Bulldogs look to build NCAA resume further

It's another day and another opportunity for Mississippi State.

On the path to building an NCAA Tournament-worthy resume, every game is big and today is no different.

The Bulldogs (17-9, 8-5) are on the road to face Texas A&M (13-12, 7-6) in a 2:30 p.m. game. Sitting squarely on the bubble when it comes to making it to this year's big dance in March, MSU knows beating the Aggies would be huge. Then again, every contest at this point is vital for State's postseason future.

“Every game is so critical,” MSU head coach Ben Howland said. “We obviously go into every game with the expectation of playing our very best and trying to win that game.”

Statistically, Texas A&M doesn't appear to be all that dangerous. The Aggies enter today's game dead last in the Southeastern Conference in scoring offense (61.7 points per game) and in field goal percentage (.390). They're also 12th in free-throw percentage and last in 3-point field goal percentage.

However, there's more to the Aggies than what meets the eyes. They boast the league's secondbest scoring defense (64.1 points per game) and are fourth in the league in field goal percentage defense (.401).

Beyond the numbers, Texas A&M is playing really good basketball. The Aggies are riding a twogame winning streak into today having picked up victories against Georgia and Alabama.

Considering everything, Howland says MSU won't be letting its guard down.

“There's no easy games,” Howland said. “Please give me an easy game, but there's no such thing. It's a gauntlet.”

Josh Nebo and Savion Flagg are Texas A&M'S biggest threats. Nebo leads the Aggies with 11.5 points per game and also averages 6.5 rebounds per outing. Flagg averages 9.8 points and 5.2 boards per contest.

Flagg's talents particularly stick in Howland's mind. MSU defeated Texas A&M in a pair of meetings last season, but Howland remembers well just how good Flagg can be.

“We played them twice last year and Savion Flagg had 21 and 23 respectively in those two games,” Howland said. “He's very skilled and a hard match up. He's their starting three and he's got the same body as (MSU guard) Robert (Woodard II). He's big, long and athletic.”

Speaking of size, that's another strength of this year's Aggies says Howland. He compares Texas A&M to MSU'S last opponent.

“They remind me a lot with how physical they are on their front line and how hard they play like South Carolina,” Howland said. “I watched them play three games and was super impressed. They have more offensive rebounds in conference games than we do. We have 150 in 13 games and they have 159. They're incredibly physical and tough.”

Mississippi State of course was able to overcome South Carolina's physicality last Wednesday. The Bulldogs will hope to do the same with the Aggies today.

If MSU is successful, it'd be another step towards the team's ultimate goal of playing on college basketball's big stage next month. Howland simply wants his team to take the final leg of this regular season journey step by step.

“We have five (games) left and we take them one at a time,” Howland said.