State gets second dominant showing in a row by handling Georgia at home
Make it two dominant showings in a row for Mississippi State.
Just four days after MSU rolled past Missouri, State backed that up on Saturday night in a battle of Bulldogs by rolling past Georgia 91-59.
It was an evening that saw MSU click on all cylinders in easily dispatching the visiting team inside Humphrey Coliseum.
“I'm really, really excited with how well we played,” Howland said. “I thought that was another phenomenal, back-to-back here now, effort.”
Mississippi State (11-6, 2-3) put together perhaps its most complete showing of the season. The maroon-and-white clad Bulldogs held a massive 40-22 edge in the rebounding margin, shot 61.7 percent from the field to Georgia's 39.3 percent and generally made life miserable on both ends of the floor for Georgia (11-6, 1-3).
“The two biggest keys for us were the two things we did the worst,” Georgia head coach Tom Crean said. “That was rebounding – we just didn't compete on the glass.
“We didn't compete on the glass, then our transition defense and getting back, that hurt us in the first half.”
MSU led for much of the night. State went up 17-15 with 12:33 remaining in the first half and never trailed again. Nick Weatherspoon hit a jumper with 3 seconds left in the opening 20 minutes to give MSU a 42-31 edge at halftime. Mississippi State led by double digits the rest of the way.
Reggie Perry was a huge reason for MSU'S dominance. The sophomore forward had his 10th double-double of the season with 22 points and 12 rebounds.
“He was just in a class by himself out there,” Howland said of Perry.
Perry wasn't alone in having a big night though. Senior guard Tyson Carter continued to bust out of a recent slump with his second-straight big game. Coming off the bench again for the second game in a row after starting the first 15 contests this year, Carter scored 18 points on Saturday, making six of his 11 field goal tries. He was 4-for-7 from 3-point range.
Two other State players scored in double figures. Robert Woodard II scored 17 while Weatherspoon added 12.
Maybe the biggest factor in MSU'S win though wasn't the State players who were scoring, but the Georgia player who wasn't. Georgia freshman Anthony Edwards, the highest-rated recruit in school history and a possible first-round selection in the next NBA Draft, couldn't get much going against State.
Edwards did finish with 19 points, however he had only three points on 1-of-6 shooting in the first half. Seven of his total points came in a 3-minute stretch late in the second half after MSU had the game well in hand.
“I thought D.J. (Stewart), especially in the first half, was just phenomenal defensively (against Edwards),” Howland said. “Edwards is an incredible talent. We knew he'd be much more aggressive in the second half and he ended up getting 19, but he (shot) just 5-for-16 from the field.
“If you can hold him to under 33 percent, you're doing a great job.”
State didn't only shut down Edwards for much of the night. Every Georgia player found the going tough offensively. Toumani Camara was the only Georgia Bulldog to take more than four shots and shoot over 50 percent individually. Camara was 5-for-9 from the field for 10 points.
There wasn't much else to celebrate for Georgia. Mississippi State, for the second game in a row, was just too tough for its opposition.
MSU will try to make it three in a row on Wednesday when State hosts Arkansas at 6 p.m.