Mississippi State Men's Basketball: Where the Bulldogs Stand Following Loss to Arkansas
Time is running out for Mississippi State's men's basketball team to make a case for an NCAA Tournament Appearance.
On Saturday night, the Bulldogs lost to the Arkansas Razorbacks by a score of 63-55. Iverson Molinar continued to shine for MSU by putting up 19 points, while Garrison Brooks had a double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds. In his return from injury, Tolu Smith put up 11 points. Unfortunately, these three good performances were not enough to lead the team to victory.
Mississippi State kept it close for much of the game but ultimately couldn't capitalize on Arkansas' mistakes. Turnovers were a huge issue for the Bulldogs. They coughed the ball up 12 times, which doubled the six turnovers that Arkansas had. State was also significantly worse coming off the bench-- while Mississippi State only had six points from bench players, the Razorbacks had 23. In the final two minutes, the Razorbacks couldn't miss a shot, and the Bulldogs made questionable decisions both offensively and defensively that ultimately decided the game.
MSU defeated Arkansas when the two teams met earlier in the season, but the Bulldogs desperately needed to win last night to finally have a commanding SEC road victory. With the loss, Mississippi State has dropped a little bit in Joe Lunardi's NCAA March Madness projections. The Bulldogs now sit at second on the list of the first four teams out; they were first on that list less than a week ago.
Now, State's chances of making the NCAA Tournament are getting slimmer and slimmer. They only have nine regular-season SEC matchups left in the season, including big games against No. 22-ranked Tennessee, No. 25 LSU and No. 1 Auburn. The team should make the SEC tournament, but at this point, seeding and potential matchups have yet to be determined. MSU will likely need to win at least seven or eight of their remaining games, including in the SEC tournament, to have a shot at making it to the big tournament.
Right now, it seems most likely that the Bulldogs will make their third-consecutive NIT appearance. There are some good wins on the team's resume, but without a significant amount of improvement over the coming weeks, it will be hard to make a case for a March Madness appearance.
If Mississippi State does not have an NCAA tournament appearance despite its talented roster, then it will be a huge disappointment. Buckle up, Bulldogs fans: these next few weeks will be extremely important for the team.
