Mississippi State Basketball vs. Florida: Highlights, final score, and analysis
By Landon Young
The Mississippi State basketball team was defeated by the Florida Gators, 61-59.
The Florida Gators had control of most of the game, but the Mississippi State Bulldogs always kept it close enough to be within reach of winning the SEC matchup. The Bulldogs had a chance of sending the game into overtime with two good looks at the basket that both resulted in missed shots.
Here are my early post-game thoughts:
Mississippi State basketball needs an offensive playmaker badly.
59 points are not usually enough points to win an SEC basketball game. The Mississippi State Bulldogs have proven that they can play defense, and now is the time to start putting the focus on the offensive side of the ball. Chris Jans and the Mississippi State basketball team must figure out how to start scoring 60+ points a game if they expect to make it to the NCAA basketball tournament.
The crowds are going to start to diminish if this type of offensive production keeps up.
I believe the Humphrey Coliseum can make a huge difference in SEC basketball games. For example, whenever the Mississippi State Bulldogs faced off against the Ole Miss Rebels, the home-court advantage made a massive difference in the Bulldogs’ only SEC basketball win of the 2022-2023 season.
Should the starting five change?
Shakeel Moore tied with Tolu Smith for leading the Mississippi State basketball team in scoring last night vs. the Florida Gators with 12 points. The difference between the two players is one is a starter and a big man, and the other is a guard and comes off the bench.
Look, I am not Chris Jans, and I do not see what happens in practice every day, but from the looks of games, Shakeel Moore needs to be a starter for the Mississippi State basketball team. This team needs offensive playmakers to consistently make plays, and Moore can be one of those playmakers.