Mississippi is an interesting team. After their win against Baylor, they looked one of the better teams in the nation. Yet here they are with an even record in conference play. And after watching their last two games, it is really crazy how quickly this team can go from great to terrible on all areas of the court. The Bulldogs have skill, which of course gives them a chance in every game, but they make so many errors that they struggle to produce at times.
Dee Bost has been the heart of this team for as long as I can remember. His confidence is unmatched on the court and is one of the most clutch players in the conference today. However, one of the big reasons he has to be so clutch at times is because he puts his team in trouble. He is so trusting in his own abilities that he throws up extremely difficult or contested shots. Bost is a good passer, but his weak court vision causes his him to miss guys at times. And when that happens, the possession normally leads to a poor shot by Bost. He struggles to manage his team at times as well, and I have noticed multiple times where everyone just seems to be standing around and not looking for openings. In fact, I would say the random stalling in the Mississippi State offense is one of the biggest reason why they lose games. Nevertheless, you have to respect the pure talent Dee Bost brings to the court. And you better put the game away before the final minutes, because this senior point guard is the perfect type to lead his team to victory. He is also dangerous defensively, and is one of the better players at stealing the ball in the conference.
Arnett Moultrie is the story of the Bulldogs though. Since transferring from UTEP, the power forward has become a star on the national level. He is, like our own John Jenkins, on the 25 Wooden Award finalist list that was released earlier this week. Moultrie dominates the boards with intensity every time he leaps. He easily averages a double-double and is the leading scorer for the Bulldogs. His offensive boards usually equal a bucket or a foul, which he can draw pretty well as he moves somewhat awkwardly on the court. So sometimes he may not have even been fouled that hard, it just looks like it because he is, for lack of a better word, a little goofy. When he is not around the basket though, his team has been known to stand around a little instead of working for the board. And that leads to some offensive putbacks for the opposing team, just watch their last game. I think that may not be too much of a problem for them tonight though, as we just don’t have the type of players that look for the putback dunk often.
Renardo Sidney is the other half of the post game for Mississippi State. He is the one player everyone loves to hate, and draws attention with his massive build, childish attitude, and surprising shooting range. I will give him credit though, he has grown up somewhat and has developed more than most of the players in the conference. The Bulldogs love to go to him in the post early, where they like to find out how his big frame works on the opposition. Usually, he does a pretty good job of backing down his opponents. However, he struggles to finish his post moves at times which makes the whole play kind of pointless. I have just seen him air ball a few too many hooks to be very threatened by his game down low. Moreover, the body of Festus Ezeli will be the strongest he has faced in a while. What I do worry about is his ability to draw fouls, simply because it is hard not for players to foul a body that big. Good thing for us though is that he really struggles at the free throw line. Sidney does have some shocking range though, and can knock down the three somewhat easily if you give him time to set his feet. And after he has been doing this for more than a year now, it really makes no sense why teams continue to give him all kinds of space. He defense is very exploitable when he goes against lean guys with shooting range, such as when he played JaMychal Green. However, his post defense has improved and his big body can be disrupting. Still, that huge frame works against him and he is known to get called for fouls when, really, he did not do too much. His biggest problem though, is just those plays where he throws in the towel and does nothing. His conditioning and attitude are still a problem, even if they have improved some.
Other starters for the Bulldogs are Rodney Hood and Brian Bryant. I would say Hood is really that next guy for the team. He plays a lot minutes, and is probably the second most productive player on the team given his touches. I think the freshman small forward is very talented, and he contributes all over the stat sheet for his team. Hood is a very balanced guy offensively, but I have seen him get beat of the dribble a few times defensively. It will be interesting to see if Jeffery Taylor can expose that weakness tonight. Brian Bryant just recently took the starting shooting guard spot from Jalen Steele. His numbers have not been breathtaking by any means, but we may see more from him as he grows into his starting role more.
No one scare me off the bench for Mississippi State. As a team, they like to play their starters a good bit of the game. Jalen Steele will get some minutes as the backup guard and Wendell Lewis will give a break to the post players. Steele may be able to do something but his production is nothing to be feared. Lewis, meanwhile, seems to lack offensive game to say the least.
Considering I think Alabama is a better team than Mississippi State, you should know I am picking the Commodores for this one. Dee Bost really struggled to get going on the road against ‘Ole Miss earlier this week and something tells me tonight could be very similar. Moultrie will probably give us trouble on the boards, but Lance Goulbourne is just not going to make that as easy as Alabama made it last Saturday. Sidney should have some offensive production early but he has been known to fall apart as the game progresses. Hood, along with Moultrie, is the real guy I worry about for a full forty minutes.
Vanderbilt controls this game with their outside shooting and defense. Mississippi State has seemed to have our number at times, but they will need a heck of game from Dee Bost to beat us at home tonight.
Go ‘Dores!