The Game Mississippi State HAD to Have: 5 Key Takeaways from the Win Over Georgia

Mississippi State 76, Georgia 75

5. Any landing you can walk away from in a good one

It wasn't perfect, and it should've been easier, but this was a dangerous road game and a key moment for Georgia, and Mississippi State pulled through.

The Starkville Bulldogs had a hard time closing, but after a rough month with so many misfires and inconsistencies, this win showed the toughness late to get out alive.

This was a Saturday afternoon road game in the SEC, and on a day when Auburn lost, Duke fell in an ACC showdown at Clemson, and Marquette lost a Big East battle at Creighton, Mississippi State got the win.

4. The Mississippi State depth was a big deal

It wasn't so much the way MSU was able to get scoring production off the bench - KeShawn Murphy and Riley Kugel provided a boost - it was how the defense was able to hold up in the end partly because it still had a few fresh bodies left.

Georgia got a few good minutes out of its bench, but for the production wasn't there. MSU struggled against Silas Demary, but the defense did a great job of keeping Asa Newell in relative check on the inside.

It's almost mid-February, and the team still has legs. And ...

3. Mississippi State hit the boards

Defensive rebounds have been a little bit of an issue. Mississippi State got whacked by Missouri, but allowed just eight offensive rebounds. Before that, allowing offensive boards were a massive issue. For the fifth straight game MSU got outrebounded, but it was only by one, and it only allowed nine Georgia offensive rebounds.

It was a total team effort. Five Georgia players came up with at least two rebounds. Nine Mississippi State players came up with at least two starting with a massive day from KeShawn Murphy, scoring 14 points with a team-high eight boards.

2. What was up with the free throws?

Mississippi State should've been able to put this away easier, but it couldn't do enough from the line. The team was great on the inside, hit 30% from three, and connected on just 33% of its chances on free throws.

There were too many missed chances, too many empty trips, and it turned out to be the second-worst game from the line this season hitting just 6-of-18 chances.

1. Beating Georgia didn't save the season, but ...

Everyone can go ahead and exhale now.

After losing two straight and going 2-5 in the lat seven, this was the first win in regulation since a win at Vanderbilt on January 7th.

There wasn't any real fear of missing out on the NCAA Tournament, but lose this, and with Florida, at Ole Miss, and Texas A&M up next. there would've been a huge problem had Mississippi State not pulled this off.

But it did, it's 17-6, and this might just be the type of conifdence boost needed for what's coming next.