Moving On Up: Two Big Wins for Mississippi State Men's Basketball Keep Slim Tournament Hopes Alive

After a few weeks of tough losses and dwindling tournament chances, Mississippi State has rebounded and could now potentially make the NCAA Tournament after all.

The chances aren't great, but they are better than they were only days ago. The Bulldogs bested Missouri twice this weekend-- on Friday and Sunday-- to improve their resume and get closer to breaking back into Joe Lunardi's bracket projections. MSU is not currently listed among the First Four Out or Next Four Out, but Lunardi's projections have not been updated since Friday morning.

Friday night's victory was a breath of fresh air to the struggling Mississippi State team. The Bulldogs crushed Missouri 68-49 to pick up their first victory since defeating South Carolina on Feb. 1. Tolu Smith led State with 16 points, while standout guard Iverson Molinar was just behind him with 13 points of his own. Andersson Garcia came off the bench and finished with a team-high eight rebounds and three steals.

The Bulldogs' 58-56 victory on Sunday was much more difficult to achieve. MSU climbed out to a 31-23 lead heading into the half but let it all dwindle as the minutes ticked down. With 1:56 left in the game, the Tigers took a 56-53 lead. Whether it be great defense by Mississippi State or a total collapse from within, Mizzou's last few attempts to score were useless. MSU tied the game up with 37 seconds left thanks to a made layup by Iverson Molinar, and Shakeel Moore reached the goal on a fast-break layup with only 10 seconds remaining. Molinar finished with a team-high 16 points, while Garrison Brooks had 11 points and seven rebounds.

What's next for the Bulldogs? The team will travel to South Carolina on Wednesday before facing Vanderbilt and No. 2-ranked Auburn at home over the next two weeks. The regular season will end with a visit to Texas A&M on March 5. MSU could walk away with three wins in the next four games and carry some much-needed momentum into the SEC Tournament. An impressive showing in the conference tournament would further boost their chances of making it to the biggest stage of all.

According to Team Rankings, Mississippi State has a 42.6 percent chance of making it to the NCAA Tournament-- up from the 40.2 percent chance they had last week. The Bulldogs would most likely end up as a No. 11 seed, putting them in the Round of 64 automatically.

MSU has a busy two weeks ahead of it, and it needs all of the help they can get to salvage a season that has been full of ups and downs. If the team manages to make it to the NCAA Tournament, then it will be mighty impressive and show the work that this team continues to put in.