Everything Tolu Smith, Jimmy Bell Jr. Said After Defeating Vanderbilt

The Mississippi State men's basketball team handled Vanderbilt 68-55 on Saturday.

The Mississippi State men's basketball team defeated Vanderbilt 68-55 on Saturday.

Bulldogs forward Tolu Smith led his team with 25 points and 11 rebounds with every board coming in the second half.

Smith has rotated with fellow forward Jimmy Bell Jr. since he came back from his foot injury and the duo seem to be in control of the paint on a nightly basis. Bell only played 10 minutes on Saturday but recorded seven rebounds in that short span.

Smith and Bell spoke during the postgame press conference. Here is a full transcript of what they said:

Tolu Smith

On why he played so well:

I think the coaching staff and my team did a great job of getting me and (Jimmy Bell Jr.) the ball. We knew there were mismatches down low and I feel like most nights are going to be a mismatch regardless of how big and tall. We put a lot of work in on the low block and a lot of work in just our game in general, so the results showed tonight.

On what he's seen confidence-wise from Trey Fort:

He's a slam-thrower. He gets hot at any time. I hang out with him a lot and I get to see first-hand how great he can shoot and score the ball. He's an offensive threat and people have to come out and guard him. He's an asset we need on the court all the time.

On what caused the multiple slight comebacks by Vanderbilt:

Basketball is a game of runs and it isn't going to be perfect every night. Mississippi State basketball is not pretty. We're some grimy players that get down and nasty. I think the main thing that (head) coach (Chris) Jans was emphasizing was that we've been here before. We've been here many times and we've just got to fight through, fight back and that's what we did.

On how it feels to be back on track after consecutive losses to Kentucky and Alabama:

It feels great to win. This was a must-win for it. There are no pushovers in the SEC from the highest to the lowest. We needed this win and I'm glad we got it.

On what he's seen from Trey Fort the past few weeks:

Just buy-in. He believes in us and the coaching staff. Everybody knows that he shoots the lights out, so it's just been him buying in for us and he's been doing a great job with that.

On making more free throws late in the game compared to earlier:

So the old me would say 'I'm missing I'm missing I'm missing,' but I think the new me has a next-shot mentality. I think the next one is going in.

On playing so well against Vanderbilt throughout his career:

I have no idea. I just go out and play every night. I think coach (Jerry) Stackhouse is a phenomenal coach, we had some words after the game and I'm a big fan of his.

On what Jimmy Bell provided for Mississippi State when he was injured:

He provided so much. He got us a lot of wins. Without those wins, we wouldn't even be looking into March. I congratulate Jimmy, I'm always with him and we always talked about what we'd do when I was back and what we'd want to achieve.

Jimmy Bell Jr.

On what it's like having Tolu Smith back from injury:

I started the year without him. The expectation was that we'd play together beginning but now he's back. We rotate and beat up other team's bigs and it feels good.

On the transition from the starting lineup to a role off the bench:

It's been good for me. I came here to play my role. It started off with a bigger role in the beginning, but now I'm back to what the expectation was. Now it's time to get rolling, win these games and continue to beat down on other bigs.

On the defensive effort:

Coach has been honest about defense since we started SEC play. We had a few games, where Kentucky scored 90 and Alabama scored a lot of points, our goal is to keep teams under 50-60 points. I think we did a good job today, so we just have to sustain it.

On recording seven rebounds in just eight minutes in the first half:

I just try to use my size and ability the best I can. The ball bounced my way, I got in good position and I was able to snatch and grab it.

Mississippi State Men’s Basketball Bounces Back against Vanderbilt