Mississippi State women's basketball got a difficult draw in the NCAA Tournament, having to travel cross-country to Los Angeles to face a feisty Cal squad in the first round. But the Bulldogs were fully up to the challenge.
9-seed MSU pulled off the slight upset over the 8-seed Golden Bears 59-46 Saturday evening. In what was an ugly offensive game for both teams, it was the Bulldog defense that rose to the occasion and propelled State to a March Madness victory.
Mississippi State won the turnover battle
Both State and Cal have been turnover-prone teams this season, but the Bulldogs had been the better of the two, both in terms of number of turnovers and turnover margin. That was reflected in Saturday's matchup. State forced 24 Cal turnovers, resulting in 17 points for the Bulldogs. MSU was, expectedly, sloppy with the ball themselves (20 TOs), but winning that battle was key for keeping a normally potent Golden Bear offense in check.
The Bulldogs shut down Cal's perimeter offense
The Golden Bears were one of the nation's best three-point shooting teams this season, but you wouldn't know it based on this game. Cal shot just 3-21 from distance, and while some of that was a product of a cold shooting performance, State did a great job of contesting and disrupting on the defensive end. Between their perimeter defense and turnovers forced, this was arguably the best defensive game MSU has played all season.
Mississippi State was the more physical team than the Golden Bears
Mississippi State's physicality was another big key in their victory over Cal. The Bulldogs didn't totally own the boards with just a +2 rebounding advantage, but they were able to bully the Golden Bears inside enough to finish with a 32-18 edge in paint points. Madina Okot had a great game with 14 points, 13 rebounds, three steals, and two blocks. It wasn't a good offensive game for State, but they found enough of an advantage down low to pull away in this one.
Elite opponent on deck for Bulldogs in NCAA Tournament
State's prize for defeating Cal? They'll get to face one of the top teams in the country. The Bulldogs will take on 1-seed USC in the second round on Monday. The Trojans, led by arguably the nation's best player in JuJu Watkins, steamrolled over 16-seed UNC Greensboro 71-25 earlier on Saturday and may be the toughest team State will see this season, even compared to South Carolina. But at their best, State has been able to compete with anyone, and Sam Purcell has proven to be a good postseason coach. They'll undoubtedly be up for the challenge and give their best effort.