell short to the Bulldogs. However, MSU still experienced non-conference losses to Georgia State and Southern University.

First, Mississippi State has definitely found their troubles while starting conference play on the road. After upsets by South Carolina, Florida, Alabama, Kentucky and Ole Miss, the common denominator is that the Bulldogs have a tough time with travel play.

Although Mississippi State took down two top-10 teams beating Auburn and Tennessee, the team still sits at a 3-6 conference record. The team has four more chances for conference wins away. MSU still has yet to play Missouri, LSU, Auburn and Texas A&M. Every one of these wins is necessary for tournament consideration.

Another issue standing in the way is the early season loss to Southern University. This Quad 4 loss is detrimental enough to drop MSU by at least one seed line. With a Q4 record of 5-1 and an undefeated record of Q3 games, this loss is something that could haunt the Bulldogs for tournament consideration.

One last issue that MSU has so overcome this week is having standout D.J. Jeffries ruled out with a knee injury. There is no estimated time for his return, and since Jeffries has set the tone for Mississippi State defense this season, he is a key player the team cannot afford to lose.

The Bulldogs will have to accommodate for his absence and step up defense through other candidates and through the on-court chemistry through players who can fill his role.