Much work is left to do if Mississippi State is going to make the NCAA Tournament.
Mississippi State’s 80-73 victory over Alabama as five-point favorites Tuesday came at just the right time. The Bulldogs are sitting on the bubble after a string of disappointing performances and now close the season Saturday at Missouri (SEC Network, 2:30 p.m.) and next week at South Carolina and versus Ole Miss.
ESPN bracketologist Joe Lunardi will likely have State in the “first four out” or “next four out” entering the weekend based on recent trends.
MSU has to play better defense down the stretch to stay in contention. Opponents have been putting up some big point totals — 76, 87, 76, 77, 83, 70, 80, 73 and 71 during this stretch.
Mississippi State’s bubble still has some air in it, but the defensive end will likely dictate how much.
“That was a huge, huge win for us,” Mississippi State head coach Ben Howland said following the win over the Crimson Tide.
Reggie Perry scored 21 points and Tyson Carter added 19 as the Bulldogs held off Alabama. Perry also added 12 rebounds for his conference-leading 15th double-double of the season. The sophomore also has 24 career double-doubles, the most by a Bulldog in their first two seasons. Robert Woodard added 10 points and seven rebounds.
Carter was 6 of 10 from the field and a perfect 6 of 6 at the free throw line. The senior guard also added a game-high five assists.
“This game was very important for us,” Carter said. “Sometimes in close games it gets away from us and I was trying to make sure it didn’t happen tonight. It feels good but we can’t have any letdowns. We had this same feeling last week so we’ve got to get back to practice and go even harder.”
State (18-10, 9-6) is 57th in the country in the NCAA’s NET rankings used to help determine the NCAA Tournament field.
Ole Miss lost Tuesday 67-58 at Auburn falling to 4-11 in the SEC, meaning it needs to play well late to have a shot at the NIT.
nContact Bill Burrus at 581-7237 or bburrus@gwcommonwealth.com.
