STARKVILLE — Mississippi State has already faced many unique challenges in the early part of the men’s basketball season.
The 17th-ranked Bulldogs (10-1) have already suffered a disappointing upset loss at home, won a tournament at Madison Square Garden, won games without key players and now have a new task. MSU must now figure out a way to win its first road game of the 2011-12 season.
MSU will play 800 miles away from home against the University of Detroit, a dangerous mid-major program, in their old compact gymnasium. These set of circumstances is normally a recipe the opposing coach isn’t thrilled about.
“We all know that’s not an easy place to play,” MSU coach Rick Stansbury said. “And for the first time this year, they have everybody back and healthy. It’s going to be a tough test for us.”
Detroit (4-6) was supposed to make an early season run as the mid-major program that could be one of the nation’s elite this season but slowly everything began to fall apart before they started preseason practice.
A season-ending anterior cruciate ligament injury to senior forward Nick Minnerath was the start and replacing his size and athleticism forces Detroit to significantly alter its offensive system.
All-Horizon League first-team center Eli Holman, had been on a leave of absence after an assault charge at a fraternity house. The senior has played in the last two games including posting 21 points in just 19 minutes to give the Titans an inside scoring threat to mix with one of the nation’s most dominant point guards in Ray McCallum Jr.
In order to stop Holman, MSU will need the presence of junior forward Arnett Moultrie on both ends of the floor. The Bulldogs power forward , who has been held out of sporadic games due to what MSU officials are calling tendinitis in his knees, is leading the Southeastern Conference in rebounding at a 11.3-per-game clip.
Stansbury says he’s hopeful Moultrie, the transfer from the University of Texas at El Paso, can play today (11 a.m.).
McCallum Jr., the son of the Titans head coach, Ray McCallum Sr., averaging 14.6 points per game, turned down scholarship offers from nearly every premier basketball program in the country after being a McDonald’s All-American.
“It is a little strange when Ben Howland is in your living room, recruiting your son to come to UCLA,” McCallum Sr. told the New York Times in 2010. “It’s interesting being on the other side of that.
“Usually, I’m doing the recruiting. And when it was my turn to recruit Ray, I gave him our best pitch. As much as I hoped Ray would come here, we as parents gave him the freedom to make his own decisions.”
The Titans are paced by guards Chase Simon and McCallum, who are averaging 16.3 and 14.6 points, respectively. Last year, the two combined for 33 points against MSU, with Simon totaling 17.
The Bulldogs have won nine in a row following Tuesday’s 75-68 win against Florida Atlantic when freshman guard Rodney Hood recorded his first-career double-double with 19 points and 10 rebounds while playing every minute. Today will be his first true road game in his college career.
“This will be a good test for us,” said MSU leading scorer Dee Bost, who is 16 assists shy of setting a school record. “It will be a tough environment. We have to be ready and focused.”
After Saturday, MSU returns to action on Dec. 22 in Jackson against Northwestern State, with tip set for 7 p.m. at the Mississippi Coliseum.
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