Bulldogs look to keep NIT run going against Richmond

Mississippi State head coach Ben Howland believes postseason experience like what his Bulldogs are getting in the NIT can only help MSU moving into next year. That said, State isn't ready to turn the page to a new campaign just yet.

The Bulldogs battle Richmond on Thursday as MSU attempts to secure a spot in Saturday's NIT semifinal round. Howland says he's well aware that will be no easy task with the Spiders sitting there ready to bite.

“Let me tell you, Richmond is really good. They’re very well-coached," Howland said. "We’ve got our hands full. We’re going to have to really execute."

The Spiders are led by Chris Mooney, who has collected the most wins in program history with 288 victories over his 16 seasons. Richmond defeated Kentucky (76-64 on 11/29), Vanderbilt (78-67 on 12/16) and Loyola-Chicago (75-73 on 12/18) during non-conference action. The Spiders ended a three-game skid and claimed a 76-66 win over Toledo during its NIT opener last Wednesday.

Richmond played the Toledo game without its top two scorers Blake Francis (16.1 PPG, 2.2 APG, 1.4 SPG) and Grant Golden (12.7 PPG, 6.0 RPG, 3.5 APG) due to injury. Francis has amassed six games of 20 or more points headlined by a season’s best 27 points against Loyola Chicago (12/18). Most recently, he also notched 24 points at Saint Louis (02/26). Francis has buried a team-leading 49 treys and canned multiple three-pointers in 13 of his 20 games. But will either Francis or Golden play against MSU?

"They’re both game-time decisions, but we’re preparing like they’re both going to play," Howland said.

In the absence of Francis and Golden, Tyler Burton (12.4 PPG, 7.8 RPG, 1.1 SPG) and Jacob Gilyard (11.9 PPG, 5.0 APG, 3.5 SPG) stepped up with 18 points apiece versus Toledo (03/17) for the Spiders. Burton has registered six double-doubles which includes back-to-back outings versus Duquesne (03/04) and Toledo (03/17). His top scoring effort was a 25-point outing at Saint Joseph’s (01/26).

Gilyard’s 3.5 steals per contest leads the nation and has racked up multiple steals in 20 of 22 games for Richmond. He has knocked down 43 triples which is second on the team. Gilyard has distributed five or more assists on 13 occasions. He notched a double-double with 12 points and 11 assists during the Northern Iowa game (12/09).

So can MSU get past Richmond to keep its season alive? Here's how you can follow along to see, along with comments from Howland's pre-Richmond media session. You can also view Howland's full press conference with the video at the top of this page.

What: Mississippi State (16-14) vs. Richmond (14-8)
Where: UNT Coliseum – Denton, Texas
When: 5 p.m. central on Thursday, March 25, 2021
TV/Video: ESPN2, Online via ESPN.com/ESPN App
Radio/Audio: Mississippi State Sports Radio Network (click here for full list of affiliates), online at Hailstate.com and the TuneIn radio app.

Comments from Ben Howland's pre-Richmond media session:

Question: You’ve played in a few NITs over your career, what is it like playing in the tournament in one central location instead of having it at different host sites?

Ben Howland: “It’s just part of the COVID protocol. We totally understand it and get it. What was kind of nice for us is when we’re down in Texas, we have the second-most amount of alums of any state outside of Mississippi that most live in Texas. So, we had some fans there that supported our team which was really kind of nice. I really appreciated that. So, I’m glad we’re in Texas.”

Q: What have you seen on film from Richmond?

BH: “Let me tell you, Richmond is really good. They’re very well-coached. They have seniors. I read yesterday that [coach] Chris Mooney said that both [Grant] Golden, their starting center, who’s a really good player, and [Blake] Francis, who’s another really good player, they both have over 1,500 points …”

“Golden played in the game prior to when they beat Toledo against Duquesne. He has a fractured or broken finger on his left ring finger. He’s right-handed, so I would expect that he probably will try to get back out there.”

“Francis went down the game before that against I think it was Saint Joe’s [Saint Joseph’s]. He had a hip [injury] or something with his back. So, they’re both game time decisions, but we’re preparing like they’re both going to play.”

They’re really good. Their point guard, [Jacob] Gilyard, is an outstanding point guard. One of the leaders in steals in the history of college basketball. He’s an all-time assists leader in the history of Richmond basketball. He can really shoot three’s. [Nathan] Cayo is their starting at power forward. He scored over 1,000 points in his career and is a really good player.”

“You can see why they beat Loyola-Chicago, they beat Kentucky at Kentucky and they beat Vanderbilt at Vanderbilt. They’ve had a tough year with COVID like so many teams had throughout the country, but we’ve got our hands full. We’re going to have to really execute. They play a Princeton style of offense. Coach Mooney played for Pete Carril at Princeton, graduated in ’94. He played on some great teams. I remember he was a very good player. I remember him, out of Pennsylvania, where Coach Carril is originally from. He’s really got some funny imitations of Pete Carril. If you ever get to know Chris Mooney, he’ll make you laugh. I have great respect for him. He’s a leading all-time win in the history of Richmond basketball as the coach and does a great job.”

Q: What did you feel like your team did well against Saint Louis?

BH: “We really defended well, especially in the first half against Saint Louis. I thought our three freshmen were instrumental in the win in Derek Fountain, Deivon Smith, and Cameron Matthews. They all played very important roles and were key at different [points] in the game.”

“Derek was 5-for-6 from the field and hit two big three’s for us. I thought Deivon had a stretch in the second half where he was really good offensively. He did some really good things. Cameron, down the stretch, was great at the defensive end. He had six rebounds but had the key steal to seal the game for us. He had that great dive on the floor [to get us the ball back when we had the possession arrow]. He played really hard and played with great energy. He really showed what a good motor he has.”

“Obviously, our old reliables, D.J. [Stewart Jr.] and Iverson [Molinar], were great. They had 20 and 19 points, respectively. They hit big shots throughout the game. Abdul [Ado] did a good job defensively, as he always does, plugging up the middle. Tolu [Smith] got in some foul trouble, but obviously, he was very important. They all contributed, and it was a great team win.”

Q: How important is it for your team and your players especially players like D.J. Stewart Jr. and Iverson Molinar to get postseason experience?

BH: “It’s definitely important. It helps you. Saint Louis is a really good team. They were 43 in NET [rankings] going into the game. They were one of the last three teams that didn’t make the NCAA Tournament that definitely had a lot that suggested they should have. That was a good win.”

“Richmond is another very high NET team, a very good team. This is great experience for our team, and our program moving forward with a very young group that only has two seniors on the team right now.”

Q: Specifically, what is the team doing better that has led to their success over the past few weeks?

BH: “We’ve had an up-and-down season. We started out the conference 4-2 and could have realistically been 5-1 or 6-0. We lost one in double OT and one in the last 30 seconds of the game.”

“It’s been a real up-and-down year. I think the biggest thing when we’re playing well starts with our defense. We led the SEC in field goal percentage defense, and we were number one in rebound margin. Those are things that we have to try to continue to emphasize to give us a chance to play against these really good teams at this time of year.”

(NOTE: This article was compiled with information and quotes provided by Mississippi State media relations)

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