Avenging Texas A&M, Malik Newman, Etc.

Feb 9, 2016; Starkville, MS, USA; Mississippi State Bulldogs guard Malik Newman (14) brings the ball up court during the second half against the Arkansas Razorbacks at Humphrey Coliseum. Mississippi State Bulldogs defeat the Arkansas Razorbacks 78-46. Mandatory Credit: Spruce Derden-USA TODAY Sports /

The Bulldogs travel to College Station, Texas for a 6:00 tip (finally, an early one) with the Aggies. This is a chance to exact some revenge on A&M.

While A&M did beat MSU in Starkville on January 6th, I was thinking more along the lines of their football program stealing David Turner away just yesterday. This leaves State scrambling to find a replacement at D-Line coach just a couple of weeks before the start of spring practice.

At the beginning of February, MSU was mixed up in a similar situation with Alabama. Earlier that day, they had secured the commitment of West Point offensive lineman Scott Lashley. He was a player most thought would land at Mississippi State, being from the Golden Triangle and all. But it didn’t happen, he went to Alabama and later that evening the Tide beat the Bulldogs in overtime on the hard court.

Let’s not have a double whammy. Instead, let’s beat the Aggies to make it three straight against teams vying for a NCAA Tournament berth (let alone just three straight wins this year is a feat).

Malik Newman is still questionable with a sore back. He missed the game at Alabama on Saturday with the injury, and he could miss tonight as well. With the way back injuries are, and with only a few games left in the season, you have to wonder if we’ve seen the Malik Newman era come and go, or at the very least already seen the peak of it.

I use “Malik Newman era” loosely. His name has been floated around Mississippi State circles for years as Rick Ray’s only hope. Then Ray leaves and Howland comes in to secure his recruitment. But what we’ve seen is a good player, not great. It’s actually been Quinndary Weatherspoon – a Rick Ray recruit – who has out-shined him.

Even if Malik never sets foot on the court for MSU again, he has made a positive impact. There’s no doubt that getting him to come to State helped with Howland’s recruiting efforts last fall when he signed a top 10 class. On the floor, he’s been a solid contributor and has had some breakout games including 25 points vs. Ole Miss.

Things haven’t gone quite as planned for him, and that could lead him into deciding to come back for next year. Whatever he decides, he’s been a benefit for State, even if the expectations for him didn’t make the production.

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