Michigan State basketball: Getting to know Mississippi State

Michigan State basketball will face Mississippi State on Thursday afternoon. Here’s what we know about the Bulldogs.

Michigan State basketball is in the NCAA Tournament. It may have felt a little dicey towards the end, but the Spartans are in as the 9-seed in the West Region. Their opponent? Mississippi State.

The Battle of MSUs (corny, I know) will be a difficult one, but one I think the Spartans have every chance to win.

Let’s meet Mississippi State.

Mississippi State season in review

Mississippi State enters the NCAA Tournament with a 21-13 record and an 8-10 finish in SEC play. The Bulldogs have many solid wins on their resume this season, including in non-conference play. This includes two wins against Big Ten teams, Northwestern and Rutgers.

Their biggest wins of the season, however, came in conference play. During the regular season, they beat two top-10 teams in Auburn and Tennessee. They followed up the win against Tennessee by beating them a second time in the quarterfinals of the SEC Tournament.

Even with those big wins though, the Bulldogs still went just 8-10 in SEC play.  This includes losing their last four regular-season games before winning two games in the SEC Tournament. So much like Michigan State, the Bulldogs can beat really good teams, but they very much struggle with consistency.

Bulldogs key stats

Justin Thind of 247Sports pointed out some key stats on X.

📝: Here’s my #MichiganState vs #MississippiState quick-scout:

– #1 three-point D in high-major CBB
– Poor 3pt shooting team, but elite at OREB
– Lots of TOs, lots of Steals
– Similar SOS, Quad W’s as MSU
– Top 20 DEF & Top 60 OFF like MSU

READ: https://t.co/ZeViOxmoVw (FREE) pic.twitter.com/vwivwB5lcw

— Justin Thind (@JustinThind) March 18, 2024

When looking at some key stats for Mississippi State, a lot of things stand out. What’s most surprising is how they are elite in some categories and just downright awful in some.

Let’s begin with the good.

Mississippi State is No. 6 in the country in 3-point percentage allowed. That’s not a good sign for a team like Michigan State that can get trigger-happy from deep at times. The Bulldogs are also No. 23 in the country in offensive rebound percentage. This is another scary stat for the Spartans as rebounding has been a weak point all season.

However, even with a couple of very good aspects of their game, they have many brutal areas.

They may be a good team at defending the 3-point line, but they are horrible shooting from deep. They are an abysmal 247th in the country this year from beyond the arc. The Bulldogs are also No. 324 in free throw percentage as well which is just downright horrible.

However, potentially the biggest area where the Spartans can dominate this game is in turnovers. Michigan State basketball has been solid all year protecting the ball and is No. 31 in the country in turnovers per game. The Bulldogs, on the other hand, are No. 293 in the country. This could be the one thing that swings this game in Michigan State’s favor.

Key players to watch

The Bulldogs are led by two dominant scorers. Their leading scorer is freshman Josh Hubbard who’s averaging 17.1 points per game this season. His counterpart, senior Tolu Smith, is also having a great season and averaging 15.2 points per game. Smith is also the Bulldogs’ leading rebounder at 8.4 boards per game, showing that he will be a lot to handle for the Spartan bigs.

One thing I always point out for every team is a key 3-point shooter to watch out for, but there really isn’t anyone for Mississippi State who fits the bill for them. Their best shooter, Shakeel Moore, is only 36.8% from beyond the arc this season. That’s still solid, but not for your leading shooter.

The last player to keep an eye on is senior Cameron Matthews. He is about as all-around of a player as you will find. Matthews is averaging 9.5 points, 6.9 rebounds, and 2.9 assists per game this year. On top of that, he is also an elite defender and is averaging 2.0 steals per game.

Can the better MSU get it done? A huge matchup with 1-seed North Carolina is looming, but the Spartans have to get through the Bulldogs first. Hopefully Michigan State basketball can pick up where it left off last year and have another solid NCAA Tournament run in it.