The Mississippi State basketball team defeated the Ole Miss Rebels in overtime, 69-61. In what could have been Mississippi State’s worst loss of the season, the Bulldogs managed to pull away in overtime.
This was a back-and-forth game after the Ole Miss Rebels took the lead at the half. A win is a win, but the Bulldogs should have put this game away earlier.
Here are my early post-game thoughts:
Today’s game should not have gone into overtime.
The Mississippi State basketball team is better than the Ole Miss basketball team, and they are much better. This game should have never made it to overtime, but the Mississippi State Bulldogs have a hard time putting games away. Because of how talented The Bulldogs are defensively, they tend to struggle to put games away offensively.
Cameron Matthews tied Tolu Smith for the leading scorer in today’s game.
This stat is shocking. First, Tolu Smith should always lead the team in scoring, but Cameron Matthew is one of the most talented defensive players we have. Offensively, Cameron Matthew has not made much noise, but today, he tied Tolu Smith for the leading scorer with 17 points.
The Mississippi State basketball team is not out of the tournament just yet.
Chris Jans and the Mississippi State Bulldogs want to make the NCAA tournament, and they needed a win tonight. Tonight’s loss vs. the Kentucky Wildcats does not mean they are totally out of making the big dance. Here are the teams the Bulldogs have left: Ole Miss, Missouri, Texas A&M, South Carolina, and Vanderbilt.
The Mississippi State Bulldogs can win all of those games I have listed above, but Texas A&M looks to be the toughest of the five games left remaining on Mississippi State’s basketball schedule. State has defeated the Ole Miss Rebels, the Missouri Tigers, and the South Carolina Gamecocks once this year. They look to gain two wins against those teams and gain a win vs. the Texas A&M Aggies, and the Vanderbilt Commodores.