State prepares for major challenge against 1 seed USC with Sweet 16 trip on the line
Sam Purcell already knew what the narratives would be when his team was picked for a Los Angeles Regional, but it hasn’t stopped the coach from being perturbed.
A California showdown between USC coach Lindsay Gottlieb and her former California Golden Bears team was the talking point but the Bulldogs bucked that on Saturday with a 59-46 victory. Now, the coach knows that his team certainly won’t be on any upset lists as the No. 1 seeded Trojans host State on Monday night at 9 p.m. CT on ESPN.
The Trojans (29-3) have been one of the best teams in the country this season and won a Big 10 Championship just a few weeks ago before earning a No. 1 seed. The team is carried by two All-Americans and they’re playing at home.
Purcell has seen some of the best of the best this year and the Bulldogs have had some good showings. He’s coming in playing with house money.
“The best part about it is this ain’t the first time we’ve been underdogs. We are from the SEC where it’s South Carolina, Texas, Tennessee, Oklahoma. Nobody talks about us. But yet away we play in a conference and we compete and fight for that top spot,” Purcell said.
“And then obviously our kids know about us in Mississippi. Not just Mississippi State. We get slept on as a state. We have a lot of power things and people that come out of there. We have a platform and responsibility when given a national stage to make a statement.”
It would be a statement alright.
The Trojans put up one of the most impressive performances of any team in the tournament so far when they beat 16 seed UNC Greensboro 71-25 in round one. They average 81 points and surrender 59 per game on the year and two of the best players in the country carry the team.
Sophomore JuJu Watkins has burst onto the scene in the last two seasons and become one of the most marketable female athletes in the country. This season, her game has hit a new level as she averages 24.6 points and 7.0 rebounds while leading the team with 111 assists and 72 steals.
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6’3 senior Kiki Iriafen is no slouch and is in the middle of an All-American season in her own right. Irafen is averaging 18.0 points and a team-best 8.4 rebounds. Defending these two will be as big of a chore as Purcell has had this year, but State will have to execute offensively as well to have a shot.
“It’s going to take an unbelievable effort again on the defensive end, and then this challenge, too, is we got to have our best offensive execution,” Purcell said. “We can’t turn the ball over. We got to have people when we have open shots knock it down in order to try to beat a team that nobody believes the Bulldogs are going to beat in every single bracket, all right?”
No matter what happens, Purcell just wants his team to leave no doubt that they left everything on the court. State (22-11) heads in searching for the team’s first Sweet 16 appearance since 2019 and can shock the college basketball world with a victory.
After the effort and intensity brought against the Bears, getting that energy back to 100% is going to be the challenge for Purcell.
“The team is excited, but obviously very tired, because as much as I bragged about last round’s preparation and opportunity with multiple days, you turn around and now are handed the No. 1 team in the country in our bracket,” Purcell said.
You try to jam in as much film as possible and not overwhelm them, and then making sure at the same time we recover from (Saturday’s) war. We have a lot of rest, rehab, and treatment, so we feel like we’ve got a good game plan.”
