MSU looks to bounce back in home tilt against No. 13 Missouri

Mississippi State got its heart ripped out over the weekend.

The Bulldogs were on the cusp of their first win over Kentucky in almost 12 full years before the Wildcats overcame a nine-point second-half deficit on Saturday. MSU fell 78-73 in double overtime.

Tuesday night, State tries to pick itself up, dust itself off and regroup as the Bulldogs host No. 13 Missouri in an 8 p.m. central game at Humphrey Coliseum. MSU head coach Ben Howland is confident his team will respond to the adversity facing them after last Saturday's crushing defeat.

"Obviously our guys were really hurting after that game and there was somberness," Howland said. "But I explained to them, ‘Hey, that game is over now.’ The whole key to it, from every experience, is to learn from it and not let it carry into the next game."

So what do you need to know headed into Tuesday night's affair? Here's a quick look at the game:

What: No. 13 Missouri Tigers (7-1, 1-1) at Mississippi State (6-4, 1-1)
Where: Humphrey Coliseum – Starkville, Mississippi
When: 8 p.m. central
TV/Video: SEC Network, ESPN App
Radio/Audio: 100.9 WKBB-FM in Starkville area, online at Hailstate.com and the TuneIn radio app

Tough Tigers

Missouri appears to be one of the country's best teams. Aside from the Tigers' No. 13 ranking by The Associated Press, they are 10th in the NCAA's NET rankings – the tool used to decide who's in and out of the NCAA Tournament.

"I think they play very good defense," Howland said of Missouri. "I think they’re one of the better defensive teams in our league. They really, really do a good job.

"I think they’re really executing well offensively. They push the ball well in transition. Even on our made shots, you’re going to see them push it and try to push it really hard – as did Kentucky. As did Georgia. So we’ve got to do a good job on our transition defense with these guys as well."

Missouri is led by four different players who average double figures in scoring. Xavier Pinson is at the top of that group, averaging 15 points per game. Mark Smith averages 12.5 per contest, while Dru Smith averages 11.4 and Jeremiah Tilmon sits at 10.4. Tilmon isn't far from averaging a double-double as he also averages 7.8 rebounds per outing.

Somewhat Silent Smith

Forward Tolu Smith has been one of Mississippi State's best players this season overall, but he's been somewhat quiet in MSU's first two league games of the year. After scoring in double figures in each of State's eight non-conference games this year – including notching three double-doubles – Smith scored just seven points both at Georgia and at home against Kentucky. Smith upping his offensive production would go a long way towards the Bulldogs upsetting the Tigers Tuesday.

"He just needs to slow down in the post," Howland said of Smith. "Tolu is playing at sometimes a pace that’s just going too fast. He’s just got to slow down and get settled and that comes with experience. We watched the (game) film yesterday. He watched the entire game and edits with the team. He got a lot of film work. He came in and did extra work (Monday) for an hour. He’s got a great attitude, a great work ethic. He’s going to keep improving and getting better. He is leading the league in rebounding as of (Monday) for all games. He’s done some very good things for us. Offensively, he’s got to focus on his post game. Every kid wants to shoot, wants to work on shooting and facing up and shooting 3s. That’s been the focus of his time that he spends outside of practice. He’s got to be focused on No. 1 – being able to use that 6-11, 245 pounds and score on people with his back to the basket some. That’s something we worked on (Monday)."

Taming the Tigers

It's a new year and a new Missouri team, but it bears noting that the Bulldogs have been nearly perfect against the Tigers ever since Howland took over the MSU program. State is 6-1 against Missouri under the leadership of Howland. The Bulldogs have never lost to the Tigers in Starkville with Howland at the helm, going 4-0.

It'd be huge for MSU to get yet another win over Missouri as the Bulldogs try to fully rinse out from their mouths the bad taste of the Kentucky loss.

"It’s a great opportunity for us to grow and learn from what we did," Howland said. "We have great kids. They’re going to respond. I’m very confident in that."

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