Mississippi State Basketball vs Minnesota: Final Score, Notes & Analysis

*This feels a bit silly, given the news of a member of the Mississippi State family, Mike Leach, being in a serious situation with his health. All of us here at M&WN send our thoughts and prayers to the Leach family and all close to him.*

Chris Jans Bulldogs were able to stay atop the SEC as the lone undefeated program, taking home a 69-51 over the Minnesota Golden Gophers, Sunday night in Minneapolis. This was the squad’s first true road test, and after a bit of a slow start, the physicality of the Bulldogs showed to be too much to manage for Minnesota. MSU kept the Gophers’ shooting percentage below XX% and fought through the defense for tough shots inside the paint, as they have shown the ability to do game after game.

Another game, another opponent held to 55 points or less.

This is a menace of a team on the defensive end. They rank in the top ten of numerous lists looking at defensive metrics, and to me, they all are just numbers. My eyeballs are enough to tell me that this is a squad with ridiculous motor and show great value in smothering the opposition, even when they aren’t the “highlight” plays.

A long week of practice helped the free-throw percentage.

We can all take our best guesses as to what went down all week at the Mize Pavilion in between finals and film sessions, but my bet would be it encompassed a lot of time getting some shots up from the charity stripe. Another thing I talked about last week after the MVSU game was that a low percentage from the line was going to cost us a bad game down the stretch. Let’s hope that was a sentiment shared by the coaching staff as well, and that we have seen the worst days from the line already.

Shakeel Moore has the ability to be the X-factor for this team.

We knew that Tolu Smith was going to be a staple as a first-team preseason All-SEC player that would carry the team through many games and be the offensive backbone. What I wasn’t expecting to see through the first nine games of the season is the power of having a perimeter shooter who creates shots for himself. We know the history of this program and how it has lacked someone that fits that billing, but as a guy coming off the bench, Moore is showing the capability to be that guy and provide a spark on both ends of the floor.

The Bulldogs’ next game is Wednesday against Jackson State at the Mississippi Coliseum in Jackson. That contest will be broadcast live on SEC Network+ at 6:30 CT.