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Alabama loss shows recipe for disaster for Mississippi State

IMG_4594by:Tanner Marlar•01/13/24•

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Shakeel Moore
Photo By: Mississippi State Athletics

When the final buzzer sounded in front of what was once a sell out crowd in Humphrey Coliseum on Saturday night, the curtain closed on the perfect recipe to cook up a Mississippi State loss.

In the 82-74 loss, Tolu Smith shot just 5-15 from the field and went 5-10 at the charity stripe. Josh Hubbard finished with 14 points on 3-11 from the field and attributed a pair of misses to the team total as well.

Head coach Chris Jans spoke about what he needs to see from his team when Smith can’t get it going from the field.

“(Tolu) is probably as disappointed or more disappointed than anybody is,” said Jans. “That was the plan – to play inside out and get him and Jimmy the ball and try to let them impose their will down there. For whatever reason, the ball wouldn’t go in the basket for him. The majority of his shots were around the charge circle…I don’t know, it was just one of those nights for him.”

All together, Mississippi State finished 15-27 from the stripe – good enough for its lowest total of the season at 55.6 percent. That put the cherry on top of the blueprint for a Mississippi State loss.

Graduate senior Cameron Matthews spoke on the team’s free throw woes after play had concluded.

“(We are) very frustrated,” said Matthews. “You know, all the work we put in every day after practice, shooting free throws, getting reps in…just not seeing the ball go in, it’s frustrating. We’ve just got to be better next time.”

Another glaring statistic, and this is one I don’t think I’ve ever seen, Mississippi State had zero fast break points. Alabama answered that call with 18. Typically, when there’s a discrepancy that glaring, one team is forcing turnovers and the other isn’t. That also wasn’t the case on Saturday, as Mississippi State forced 13 total turnovers.

All in all, the loss to Alabama was a statistical anomaly when zoomed out over the course of the first half of the season. However, it very well could provide a blueprint for teams to follow when they face the Bulldogs. That’s a reality Jans and company can’t afford to let happen.

Mississippi State will get no break whatsoever, as they’ll travel to face off against the Kentucky Wildcats in Rupp Arena on Wednesday, Jan. 17. That game will tip off at 6 p.m. on ESPN2.

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