What Saturday's Loss Against Texas Tech Means for Mississippi State's Men's Basketball Program
The odds were certainly stacked against Mississippi State heading into Saturday evening's men's basketball matchup against Texas Tech, but the Bulldogs did nothing to prove that they could compete.
The Bulldogs were demolished 76-50 by the No. 13-ranked Red Raiders on Saturday, and they fell to 13-7 with roughly 11 games left to play before the postseason. Although the matchup wasn't necessarily a "must-win" for MSU, even playing a competitive game would have helped the team. The Bulldogs currently sit among the first four out in Joe Lunardi's bracket projections but have a good chance of slipping in the coming days.
Mississippi State was dominated in just about every way against the Red Raiders, partially due to their season-high 22 turnovers. Iverson Molinar-- the team's most reliable player thus far-- only accounted for 12 points and three rebounds while leading the team in turnovers with five. DJ Jeffries and Rocket Watts had 11 and 10 points, respectively, while Andersson Garcia led the team on the boards with five rebounds. As a team, the Bulldogs were outscored by double-digits in both halves and shot only 40 percent from the field.
This was one of the biggest games of the 2021-2022 season for head coach Ben Howland, who has been with the program for seven years. In the end, he blew it. He lacked energy on the sideline and was unable to find a way to adapt when the team fell far behind. Sure, the players could have each performed much better, but if it's evident that something is not working during a game, then shouldn't a change be made? It's no surprise that Howland will likely be in some hot water when he arrives back in Starkville.
It's time to face the music: the Bulldogs will likely not be a tournament team under Howland. Perhaps the most disheartening part of this is the fact that the program was able to recruit some outstanding transfers in the offseason, and now their hard work could be for nothing. Every team has bad games, but many of this group's struggles all go back to fundamentals: something that should be nearly fixed by a coach at this point in the season. Right now, the team needs to take a new approach to the season, and that starts with how Howland leads his players. Once Howland finds his fire and desire to turn things around, then the Bulldogs will start reaping the benefit of their success.
Does the team have a chance to make it to the NCAA Tournament? As of right now, the odds of that happening seem pretty slim. Mississippi State needs to pick up a few more wins against quality opponents-- they will have the opportunity to do that in the coming weeks against Tennessee, LSU and Auburn. Mixed in with those big games are a few must-wins for the Bulldogs. If MSU can win every game that they are supposed to win and pull off a few big upsets, then they might have a chance of slipping into the bubble.
Ultimately, this is not a direct reflection of the players' individual talents. Each athlete who suits up in maroon and white brings something special to the table, but ultimately, some problems lie much deeper than the surface. If things don't improve over the next month, then serious changes might need to be made in the offseason. After all, Howland was not brought in to lead a once-in-a-lifetime team to another NIT appearance.
The Bulldogs' next chance to redeem themselves will be on Tuesday evening when they will host the South Carolina Gamecocks in Humphrey Coliseum.
