The Mississippi State basketball team has lost its first game this season vs. the Drake Bulldogs.
The Mississippi State basketball team was back on the road in Lincoln, Nebraska this Tuesday to face off against the Drake Bulldogs. The Drake Bulldogs defeated the Mississippi State Bulldogs, 58-52.
Here are my early post-game thoughts:
Mississippi State Basketball needs to improve offensively.
As stated in a previous article, it is starting to look rough on the offensive side of the ball for Mississippi State. Not being able to come up with a basket will cost the Bulldogs this season, and it did vs. the Drake Bulldogs on Tuesday night in Lincoln.
If Tolu Smith scores less than 10 points a game, Mississippi State will lose.
Tolu Smith finished the game with 6 rebounds, 1 assist, and 9 points. Smith was not the Bulldogs’ leading scorer in today’s game vs. the Drake Bulldogs, and it showed. If the Bulldogs want to go far this 2022-2023 season, they must feed Tolu Smith and make sure he scores double digits.
SEC play starts next Wednesday, December 28th.
The 2022-2023 Mississippi State basketball team finished non-conference play 11-1. That is great news, and I know 12-0 would sound and feel much better, but if we are being honest, we did not think this team would accomplish that coming into this season. The Mississippi State Bulldogs will not play another non-conference game until they play the TCU Horned Frogs on January 28th in the SEC/Big 12 Challenge.
The Mississippi State basketball team will begin SEC play next week on Wednesday, December 28th vs. the No. 9 team in the nation, the Alabama Crimson Tide. That game will be played at the Humphrey Coliseum in Starkville, Mississippi. The Crimson Tide will be favored in this game, but the Humphrey Coliseum should be rocking for a top-25 SEC basketball matchup.