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Ole Miss hasn't really fallen off, just more of the same. I hope it works out since I really like KD Jr and his family, good hard working folks. I won't be calling for KD Jr's head if OM doesn't make the dance this year, but I don't really get a vote on that anyway. 

All the Howland talk of "Final 4" when he was hired at MSU, he sure has fallen short of that so far. 

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Well the basketball version of the Egg Bowl (1st round) is Saturday in Oxford.

 

Two things that are constant here.

 

1. The 1-3-1 will kill us. We act like we have never seen it before. 

 

2. Somebody for Ole Miss will light us up for 30+ points. 
 

Regarding the coaches, Kermit Davis is a very good coach though Ole Miss seems to be in a bit of a rebuild this year. Team played very well at Tennessee the other night and should have won that game. 
 

Howland has done a good job at State. Talent has certainly been there but the overall chemistry of some of his teams has been terrible. Jury is still out on this years team. Once again it is loaded with talent but can they take the next step from being average-good to good-great? We will see as the conference season unfolds. Part of the issue for State was the girls were dominating the headlines for 3-4 years. The limelight is gone from there now and the focus has shifted back to the boys. Interest and attendance overall seem to be on the upswing this year. 

Saturdays game is very important for State. A win on the road against your rivals would be a huge confidence boost. 
 

But who wins is anybody’s guess. 

 

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I’ve been critical of Howland over the years and this is pretty much a put up or shut up season. This is probably the deepest team he’s had in 7 years, and they did a good job of reloading via the portal this offseason. There are no excuses if you miss the tournament this year, though. People want to see some tangible results beyond “we aren’t as bad as we were under Rick Ray” or another meaningless NIT run. At this stage Howland has basically been Andy Kennedy 2.0. Won a bunch of games without accomplishing a whole lot.

 

As it relates to this game in Oxford tomorrow, Howland’s struggles against Ole Miss have been a big reason why he hasn’t been able to get the fanbase fully on board. 5-7 against mostly mediocre OM teams simply isn’t going to cut it, not when State totally dominated the rivalry when the program was at its most popular in the 2000’s. Howland has never had a season sweep of Ole Miss, that really needs to change this year. That said, recent history tells me to expect an Ole Miss win tomorrow and for it to be yet another momentum killer for State.

 

That said, if State is able to win tomorrow and then beat a bad Georgia team in the midweek, you’re sitting at 3-0 in league play with a huge home game against Bama next weekend that should draw a big crowd. I think people are itching to be excited about State basketball again, so it’s time to stop having these incredibly frustrating losses just as people are starting to buy back in.

Edited by Dawg83
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From what I’ve seen this year, they’re both what we thought they were.  OM is better coached, plays harder, but doesn’t have as much talent (depth wise).  State has overall more talent, but they will get a lead and lose it. State has no consistent shooters.  They need one when they play OM’s defense. 
 

State did look really good against Arkansas, although Arkansas was without their leading scorer.  You could tell because State shut them down defensively.  

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H O W L A N D

 

 

Some Ole Miss players include Joiner, Murrell, Fagan, Ruffin, Brooks etc. 

 

 

Some State players include Molinar, Smith, Brooks, Jeffries, Moore, Davis etc. 

 

Now you are up to speed on State’s Coach and some of the players names. 
 


Other notes of items include:

 

oldest basketball rivalry in the SEC, game will be at the Pavilion, tip-off is 7:30 p.m. or 1930 on Saturday, January 8, 2022. 

 

State leads the overall series but Ole Miss has had the upper hand over the last 9 years. 

 

 

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12 minutes ago, Bulldogs4 said:

H O W L A N D

 

 

Some Ole Miss players include Joiner, Murrell, Fagan, Ruffin, Brooks etc. 

 

 

Some State players include Molinar, Smith, Brooks, Jeffries, Moore, Davis etc. 

 

Now you are up to speed on State’s Coach and some of the players names. 
 


Other notes of items include:

 

oldest basketball rivalry in the SEC, game will be at the Pavilion, tip-off is 7:30 p.m. or 1930 on Saturday, January 8, 2022. 

 

State leads the overall series but Ole Miss has had the upper hand over the last 9 years. 

 

 

Thanks for run down and military time. 😂

 

Ole Miss has had the upper hand over the last 9 years? Wow! That’s unusual.

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That was freaking predictable. And perfectly sums up why Howland has never gotten fan buy in at State.

 

I’m probably not gonna waste having much invested in this basketball season. Seen this movie too many times with Howland. I’ll be happy to talk football and can’t wait for baseball in a little over a month. But I’m out on hoops barring a drastic change that I don’t see coming.

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One thing is for sure. Kermit Davis being a State guy understands the rivalry and his guys play at a higher level with more intensity than State’s players have under Howland when we play each other. 
 

Under Howland we have been bad enough be to average and good enough to be average. He has not had that signature win or run of wins that says “this team is on a roll”. 
 

I never expected a Final Four necessarily but with the talent that we have had over the last 4 years, we have definitely underachieved. 
 

OTOH, Kermit Davis does a good job of squeezing out every bit of his talent from his players. If he had State’s players, he would have a top 15/20 team this year. 
 

Still a long way to go this year so we will see what happens. The only way I see State getting the fans to buy in is to win at least four of the six games against Bama(2), LSU, Auburn, KY and the rematch with Ole Miss. Right now the chances of that happening are lower than Biden being re-elected in 2024. 

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Everything normal 

 

Ole Miss lights State up for Fifty in one half and then scores 51 total against A&M.

 

A sure two game parlay would be to take Ole Miss at home against State and then whoever is playing Ole Miss in the next game (if it is on the road). Regardless of how many points in either game.  

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It was definitely a must win for State. 
Bama - State is usually a slobber knocker and tonight was no different. 
 

Now we will see if State can sustain it on the road against Florida. We will see. 
 

Now we will see if Ole Miss can pretend they are playing State instead of Auburn tonight. If so, someone will light up Auburn for 30+ points and Ole Miss will win going away. 
 

If they realize they are playing Auburn, then forget it. 

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