Lack of Inside Presence, Turnovers Lead to Big Loss in Starkville
STARKVILLE – Razorback fans who had to stay at work and missed today’s SEC opener at Mississippi State probably feel like they came out on top following a frustrating 81-68 loss at Humphrey Coliseum in Starkville Wednesday afternoon.
Arkansas entered the game without three players, including leading scorer J.D. Notae and a recently surging Kamani Johnson. However, it was the absence of any reliable inside presence that doomed the Hogs.
The return of Tolu Smith meant the Bulldogs could potentially be the strongest they have been down low all year.
Mississippi State dominated the inside.
Offensively, the Bulldogs out-rebounded the Hogs 39-31. That led to 14 second chance points and 32 points in the paint.
On the other end, Arkansas struggled inside. Many of the Hogs’ 17 turnovers came either in or around the paint as Mississippi State not only appeared longer, but much more active inside.
The Bulldogs were also able to convert those turnovers into 25 points.
The one bright spot for the Hogs was guard Stanley Umude who led all scorers with 19 points.
Umude began to heat up late in the first half and did the best he could to carry the team in the second half, but couldn’t chip the score back into single digits.
The issue wasn’t necessarily shooting. Arkansas was closing in on 50% shooting for the game with just over a minute left before a flurry of forced shots.
The Hogs just weren’t able to get shots off against the Bulldog defensive pressure.
With the win, Mississippi State moves to 7-1 against Arkansas over the past few years.
Final stats:
