Bulldogs seek another strong effort against the Razorbacks
Mississippi State is fresh off of what head coach Ben Howland called the very best game the Bulldogs have played in his three-and-a-half seasons as their leader.
Tonight in Arkansas, MSU will attempt to repeat it.
The Bulldogs (17-7, 5-6) and Razorbacks (14-10, 5-6) battle at 7:30 p.m. Howland won't know for sure until his team takes the court, but he's been encouraged in practice this week that his team can again bring the same level of play the group had against Alabama this past Tuesday when State dominated in an 81-62 win.
“I felt good about our effort,” Howland said of his team's showing in practice since topping the Crimson Tide.
The Bulldogs are likely to need to carry over some of their Tuesday magic into tonight as they're about to face one of their biggest single challenges all season in the form of Arkansas forward Daniel Gafford. Gafford is a force inside for the Razorbacks. He's averaging 16.9 points and 8.7 rebounds per game this season.
Howland calls Gafford a “definite first-round pick” in this upcoming June's National Basketball Association Draft and MSU'S coach knows limiting Gafford is key if State is to pick up a victory in Fayetteville.
“I think he's amazing,” Howland said of Gafford. “Against LSU, he was great in both those games and LSU has really good inside players. (Gafford) is really special. He probably could have left last year and been a top-15 pick. He's probably moved himself up higher than that through his play this year. In terms of big guys, he's probably one of the biggest challenges, if not the biggest, we've had.”
State will try to counter Gafford with a strong post presence of its own. Rising star and freshman forward Reggie Perry will of course help those efforts.
Perry was a former Arkansas commit before breaking that pledge to join the Bulldogs. Perry has gone on to have an outstanding debut season for MSU in which he's become a starter and notched five double-doubles. Perry is
(Photo by Rogelio V. Solis, AP)
averaging close to a doubledouble in SEC games, with 10.5 points and 7.8 rebounds per game.
Howland will be counting on Perry to continue his strong year today in what might be a hostile environment due to Perry's past.
“(Perry) knows there'll probably be people rooting against him there, but he just has to stay focused on what's important and that's to help our team be successful,” Howland said.
A victory today for State would move the Bulldogs back to the .500 mark in conference play. It'd also be another strong step in the right direction as MSU looks to earn its first NCAA Tournament berth in a decade.
Another effort like last Tuesday's would likely get the job done tonight for State. Junior guard Lamar Peters says, with what's at stake, it shouldn't be hard to get up for tonight's game and repeat MSU'S last performance.
“Every game is must win,” Peters said. “We've got seven games left. We've got plans on winning every game, but we've got to take it one step at a time.”