Mississippi State throttles Missouri in battle of SEC’s last-place teams

Missouri lost the Battle to Avoid the Basement on Saturday against Mississippi State at Mizzou Arena.

The Tigers and Bulldogs entered play tied for last in the SEC with identical 1-6 records in conference play.

Mississippi State headed back to Starkville alone in 13th place after a 76-62 win.

Once again, Missouri, which has lost six straight games, simply dug too big a hole in the early going to factor in the outcome.

“I’m not going to lie to you, I’m disappointed,” second-year coach Kim Anderson said. “I’m disappointed in our performance. I think we’re a better team than this. I don’t think we’re a great team, but I think we’re better than we played tonight. We’re struggling with confidence.”

The Tigers, 8-13 and 1-7 in conference, missed all 13 first-half three-point tries against the Bulldogs’ 2-3 zone.

There was the usual second-half run, but the comeback came up short again — also as usual this season.

“Confidence is a big factor, especially when you’re young,” Anderson said. “Confidence and being comfortable on the floor. I didn’t think tonight we were very comfortable. We look like a team that was struggling mentally as well as physically.”

Playing without its leading scorer, Gavin Ware, who averages 15.7 points but remained home with a concussion, Mississippi State limited Missouri to 29-percent shooting in the first half.

The Tigers eventually finished 23 of 62 from the field, but were sunk by a 2 of 25 from three-point range.

“There’s really not much excuse for going to 2 for 25,” said Anderson, whose squad has shot below 40 percent in seven of eight conference games. “I think everyone in this room … if we just went out and shot, we probably could make two.”

Mississippi State coach Ben Howland, who was a finalist for the Missouri job in 2014, had vowed not to play zone again, but Ware’s absence changed that.

Ware suffered the concussion Thursday in practice and didn’t think the Tigers were prepared for the zone.

“We practice against zone every day,” Anderson said. “I knew a few games ago, (Howland) said he was going to start playing man, but, when Ware didn’t play, I told our guys before the game, ‘They’re going to play zone.’ … We really did a poor job of attacking the zone.”

The Bulldogs, 9-11 and 2-6 in SEC play, built a 37-20 halftime lead, which proved too massive for the Tigers to fill back in.

Not that Missouri didn’t try.

Mississippi State widened its lead to 22 points in the opening 4 minutes of the second half, going in front 50-28 on a three-pointer by freshman Malik Newman with 16:07 remaining.

Tigers sophomore Namon Wright and Bulldogs senior Craig Sword traded baskets before freshman guard Terrence Phillips rattled home a three-pointer with 15:06 remaining in the second half.

The Mizzou Arena crowd of 7,175 erupted in a cathartic cheer despite the fact Mizzou still trailed 52-33. It was the first three-pointer the Tigers had connected on in 16 attempts to that point in the game.

It also lit the fuse on a 15-3 run trimmed Mississippi State’s lead to 55-45.

Sophomore Jakeenan Gant contributed a couple buckets during that spurt and freshman K.J. Walton chipped in a layup and two free throws, but it’s as close as Missouri got.

Phillips and Bulldogs senior Fred Thomas were assessed a double technical after mixing it up under the basket after a bucket by freshman Quinndary Weatherspoon nipped the Tigers’ run.

The lengthy delay as officials reviewed a replay allowed Mississippi State, which snapped an eight-game road losing streak since last season’s win at Mizzou Arena, to regroup and keep Missouri at bay.

“It really gave us time to rest,” Weatherspoon said. “A lot of us were tired, so that double technical gave us a chance to catch our breath. I think that was good for us.”

Newman finished with a game-high 19 points. Weatherspoon (18), Sword (15) and senior Travis Daniels (13) also hit double figures for the Bulldogs.

Weatherspoon grabbed a game-high 14 boards and Sword dished a game-best five assists.

The Tigers were led by Wright, who scored 16 with a career-high nine rebounds, while Gant added 11 points and five rebounds. Phillips scored 10 with five boards and a team-high four assists.

MISSISSIPPI STATE 76

MISSOURI 62

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Percentages: FG .459, FT .632. Three-Point Goals: 8-23, .348 (Newman 4-8, Daniels 2-4, Weatherspoon 2-4, Sword 0-1, Thomas 0-1, Zuppardo 0-1, Holman 0-2, Ready 0-2). Blocked Shots: 6 (Daniels 2, Thomas, Holman, Newman, Zuppardo). Turnovers: 13 (Zuppardo 2, Sword 2, Ready 2, Weatherspoon 2, Newman 2, Daniels, Thomas, team). Steals: 5 (Thomas 2, Daniels, Ready, Sword). Technical Fouls: Thomas. Fouled Out: Holman.

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Percentages: FG .371, FT .778. Three-Point Goals: 2-25, .080 (Wright 1-5, Phillips 1-8, Gant 0-1, Walton 0-2, VanLeer 0-4, Clark 0-5). Blocked Shots: 3 (Rosburg, Gant, Allen). Turnovers: 10 (Phillips 2, Wright 2, Allen 2, Woods, Puryear, Walton, Clark). Steals: 8 (Phillips 4, Clark 2, Gant, Barton). Technical Fouls: Phillips. Fouled Out: None.

Half: Mississippi State 37-20. Attendance: 7,175. Officials: William Washington, Marc Ellard, Chuck Jones.

This story was originally published January 30, 2016 at 8:24 PM with the headline "Mississippi State throttles Missouri in battle of SEC’s last-place teams."