The Key To Success For Mississippi State In the NCAA Tournament Is Free Throws
CHARLOTTE, NC – The Mississippi State Bulldogs will open the 2024 NCAA Tournament against the Michigan State Spartans for the chance to advance to the round of 32.
For the Spartans, playing meaningful games in March is a common occurrence but for the Bulldogs, it is something that has not happened in quite some time.
Last season the Bulldogs were one of the last four teams in and battled with Pitt for a chance to advance to the round of 64. A missed Shakeel Moore corner three sent Mississippi State back home, but they have regrouped and expect a long trip with sweet 16 aspirations viewed as a stepping stone for the program. This is thanks to All-SEC Freshman Josh Hubbard and the veterans who have been surrounding the star guard all season.
Even with Hubbard averaging around 25 points over the last eight games, State can still find ways to lose close games.
For most of the season, the kryptonite for the Bulldogs has been costly turnovers and missed opportunities at the free-throw line. They average close to 25 attempts per game but their shooting percentage at the charity stripe isn’t a sight that most fans would like to see.
On the season, Mississippi State is averaging 67.2 percent at the line. Most of those shots come from Tolu Smith III and Cameron Matthews. They each average below 60 percent from the line but they are the Bulldogs who spend most of their time at the line. This is down to how physical the Bulldogs can be when they are driving to the basket or getting an offensive rebound.
In the past two games for Matthews, he has taken advantage of his opportunities at the line, going 5-6. However, he will have off games like against LSU where he will shoot 1-6 at the stripe. The same can be said of Smith. On average, he attempts five shots at the line a game and will likely miss two or more of them. When he is shooting above 55 percent from the charity stripe the team is 7-3.
Two of the three losses came against an emerging South Carolina and a road game against Ole Miss. In each of those losses, State lost by four points, and those points could have been huge for the Bulldogs had they had been cashed in at the free-throw line.
This is one of the major outlying issues with the Bulldogs as they enter the tournament but if they have a consistent outing at the line and shoot above 75 percent, they are trouble for any team staring them down across half-court.
The Bulldogs will be in a rock fight against Tom Izzo’s Spartans but they have a chance to make some major noise if they can get past Michigan State on Thursday at 11:15 a.m. on CBS.
