Bulldogs happy to see Carter end slump, achieve milestone
As Mississippi State guard Tyson Carter was walking off the floor at the Humphrey Coliseum on Tuesday night following MSU'S 72-45 win over Missouri, the school's pep band began to sing to the senior Bulldog.
At the time, Carter had just a couple hours left on his 22nd birthday at the conclusion of the contest, so the band took the opportunity to serenade Carter with “Happy Birthday to You.” It was an enjoyable day indeed for Carter, as his efforts against Missouri helped him and the Bulldogs both get back on track, and he made a little history in the process.
Carter shook off some of his struggles of late as he scored 15 points in helping State top the Tigers. The win snapped a threegame losing streak for the Bulldogs and got Carter back going. Before Tuesday, Carter was shooting just 18.2 percent (6-for-33) from the field in his previous three games. Those doldrums were a big part of why MSU hadn't won since the calendar flipped to 2020. On Tuesday though, all seemed right again for Carter and his squad as Carter made six of his 12 shots in putting together his highest point total since way back on December 5. Carter will look to build off that momentum tonight at 7:30 p.m. as he and MSU (106, 1-3) return to the court to host Georgia (11-5, 1-2).
“I am really proud of Tyson,” MSU head coach Ben Howland said. “I feel like Tyson has the monkey off his back now. That basket is going to get really big again in a hurry (for Carter). That is great for us. That was a great 22nd birthday for him.”
Not only did Carter get back to playing more like himself on Tuesday, he added a little icing to his figurative birthday cake. Carter's first basket of the night came just under 6 minutes into the contest when he sank a long jumper. It moved Carter past his father, former Bulldog and current Starkville High head coach Greg Carter on Mississippi State's all-time career scoring list. Now, the elder and younger Carter stand as the only father-son duo in the history of the Southeastern Conference to each have 1,000 or more career points.
“It means a lot,” Tyson said of passing his father in the record books. “I am kind of happy that it's behind me. I haven't been thinking about it that much because we've been losing. I've just been wanting to win. That's the main reason why I'm happy is to be back on track to win some games.”
Howland did some adjusting to his starting lineup that possibly helped Tyson Carter have his historymaking moment and get back going. After starting all of the season's previous 15 games, Carter came off the bench on Tuesday. D.J. Stewart started instead. For whatever reason, it worked.
“I thought it was good for us,” Howland said of not starting Carter. “I thought it was just something to change up for Tyson. I told him that we need him to come in and be instant offense. That's what he's been for us his whole career, whether he's starting or coming off the bench.”
Carter had no issue at all with being used as a reserve. Howland noted on Friday that Carter will again come off the bench as a substitute in tonight's game as well.
“It's not too big of an adjustment,” Carter said. “You've just got to do whatever it takes to win. Coming off the bench…just gives you a better feel. I've had to come off the bench in the past, so it's not too big of an adjustment.”
Whether it's starting or coming in as a substitute, the bottom line for Carter and MSU is it appears Carter is now starting to come around. MSU saw in its first three games of this new year how much it needs Carter's production. Without it, it's tough for State to win. If Carter can keep up the kind of play he had on his birthday Tuesday, the last couple of months of this season could be really enjoyable for Carter and Mississippi State. Tonight, Carter will look to show Tuesday was no fluke and he has indeed snapped out of his skid and is ready to get back to his consistent basket-sinking ways.
“I'm really excited because obviously, we're so much better offensively when (Carter is) playing to his level like he played (Tuesday),” Howland said.