Strong second-half helps Mississippi State basketball pull away from SE Louisiana

Mississippi State basketball moved to 3-0 on the season with an 80-59 win over Southeastern Louisiana. The was tight at the half, with the Bulldogs ahead just 40-37. But a better second-half defensive effort allowed MSU to keep the lead at double-digits for most of that half, and they would close the game on a 9-0 run.

Here are a few takeaways...

State's defense was much better in the second half

Mississippi State had a rough first half on defense. Southeastern Louisiana scored 37, shooting 41% from the floor and were a hot 46% from 3. Some of that was SELA's Kam Burton being on fire from deep, but the Lions got a lot of open looks.

State was much improved after the break. The Lions shot just 29.6% in the second-half and only 3-12 from three to score just 22 points in that half. SELA certainly cooled off with some open misses, but State did a much better job contesting things, forcing 12 second-half turnovers. To have a poor half of defense and still hold the opponent to just 59 is a good sign.

The Bulldogs did a good job getting to the line and converting

State's offense was merely solid as opposed to dominant. They put exactly 40 on the board in each half, shooting 44% overall. Outside of Josh Hubbard (who finished with 23 points) however, it was not a good night from three. The Bulldogs were just 7-28 from distance, reminiscent of the Bulldogs of old.

Where State did find a lot of success though was in the paint, where they scored 38, and getting to the foul line. The Bulldogs had 26 free throw attempts, making 19. Kanye Clary was outstanding in this area. He finished with 12 points, with eight of those coming from the charity stripe. Even with the 3-ball not falling, State could find other ways to score.

Rebounding will have to improve for Mississippi State

The one clear negative for this team through three games has been rebounding. Chris Jans has said since the preseason that it was a concern, and he's continued harping on into the season. As he should. On the season, State is just +3 rebounding combined over their three games. That margin came tonight, as they finished with a 40-37 edge on the boards.

That's not what you want to see as a SEC team facing a trio of mid-majors. State is breaking in new faces at center and lack size in the backcourt, so it's going to take some time to come along. But it's imperative that it does. Too many teams will be able to make you pay for that in ways that these early opponents can't. Of course, so long as their offensive production is up and they're forcing turnovers at a higher clip, they may be able to get away with it.