College Basketball

[Dawg83]

23 hours ago, Bulldogs4 said:

I think the first college game my wife ever saw was back in the 1980’s, a State-Ole Miss game that was uglier than ugly. State won but it was like 42-40. The loser was the team that missed the most shots. The kind of game that you go “well we won but there were only lowlights and the final score was hardly a highlight.”

 The game tomorrow has that kind of feel to it though these two teams are more talented than those teams were 35 years ago. 
 

But maybe they will surprise us. We will see. 

Had a conversation once with Kermit Davis Sr. about a State-Ole Miss game in Oxford in the Babe McCarthy era that finished 23-16. Pre-shot clock and Ole Miss played keep away from Bailey Howell the whole game. Lol. Must have been something to witness that.

Edited January 7, 2023 by Dawg83

[Bulldogs4]

We had a game against Georgia in the early 80’s that was pre shot clock days. Georgia led 14-10 at the half and won something like 24-20.

 

At least todays game was better than that. Good must win for State. We absolutely had beat Ole Miss at home. I have no illusions about winning in Oxford this year but today’s win was much needed. 
 

Good to get that monkey off our back. Now let’s see if we can win some games going forward. 

[Dawg83]

Yeah State absolutely had to have this one. Upcoming schedule is brutal.

 

For Ole Miss… feels like they’ll just be playing out the season and then hiring a new coach in 2-3 months.

[Insideradvantage]

Here's the cold hard truth... neither one of these teams is worth a * moderator edit - profanity is not allowed * in the grand scheme of things. At least State, with a first-year coach, has an excuse. When State comes to OM later, OM will probably squeak out a win and it just might be the only one OM gets in the SEC all season. Why these two schools can't get consistent basketball teams is beyond me, but it would appear we cannot. Pretty much any other SEC team besides OM wins that game today the way State shot from the field and shot free throws. Pretty incredible really. Sorry to be a wet blanket. 

[rebmus]

On 1/5/2023 at 9:15 PM, rebmus said:

I don't bet on sports but this game tempts me. 

 

1. Bet the under.

2. Bet on MSU to win.

 

 

Anyone make these two bets? I should have, seemed like a lock and ended up happening.

[Bulldogs4]

13 hours ago, Insideradvantage said:

Here's the cold hard truth... neither one of these teams is worth a * moderator edit - profanity is not allowed * in the grand scheme of things. At least State, with a first-year coach, has an excuse. When State comes to OM later, OM will probably squeak out a win and it just might be the only one OM gets in the SEC all season. Why these two schools can't get consistent basketball teams is beyond me, but it would appear we cannot. Pretty much any other SEC team besides OM wins that game today the way State shot from the field and shot free throws. Pretty incredible really. Sorry to be a wet blanket. 

Certainly some truth there. State’s FT woes and shooting percentage are masking a lot of good things that the team is doing. 18-35 FT’s killed any chance to win against Bama. 13-26 against Ole Miss is horrible. Offensively we have no scorers (from the sense of a guy creating his own shot or making a difficult three pointer at the end of the shot clock). We have a collection of good players who play hard but in basketball you have to make shots to be a great team.

 

I continue to be puzzled by Ole Miss. Coach Davis is a very good coach and Ole Miss seems to have good talent but the level of play has been disappointing to this point. Unless Ole Miss gets on a roll this year, this will probably be Kermit’s last year. Which is unfortunate because his coaching is very good and he is a tremendous person. But we all know at the end of the day, wins are all that matters. 
 

All that said and we are still only three games in to an eighteen game conference schedule. Both teams have played the two best teams in conference along with yesterday. So we will see how this develops going forward. 

[MSTSatchmo]

State was in dire need of a win.  
This is absolutely insane, but in the first 8 SEC games for State, they play Bama twice and Tennessee twice, plus ranked Auburn on the road.  4-4 in the first 8 conference games will be a huge task.  

[Dawg83]

1 hour ago, MSTSatchmo said:

State was in dire need of a win.  
This is absolutely insane, but in the first 8 SEC games for State, they play Bama twice and Tennessee twice, plus ranked Auburn on the road.  4-4 in the first 8 conference games will be a huge task.  

And also have to play a ranked TCU team in the SEC/Big 12 challenge.

 

ETA: if State is 4-4 after 8 SEC games I will be dancing in the streets. That means they beat either Tennessee, Bama, or Auburn. And also won a road game at Georgia. I think 2-6 is the most likely outcome and I would take 3-5. Important game at Georgia on Wednesday, and they really need to beat a not good Florida at home in two weeks.

Edited January 8, 2023 by Dawg83

[Bulldogs4]

Yep, if we are 4-4 after 8 games in the conference, that will be tremendous. Doubtful that happens like you said. Georgia is much improved so that will be a great win if we can pull it off. 

[sportsmaniac10]

2 weeks in the books now for conference play. 

 

On the women's side, Ole Miss holding serve at 4-0 and State at 1-3 in SEC play; however, I'm not going to get overly excited yet. Outside of the win against state , the other 3 games for Ole Miss were against the likely 3 worst teams in the SEC this year (Auburn, Vandy, A & M). But there is definitely a chance for a top 5 finish in SEC play for the Lady Rebels. I think you have South Carolina and LSU as the clear cut top 2 teams in the SEC and then the second tier looks to be Arkansas, Tennessee, and then a few teams that its still hard to get much of a feel on (Mizzou, Alabama, Georgia, Ole Miss, and State). I like the way Ole Miss has looked at past few weeks with the exception of the second half against A & M.

 

My concern for Ole Miss though is that if a team starts to double team Angel Baker or she has an off night, do they have players that can pick up the extra point production? They've had players that have had a few big games but no one consistently providing points outside of Baker and Scott. Myah Taylor is definitely helping but really will need her to probably consistently add 8-10 points per game to have a decent shot at winning a game or two in the NCAA tournament.

 

The other thing working against Ole Miss is the weak non conference schedule and losing the only 2 games that would've really boosted the tournament resume. Nothing wrong with losing to a top 10 Utah team in OT or on the road at a top 20 Oklahoma team but definitely wish we could've pulled one of those out especially leading both games late in the second half. Right now the Rebels are predicted to be 7/8 seed. Definitely potential to improve that with the remaining schedule. Best case scenario the remaining SEC schedule if Ole Miss just holds serve and then pulls 1 upset you could potentially go 12-4 or 11-5 but most likely will get tripped up somewhere by a team I wouldn't expect them to lose to and end up 10-6 or so. Still a good SEC record but would love to see them grab a 4-5 seed for the NCAA tournament. But overall hats off to Coach Yo on this rebuild. Its been pretty incredible.

 

As far as State's women, I am extremely proud of the way that team has been playing. With all the coaching turnover, transfers, decommitments, it is amazing that they are still this competitive and a chance to finish in the top half of the SEC. They lost to South Carolina today but a 7 point loss to the #1 team in the country....no shame there. Coach Purcell is definitely doing a great job of holding things together. 1-3 but definitely a tough start with Tennessee and South Carolina in your first 4 games. But the next 3 are very winnable and important if State wants to make the tourney to win those and then they are 4-3 heading to the rematch in Oxford. Looking at the remaining schedule for State, I think 8-8 is possible and 9-7 with an upset and some luck. Either of those finishes would hopefully see State get into the tourney. Definitely a far fall from the days of Coach Schaefer but there appears to be some potential for coach Purcell. 

 

 

 

 

[Dawg83]

I won’t pretend I’ve paid a ton of attention to the women’s side this year but I did watch some of State vs SC today and State was far more competitive than I ever would’ve expected.

[Insideradvantage]

11 hours ago, sportsmaniac10 said:

2 weeks in the books now for conference play. 

 

On the women's side, Ole Miss holding serve at 4-0 and State at 1-3 in SEC play; however, I'm not going to get overly excited yet. Outside of the win against state , the other 3 games for Ole Miss were against the likely 3 worst teams in the SEC this year (Auburn, Vandy, A & M). But there is definitely a chance for a top 5 finish in SEC play for the Lady Rebels. I think you have South Carolina and LSU as the clear cut top 2 teams in the SEC and then the second tier looks to be Arkansas, Tennessee, and then a few teams that its still hard to get much of a feel on (Mizzou, Alabama, Georgia, Ole Miss, and State). I like the way Ole Miss has looked at past few weeks with the exception of the second half against A & M.

 

My concern for Ole Miss though is that if a team starts to double team Angel Baker or she has an off night, do they have players that can pick up the extra point production? They've had players that have had a few big games but no one consistently providing points outside of Baker and Scott. Myah Taylor is definitely helping but really will need her to probably consistently add 8-10 points per game to have a decent shot at winning a game or two in the NCAA tournament.

 

The other thing working against Ole Miss is the weak non conference schedule and losing the only 2 games that would've really boosted the tournament resume. Nothing wrong with losing to a top 10 Utah team in OT or on the road at a top 20 Oklahoma team but definitely wish we could've pulled one of those out especially leading both games late in the second half. Right now the Rebels are predicted to be 7/8 seed. Definitely potential to improve that with the remaining schedule. Best case scenario the remaining SEC schedule if Ole Miss just holds serve and then pulls 1 upset you could potentially go 12-4 or 11-5 but most likely will get tripped up somewhere by a team I wouldn't expect them to lose to and end up 10-6 or so. Still a good SEC record but would love to see them grab a 4-5 seed for the NCAA tournament. But overall hats off to Coach Yo on this rebuild. Its been pretty incredible.

 

As far as State's women, I am extremely proud of the way that team has been playing. With all the coaching turnover, transfers, decommitments, it is amazing that they are still this competitive and a chance to finish in the top half of the SEC. They lost to South Carolina today but a 7 point loss to the #1 team in the country....no shame there. Coach Purcell is definitely doing a great job of holding things together. 1-3 but definitely a tough start with Tennessee and South Carolina in your first 4 games. But the next 3 are very winnable and important if State wants to make the tourney to win those and then they are 4-3 heading to the rematch in Oxford. Looking at the remaining schedule for State, I think 8-8 is possible and 9-7 with an upset and some luck. Either of those finishes would hopefully see State get into the tourney. Definitely a far fall from the days of Coach Schaefer but there appears to be some potential for coach Purcell. 

 

 

 

 

Yep, I could certainly see 10-6. 

Edited January 9, 2023 by Insideradvantage

[MSTSatchmo]

State plays awesome defense.  
 

They may possibly go down in history as the worst FT shooting team in the history of college basketball.  
 

80% for UGA

30% for State 

[rebmus]

On 1/8/2023 at 3:50 PM, Dawg83 said:

And also have to play a ranked TCU team in the SEC/Big 12 challenge.

 

ETA: if State is 4-4 after 8 SEC games I will be dancing in the streets. That means they beat either Tennessee, Bama, or Auburn. And also won a road game at Georgia. I think 2-6 is the most likely outcome and I would take 3-5. Important game at Georgia on Wednesday, and they really need to beat a not good Florida at home in two weeks.

MSU lost to UGA tonight, they really need to beat Florida in two weeks and pick up 2 of 3 between UT/Bama/Auburn. 

 

But hey, it could be worse... look at Ole Miss. Haha

 

MSU had a nice OOC start which will definitely help NCAA tournament bids IF they finish decently in conference play. 

Ole Miss had a bad OOC start along with an 0-4 SEC start. 

 

[MSTSatchmo]

26 minutes ago, rebmus said:

MSU lost to UGA tonight, they really need to beat Florida in two weeks and pick up 2 of 3 between UT/Bama/Auburn. 

 

But hey, it could be worse... look at Ole Miss. Haha

 

MSU had a nice OOC start which will definitely help NCAA tournament bids IF they finish decently in conference play. 

Ole Miss had a bad OOC start along with an 0-4 SEC start. 

 

2 out of those 3 is not happening.   They also have ranked TCU in the Big12/SEC challenge, ranked  Missouri twice and ranked Arkansas on the road. 
 

It was a hot start, Jans created some excitement, they had a tough SEC schedule, and should just roll with an NIT invite and get a couple shooters from the portal for next year.  

[rebmus]

13 minutes ago, MSTSatchmo said:

2 out of those 3 is not happening.   They also have ranked TCU in the Big12/SEC challenge, ranked  Missouri twice and ranked Arkansas on the road. 
 

It was a hot start, Jans created some excitement, they had a tough SEC schedule, and should just roll with an NIT invite and get a couple shooters from the portal for next year.  

I agree. It's Jans' first year... get an NIT invite and it's a good start. 

Kermit is in year 5 and I don't see him surviving unless he makes the NIT... and likely may not survive unless he makes the NCAAT, and right now it's doubtful OM makes the NIT this year. I hope I'm wrong, I'm a big fan of KD and hope he's the coach at Ole Miss until he retires. Wins/losses are what keeps a coach employed or fired, it doesn't look good for KD last year and worse this year.

 

[Bulldogs4]

Free throws have been costly for State. Poor FT shooting have cost us two SEC wins.

18-35 against Bama and 7-22 tonight at Georgia. 
I listened to Coach Jans post game and I think he is at his wits end and I know the players have to be frustrated. He said they have tried multiple strategies and nothing over these last four games has worked. 
 

Disappointing because we are doing a lot of other things well. Hopefully just need to keep plugging away. At some point I feel like we will be better offensively overall with the obvious weakness being at the FT line. 
 

Certainly not going to laugh at Ole Miss. Just a tough situation there but they will get some wins and will probably beat State in Oxford. That is generally a given. 

[MSTSatchmo]

Smith goes to the FT line a lot.  I heard that prior to the Bama game he was shooting 60%.  Since then he’s shooting 33%.   When you get it in your head that you can’t shoot, you won’t be able to.   

[rebmus]

29 minutes ago, Bulldogs4 said:

Free throws have been costly for State. Poor FT shooting have cost us two SEC wins.

 

This reminds me of the Andy Kennedy era at Ole Miss...  I called "Free throws" "Cost throws" during that time. 

There are many positive things I can say about AK, but the cost throws seemed to never end during his time in Oxford. 

 

 

 

 

[Dawg83]

I have never seen a team shoot free throws as poorly as State has in SEC play. Haven’t been over 50% in a conference game yet. Unreal.

 

This loss definitely hurt in terms of any NCAAT chances. But I was always concerned about how good this team could actually be with so many flaws on offense. That Florida game at home is absolutely a must win, because I don’t see them winning any other games for the next couple of weeks.

 

Crazy thing is, if they can get the free throw bug fixed they might be in really good shape. Definitely cost them the game last night and arguably cost them the Bama game, too.

Edited January 12, 2023 by Dawg83

[MSTSatchmo]

I just don’t see how Davis keeps his job at OM.   Everyone says he’s a great guy, but wins are what matters. 

[Insideradvantage]

1 hour ago, MSTSatchmo said:

I just don’t see how Davis keeps his job at OM.   Everyone says he’s a great guy, but wins are what matters. 

And we are solidly on a path to post a historically bad SEC record. Not to mention an overall one. And where was Ruffin again today. Good lord!

[rebmus]

3 hours ago, MSTSatchmo said:

I just don’t see how Davis keeps his job at OM.   Everyone says he’s a great guy, but wins are what matters. 

I really hope KD turns around OM enough to keep his job this year. 

It would take a pretty major finish from here out to keep him in Oxford... an 8-4 OOC start backed up with an 0-5 conference start rarely keeps a basketball coach employed. 

 

 

[MSTSatchmo]

State with a 6 point loss to Auburn on the road while shooting 0-18 from deep.  Auburn was 11-25.  
 

State did shoot better from the line at 21-28.  

[Dawg83]

It’s amazing that State was in the game when they shot that bad from three and Auburn made 11 of them. I thought State played well outside the three point shooting.

 

It’s weird, I’m not displeased with where State is but I fully expect them to be 1-5 in SEC play after Tuesday when they play Tennessee again.