Bulldogs, Rebels set for Round 2

Things haven't gone so well for Mississippi State of late. The Bulldogs have lost six of their last eight games. That stretch of struggle all started with a 64-46 MSU loss to Ole Miss last month. Well now, it's time for the rematch.

The Bulldogs and Rebels are set to square off for the second time this season on Saturday in Oxford. See below for more information on Saturday's game including how you can follow along, as well as comments from Howland's pre-Ole Miss press conference as he discussed what he hopes to see out of his team. To watch Howland's full media session, see the video above.

What: Mississippi State (11-11, 5-8) at Ole Miss (12-8, 7-6)
Where: The Pavilion – Oxford, Mississippi
When: 5 p.m. central on Saturday, February 20, 2021
TV/Video: SEC Network, 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 2-19-21 media session:

Question: Facing Ole Miss, the biggest thing comes to mind is 1-3-1 trap and their press that has given your team’s problems over the years. How do you attack it, and what’s the best way to have success against it?

Ben Howland: “When we played them here the last time, they only ran that [the 1-3-1 trap] twice during the whole game. What really bothered us the last time we played them, which was their 2-3 zone. So, that’s something that we’ve been working a lot on.”

“But in terms of how we attack their 1-3-1, there’s a certain way to do it. It’s the most effective way, but I’m not going to discuss the strategy behind that right now on this call.”

Q: It was a tough night for your team the last time you all faced Ole Miss. What adjustments is your team going to make from your first meeting to avoid what happened during the game in Starkville?

BH: “Number one would be to be tougher. I thought they came out and really took us out of what we wanted to do offensively by just fighting through screens by being tougher and playing harder.”

“They were at 1-4 [in the SEC] at that time, and the tables have been turned. We’re really struggling now. They’ve won four games in a row. They’re playing great. They’re really one of the hottest teams in our league right now. We’ve lost six-of-seven in the conference. So, we’ve just got to come and play as hard and as tough as we can. That’s the bottom line. Hard and as tough as we can and play together. I know there’s going to be adversity. There’s going to be runs – [we need to] be able to stick together through it all and find a way.”

Q: From a practice standpoint, what was it like having to reshuffle things around from schedule changes dealing with the weather this week?

BH: “It was really problematic, even Tuesday was a problem because of the roads. Just taking into account everybody that had to come out. I had two of my employees who couldn’t even get out of their neighborhoods because it was so iced over. So, it was very problematic.”

“I think the league did the right thing by calling off our Thursday [game] after rescheduling our Tuesday game against Auburn because it’s still fairly unsafe out there. I’m glad they did that. I’m really happy. It’s a lot safer outside now to move around here in Mississippi at least.”

“So, it’s been very difficult, but I thought we had good practices the last two days. We’ve got to have another good one today to get ready for tomorrow.”

Q: Do you think the extended break might help your players like D.J. [Stewart Jr.], Iverson [Molinar] and Tolu [Smith] who have logged a lot of minutes to give them more rest?

BH: “Someone asked me that earlier today on a different call, and I said that the silver lining is yes. To me, getting those days off will probably help them in terms of just getting their legs back when they’re getting worn down over the course of a long season. I’m looking for a silver lining in this, and I’m hoping that that is the case. So, we’ll find out.”

Q: What you’ve seen from Ole Miss, what do you think has been the difference maker for them during their recent winning streak?

BH: “I think that they were always playing good defense. I think they’ve really done a good job of that from the beginning of the season. I think they’re offense has really taken off. Romello White has been very effective inside. He had a huge game with Auburn a week and a half, two weeks ago where he had over 30 points. [Devontae] Shuler has been very consistent. He’s an all-league player in our conference. A really good player. I think [Jarkel] Joiner has really come on here since conference started and asserted himself. He wasn’t even starting there all the time. He’s definitely one of their top three scorers night in and night out and really playing well.”

“You look at the veteran guys that they went out and recruited like Romello White, like [Robert] Allen. Allen has been a big edition for them too at the power forward position. He really gives them some experience. They’ve had good minutes from guys that are older. I feel like they handled the early rough start well, mentally, and fought their way through it.”

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