Mississippi State searching for more post presence in March
In Saturday’s overtime loss to South Carolina, Mississippi State allowed Gamecock forwards BJ Mack and Collin Murray-Boyles finished a combined 17-21 from the field.
Most of those baskets came in the painted area, where they found little resistance for 40 minutes of play. They also worked their way to the charity stripe nine times between the two of them en route to the 93-89 win.
After the game, Mississippi State forward Cam Matthews spoke about what made the two tough to defend on Saturday.
“They’re both really good players, really skilled, and they’ve got size,” Matthews said. “They really know how to use their size. It’s hard to maneuver around that and not get any silly fouls and give them the and-one and stuff like that.”
Saturday wasn’t a one trick pony for State as of late, though. Going back the last four games, Mississippi State has given up 146 points in the paint. Only twice in that span did State hold the opposition under 40 paint points, but only under 30 once – in the road loss to Auburn.
It hasn’t been great on the offensive end, either. Since his 21 point outing against Kentucky, Smith is 15-31 from the floor over three games. Field goal percentage wise, that’s not terrible. However, as the player Jans’ offense runs though, the graduate senior has to take more shots while making them at the same clip.
As March approaches, assuming Mississippi State is still in the NCAA Tournament, post presence becomes an even bigger factor than it normally is. It’s no secret that teams who rely on a three point barrage have trouble eventually in March, and for Mississippi State, its roster is tailored to combat that.
There will be no combat, however, without more aggression on both ends of the floor not only in the starting five, but also off the bench. Jimmy Bell Jr. was lightning in a bottle for Mississippi State before the start of conference play, and still holds a size advantage of most any bench center the Bulldogs have and will face. If Smith doesn’t have it on any given night, Bell will have to make big plays down the stretch.
The formula for MississippI State to make a run in March is still very much there, but the window is fading quickly. Now set up to face off against LSU in the first round of the SEC Tournament, the Bulldogs should be on bubble watch. A win over the Tigers, with a little luck around the country, could put Mississippi State firmly back in the hunt. However, the Bulldogs will need more out of their All-SEC big man and others down the stretch to make that a reality.
