3 takeaways from Mississippi State’s loss
STARKVILLE – Breein Tyree wasn’t walking through the door at Humphrey Coliseum on Tuesday night, but Ole Miss didn’t need him.
Rebels senior guard Devontae Shuler channeled his inner Tyree by scoring 22 points against Mississippi State in a 6446 Ole Miss victory. Ole Miss improved to 7-4 against Mississippi State coach Ben Howland during his tenure and 11-4 in the last 15 games of the series.
“End of the day, that’s something that we have to rectify and do better,” Howland said. “That’s obviously always the game you mark down on your schedule, the Ole Miss game, because it’s two rival schools.”
Tyree, who graduated last year, averaged 19.6 points against the Bulldogs in eight starts. He scored a career-high 40 points against Mississippi State in his second-to-last start in the rivalry.
Shuler wasn’t as prolific as Tyree was then, but the game didn’t call for that sort of offensive outburst. His 8-of-13 shooting – 3-of-5 from 3-point range and 3-of-4 from the free throw line – was enough to down the ‘Dogs.
“It’s a great feeling, honestly,” Shuler said. “It’s always great to win. I feel like we went through a stretch of giving up games in the last couple minutes of the game. So us coming out against our rivals and beating them just put us back in the win column. Now, we’re back in the conversation.”
Still, as efficient as Shuler shot the ball, the defense for Ole Miss (7-6, 2-4 SEC) – or lack of offense for Mississippi State (9-6, 4-3) – defined the night.
Here are three takeaways from the instate showdown.
Zoned out
Mississippi State scored 21 points in the first half, marking MSU’S secondlowest scoring half of the season. The Bulldogs only scored 19 points in the first half in a loss to Clemson.
Ole Miss coach Kermit Davis is known for his 1-3-1 press, but it was a 2-3 zone that stifled MSU. Empty possessions stacked up on the Bulldogs as they attempted to get quality looks at the basket.
“I thought our attack of the 2-3 zone was really subpar,” Howland said. “We have to do a better job against that 2-3. ... I thought the defense they played on us really bothered us.”
The long ball didn’t help Mississippi State’s cause. MSU went 4-of-14 from 3point range. The Bulldogs were also outscored 30-22 in paint points. Not being able to score inside or outside is never a good combination.
“We’ve got to be better offensively than we were tonight to be able to beat anybody in our conference,” Howland said.
One-man show
D.J. Stewart might have felt like he was on an island.
Only one other Bulldog, redshirt sophomore forward Tolu Smith, joined him in double figures with 10 points, and even his last two points came in the final three minutes.
Stewart, who finished the game with 18, scored just four points on 2-of-8 shooting in the first half, but he came out hot in the second. Nine points from the redshirt sophomore in the first 5:09 of the second half pulled Mississippi State to within 37-33.
“I thought in the second half he started making the shots he normally makes,” Howland said. “He did a good job in that respect for sure, but we have to get more help.”
When Stewart’s shot stopped falling, and nobody else for Mississippi State picked up the slack, Ole Miss stretched its advantage back out.
The Bulldogs missed eight shots in a row in the latter stages of the second half. Ole Miss subsequently went on a 14-1 run and put together a 60-42 lead with less than three minutes remaining.
A weird night in the SEC
Could anybody make sense of the SEC Tuesday night?
The same Florida team that lost to Mississippi State on Saturday beat No. 6 Tennessee 75-49. LSU had a chance to make a statement with No. 16 Alabama in its own house. The Crimson Tide won 105-75.
And then, of course, there was Ole Miss fresh off three losses in a row – two of which came to teams Mississippi State beat – blowing out the Bulldogs in enemy territory.
“We needed it,” Davis said. “Our guys deserved it based on the preparation. I always say it, the only time I ever really get nervous with a team is if you’re not a good practice team. This team has put its head down. They deserve to win.”
The Rebels looked like the team trying to improve to 5-2 in SEC play for the first time since 2008-09. Instead, Mississippi State got run off its own floor as coach Ben Howland goes back to the drawing board to try to figure out who the Bulldogs really are.
Mississippi State is back on the floor in Tuscaloosa at 5 p.m. Saturday to play league-leading Alabama. Ole Miss gets Texas A&M at 2:30 p.m. at The Pavilion in Oxford.
Contact Tyler Horka at thorka@gannett.com. Follow @tbhorka on Twitter. To read more of Tyler’s work, subscribe to the Clarion Ledger today!