Mississippi State Blows Past LSU: 5 Thoughts On the Desperately Needed Bulldog Performance

5 Thoughts on Mississippi State’s Statement Win Over LSU

5. THERE we go, Mississippi State. Was that so hard?

Deep breath … it was only LSU … it was only LSU … it was only …

South Carolina might have been lousy, but LSU really was the worst team in the SEC by the end of the season. Mississippi State came out and took the game away right out of the gate, was up by 20 at halftime, and it did exactly what it was supposed to do.

No, there was no fear of not getting into the NCAA Tournament or anything, but for a team that struggled so much down the stretch, it was nice to knock that it could kick in that extra gear.

And it was because …

4. Josh Hubbard can carry the team.

He’s one of the best players in the loaded SEC, he’s the best player on Mississippi State, and in the first half of the first game in the SEC Tournament, he showed he’s ready to take over.

Josh Hubbard finished with 26 points, was fantastic in the first half, hit his threes, kept things moving, and with all the pressure in the world on this game - the Bulldogs REALLY needed a good performance - he ended the drama right away.

This is a balanced team, but let 12 cook and if it’s all right, everything else falls into place.

3. The Bulldog defense was fresh.

Again, take this with several grains of salt.

This was against LSU, not Florida, or Tennessee, or even Kentucky. LSU is offensively challenged, it didn’t have the firepower to keep up, and it wasn’t nearly sharp enough to pull this off.

Whatever. Mississippi State came up with ten steals, forced 15 turnovers, and then moved the ball around incredibly well to keep the offensive pressure up. But …

2. That was the perfect coaching moment.

There was a lull.

Mississippi State wasn’t in any danger, but all of a sudden it was an 11 point game with 15 minutes to play - and head coach Chris Jans wasn’t very pleased.

The intensity of the team dropped for a few minutes, LSU started to get a little bit of momentum, and then … boom. The Bulldogs got it back, went on a decent run, and in a flash got it back up to 20.

This is a good team, but its depth and talent there’s no way it can let up for a moment over the next few games, and that starts with …

1. Time to exorcise the demons against Missouri.

Mississippi State came off a tough fight of a loss against Alabama, had a home game to get back up to speed before going on the road against Georgia, and it got wiped out.

Missouri came into Starkville, ate Mississippi State’s lunch in an 88-61 win. The Tigers were dominant on the inside, they couldn’t stop scoring early with a 45 point first half, and that turned into a key moment in the season for both teams.

Mississippi State can win the rematch. It has to get out to a hot start, can’t let this get into a high-scoring fight, and it must take advantage of a team that lost four of its last five games.

It was only a win over LSU. Now the season starts.