Mississippi State basketball had a happy Thanksgiving. The Bulldogs won their opening matchup of the Arizona Tip-Off in blowout fashion, defeating the UNLV Rebels 80-58. State took firm control of this game midway through the first half and never looking back, cruising to a win over another solid opponent. MSU is now 6-0 on the year.
Mississippi State completely dominated the boards
State won this game by 22 points almost entirely because of one stat - rebounding. The Bulldogs had a 46-29 advantage on the boards, and the only reason it's even that close is because of the closing minutes of the game with the bench emptied. What's most impressive is that State racked up 19 offensive rebounds while allowing just four on the other end. How did that translate to second chance points? The Bulldogs put up an absurd 30 (THIRTY) second chance points while UNLV had just three.
UNLV shot at a higher percentage than MSU. They had more points off turnovers. But MSU's rebounding allowed them to attempt 19 more shots, and they turned those extra attempts into plenty of points.
State's depth is unbelievable
It's truly remarkable how much quality depth Chris Jans has on this roster. 14 different Bulldogs took the court tonight, and while getting deep into your bench is common in a blowout, Jans had no issue rotating bodies early in the game. Every single player to touch the court scored in this game, and everyone who stepped in while the game wasn't totally out of hand made positive contributions one way or another. Having so many guys you can rely on is going to be massive for this team going forward.
Butler on deck for Mississippi State
State will face another group of Bulldogs on Black Friday in the Arizona Tip-Off Championship. The Butler Bulldogs defeated Northwestern 71-69 earlier in the day. Thad Matta's squad is 5-1 and has a victory over a common opponent as Mississippi State having beaten SMU at home 81-70.