Men’s Basketball is the Epitome of MSU Sports Right Now

By Josh Barnhill | Jan 21, 2016

Jan 19, 2016; Gainesville, FL, USA; Florida Gators forward Dorian Finney-Smith (10) and Florida Gators center John Egbunu (15) defend Mississippi State Bulldogs forward Gavin Ware (20) in the second half at Stephen C. O /

The MSU men’s basketball team is 0-5 in SEC play – the worst start since the mid-80s – but they should be much better than that. It seems like we’re saying that a lot lately.

A top 10 scorer and rebounder (Ware), a returning 2nd-team all-SEC player (Sword) and a consensus one and done (Newman). Then bring in a coach who’s been to three Final Fours and guided a couple handfuls of players to the NBA. That’s not enough to just win a few more games and get to .500?

Apparently not. The Bulldogs are win-less in conference play and just 7-10 on the season. This seems like another Rick Ray year but it shouldn’t be. There is talent on the team but they aren’t winning.

But that seems to be a theme around MSU sports right now. So many promising things yet the results on the field are disappointing.

On paper, everything should be great. You’ve got a new stadium in the works that will be the envy of college baseball, a basketball coach with a winning pedigree and a football program reaching new heights. Yet the Diamond Dawgs are hoping to rebound from an embarrassing last place finish, basketball with potentially its worst four-year stretch in history and a football fanbase mired in despair.

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There are reasons to look at the glass half-full, however. Baseball is ranked as high as #11 going into the 2016 season after three top 10 recruiting classes. Basketball has their own top 10 class coming in that Coach Howland can start fresh with as the Rick Ray era is flushed out. And Mullen was 9-4 in 2015….that was just the eighth time in program history they’ve won at least nine.

For whatever reason, some sports on campus are stuck in the mud. We can’t beat Bama on the gridiron, but who can? Well, I guess the answer to that is the sore subject about football these days but what has it really gotten them?

Certainly the negative vibes are exacerbated with all the losing to Ole Miss. It’s sickening honestly. They had a clean sweep last year with football, two in basketball and all four in baseball. Now they’ve won the Egg this year. And going back even further they’ve won the last four games on the hard court and 6 of 8 in baseball. So out of the last 14 meetings in the big three sports all we’ve won are two baseball games in 2014. That’s taking it on the chin.

This Saturday presents a chance to correct some things. MSU basketball has been on the cusp of winning games, but then they do stuff like let a backup point guard shoot the potential game-winner. Well, if they can put it together on Saturday at 1:00 at the Hump, they can beat Ole Miss and get on the board win a SEC win. That would get a couple of huge monkeys off our back.

I’m aware the women’s basketball team is amazing and they are even playing a massive game vs. #2 South Carolina on Sunday, but this article has to do with the big three sports.

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