Bulldogs face Hogs on road
Mississippi State's hopes for the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament were fading fast in the midst of a streak that saw the Bulldogs lose eight out of nine games.
Once the schedule hit late January and now in February, MSU has found new life.
The Bulldogs have won four-straight games and are back in the conversation for a possible dance ticket come March.
MSU'S latest quest in trying to pad the resume comes at Arkansas today. The 5 p.m. tip will be televised by ESPNU.
The Bulldogs take a 16-8 overall record into the game at Fayetteville and head coach Chris Jans knows how precious each win can be this time of the year.
“As everybody knows, every game is so crucial for us right now because of the situation that we find ourselves in,” Jans said. “We know that, (the players) know that and hopefully we can just stay focused and keep trying to get better.”
State's current streak of success started when it upset then-no. 11 TCU 81-74 in overtime. That fueled consecutive Southeastern Conference victories over South Carolina 66-51, Missouri 6352 and LSU 64-53 to improve from a 1-7 conference record to 4-7.
Jans has enjoyed seeing the smiles on the Bulldogs' faces with recent triumphs.
“It's better than the alternative and what we went through in January,” Jans said. “I continue to be proud of them. Now they are reaping the benefits of it, enjoying celebratory locker rooms and what comes with winning and the trimmings that come with winning.”
MSU continues to be led by post player Tolu Smith. The SEC Player of the Week averages 14.7 points and 8.3 rebounds per game. D.J. Jeffries has come on as of late for the Bulldogs with a season-high 18 points against LSU that put him over 1,000 points for his career and raised his average to 9.2 points per outing.
The host Hogs have had a better season than MSU to this point with a 17-7 overall and 6-5 league records.
Ricky Council IV leads a balanced scoring attack for Arkansas with 17.1 points per game. Anthony Black and Nick Smith Jr. each adds 12.8 points per outing, and Davonte Davis scores 11.2 points per contest.