Bulldogs head to Rocky Top for another tough test

Mississippi State faces Tennessee at 6 p.m. Tuesday

Up on Rocky Top sits a team that's likely chomping at the bit to get back on the court.

At least that's how it seems Mississippi State head coach Ben Howland views Tennessee ahead of Tuesday night's 6 p.m. central matchup.

"They're coming off of two losses so you know they're going to be bringing their very best effort to the game," Howland said.

The Bulldogs and the Volunteers are set to meet at Thompson-Boling Arena in a game of two teams desperately searching for a win. State has lost three of its last four contests. Tennessee has – as Howland mentioned – dropped two in a row. Something has to give on Tuesday night.

So what are Howland's thoughts headed into the matchup? Watch full video of the MSU leader's pre-Tennessee press conference above. Below are selected quotes from Howland's media session, along with how you can follow along with Tuesday's game.

• What: Mississippi State (9-7, 4-4) at No. 18 Tennessee (10-3, 4-3)
• Where: Thompson-Boling Arena – Knoxville, Tennessee
• When: 6 p.m. central on Tuesday, January 26, 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

Howland on Tennessee: “I've watched them all year and they're really impressive. They have a lot of depth. (Jaden) Springer was out in the last game against Missouri with a sprained ankle. I’m not sure what his status is, but he’s a very good player that comes off the bench for them – a really big-time athlete. He may or may not play, I have no idea.

“I think that (John) Fulkerson and (Yves) Pons up front are veteran guys who are really good players. Pons is such a defensive stopper. He’s very good at guarding his man. He’s also a great shot blocker and plays incredibly hard. They’re both good offensive players. Fulkerson leads them in scoring. He’s really good.”

“It’s amazing, they have seven guys on their team that are left-handed. It’s like an all left-handed team I’ve never heard of. It’s like playing a baseball team. I think they start four lefties. That being said, they’re really talented. I think (Santiago) Vescovi is a great shooter. You can’t leave him open at all. The kid that starts for them, number 45 Keon Johnson, is an excellent freshman wing that is very strong. He’s old school. He’s got the pullup game, and really plays above the rim – a phenomenal athlete. He’s a really good player. They’re coming off...two losses, so they’re going to be bringing their very best effort to the game (Tuesday).”

Howland on what MSU learned in loss at Alabama: “I think that we had our poorest game in terms of effort of the year against Ole Miss. So, it was a bounce back game no matter who we were playing. It just happened to be Alabama, who is the best team in our league and really playing at a high level. So, it probably even heightened the response even more because they have been killing everybody. They’ve been playing and beating everyone by an average of 28 [points] a game.

“I thought we really played hard and really competed against a very good team. They’re good. We had a chance there with a one-possession game and a minute to go. They hit the three from (John) Petty (Jr.) to put them up six (points), and they call a timeout with 20 seconds left. I thought our effort was really good and our practices leading up to it. The two practices before were very, very spirited and high-level, which is what we need to do. We’re a young team. We’ve got to learn from every experience and grow from every experience and handle the adversity by reacting to it in the proper way. There’s always going to be adversity in every season and every year.”

Howland on offensive improvements he wants to see from MSU: “Yeah, taking better care of the ball would be number one. When you look at the last game, we had too many turnovers that led to easy baskets. We’ve got to do a better job at taking care of the basketball and cutting down on our turnovers. I think that’s a huge one.”

Howland on his team to this point of the season: “As you point out, we’re incredibly young. I was thinking about it earlier today. Abdul (Ado) and D.J. (Stewart Jr.) were starters last year, and Iverson (Molinar) played about 12 minutes a game. After that, nobody on last year’s team played here.

“It’s a very new roster. I think our guys have handled their roles. We have freshmen learning on the job. Both Deivon (Smith) and Cameron (Matthews) are getting a lot of minutes. They’re growing as players, and they’ve grown a lot already this season. We added (Javian Davis). He missed four games during the middle of the conference (schedule). He’s playing an important role for us. (Quinten Post) has been a kid that I need to keep trying to get a few more minutes in each game.

“One of the things we did in the last game was to get D.J. [Stewart Jr.] more rest. I have to force-feed rest, regardless of what happens. His productivity went way up playing 33 minutes, versus playing 36 or 37 minutes. I have to continue to do that here these remaining 11 games in the regular season for him and for Iverson. I’ve got to get more minutes for Deivon in there, and Cameron’s minutes continue to go up. We have to get more rest for our guys so they can be really productive when they’re in the game. I think I did a better job of that. If you look at the Alabama game, both Tolu (Smith) and Abdul (Ado) played 30 minutes each, which is better than what they’ve been playing.”

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