Bulldogs set for Sunday clash with instate foe Southern Miss

Over the last three years, the games before holidays have been a challenge for coach Sam Purcell and Mississippi State.

It’s not all that uncommon for many basketball teams in the college game as players prepare their minds for time with family. Two seasons ago, Purcell took his team to Colorado State and had an 82-75 shootout win over the Rams. The Bulldogs traveled to Louisiana Monroe last season and were in a fight with the Warhawks before surviving late 78-70.

With exams complete and Christmas break imminent, another challenge awaits the Bulldogs on Sunday afternoon by hosting Southern Miss (2 p.m., SEC Network +).

“When you look at my last three years here, we’ve won some really close games right before Christmas. It’s human nature during that five-day break,” Purcell said. “Basketball is different than all of the other sports where there’s not that break. Human nature is you want to go home but you can’t let your mind go there. We’ve got to make sure they’re locked in and focus on us.”

Bulldogs have been building success in recent weeks

Since the Bulldogs’ frustrating 69-62 road loss to Texas Tech last month, Purcell’s team has started to build. State scored 31 points to build a 15-point lead in that first frame against the Red Raiders and then scored just 31 points the rest of the way to have a disappointing loss to a good TTU team that remains unbeaten.

State (9-1) has won five-straight ball games since that game and all of them have been by double digits. Defense has been at the forefront of their victories but the Bulldogs are growing on the offensive end as well.

With new faces all over the floor, the Bulldogs are figuring out their identity and the team is meshing. Destiney McPhaul has returned for a final year and has 13.1 points per game while newcomers Favour Nwaedozi (12.1 ppg, 9.5 rpg) and Madison Francis (12.0 ppg, 6.6 rpg, 3.5 bpg) have become a dynamic duo in the post.

Sunday will be one of the tougher challenges this year as State takes on a Southern Miss team that is top 30 in the country in scoring (80.0 ppg) and 3-point shooting (37%).Coach Missy Bilderback has players familiar with her system like ULM transfers Jakayla Johnson and Meloney Thames and Arkansas transfer Carly Keats was a big transfer as well.

“We’re in a really good spot, but we have a Southern Miss team that I have a ton of respect for,” Purcell said. “Their starting five is as good as that Texas Tech team that we played earlier. Each one of them have had 20-point games and have been battle-tested. We’re going to have our work cut out.”

Bilderback’s quick rise from Jones Junior College to USM in a matter of just three years has garnered a lot of respect from Purcell. The coach said that Bilderback was actually the first JUCO coach to contact him when he took the job in Starkville and has remained a friend to him.

The rising coach replaced a legend at USM in Joyce Lee-McNelis who retired last season and then passed away after a battle with cancer. Her legacy is being honored by Bilderback’s work and the coach is looking to add to it. A win in Starkville would help her take off and Purcell understands the challenge ahead.

“The state of Mississippi doesn’t get the respect it deserves on the national stage. In order for us to get that respect, all of our instate programs need to do our job,” Purcell said. “It’s great to see  someone like Southern Miss that’s 7-3 and getting it back. I have a lot of respect for someone to come in and take over a program, like I did, that had someone before them that was really well thought of. She’s doing it the right way to honor the past but at the same time doing it for who you are as the head coach.”

After Sunday’s game, the Bulldogs have two more before Christmas as they take on Alabama State at home next Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. and they’ll play LaSalle in Philadelphia, Pa., next Saturday at 11 a.m.