Mississippi State basketball entered Saturday night in desperate need of a win. After suffering two-straight losses and falling in five out of seven, another defeat could have pushed the season to a breaking point.
State got the win they needed. The #22 Bulldogs held on for a anxiety-inducing 76-75 win at Georgia. Georgia had a chance to win in the final seconds, but a turnover sealed things in favor of MSU. State is now 17-6 on the season with a 5-5 SEC record.
Mississippi State overcame the worst free throw shooting performance imaginable
Had State lost, there was going to be a painfully clear reason as to why. They went a horrific 6-18 from the free throw line, including a pair of misses in the final eight seconds on the front ends of 1-and-1s that could've theoretically sealed the win.
The only reason Georgia had a chance late is because State was awful at the charity stripe. They aren't a good free throw shooting team, but this was an exceptionally bad performance. Obviously they got away with it, but there were frankly lucky to. They can't count on getting away with that again.
The Bulldogs played their best offensive games in weeks
MSU hasn't had much success offensively in recent weeks, but free throw shooting aside, they played a strong game in Athens. The Bulldogs shot 55.3% from the field, their best mark since their SEC opener. They didn't light it up from the three-point line, going only 6-20, but the three-point shot wasn't the focus.
State attacked the paint throughout the night with plenty of success. They finished with 46 paint points and shot 65% from two. It was another example of this team being at their best when they aren't relying on the three-ball to score.
Mississippi State did enough defensively
State didn't have a special night on the defensive end. Allowing 75 points, 46% shooting, and a UGA team that's usually poor from three to go 8-21 from distance isn't high level play. But ultimately, State did enough.
In the first half specifically, the Bulldogs played fairly well defensively. UGA was just 10-24 shooting in the first 20 minutes. That stretch proved to have been just barely limiting enough to help MSU win. In the second half, UGA heated up shooting. But on every occasion where they had a chance to take the lead, MSU got a stop. This State team isn't going to be dominant defensively, but if they can play good stretches of defense and make key stops, that will be enough to win.