GAINESVILLE, Fla. — The one perceived advantage the Mississippi State University men’s basketball team had entering its game Saturday against the University of Florida was at power forward.
That wasn’t the case Saturday.
Florida junior forward Erik Murphy’s ability to bring Arnett Moultrie, MSU’s Wooden Award finalist, more than 20 feet away from the basket was a major key to frustrating the 6-foot-11 standout in the Gators’ 69-57 victory at the O’Connell Center.
Murphy began the game by hitting two long-range jump shots. A tentative Moultrie, who leads the league in rebounding, seemed to question whether he should leave premier low-post position to challenge the 6-10 forward beyond the 3-point arc.
“Murphy is not even close to the same player he was, now,” MSU coach Rick Stansbury said. “Last year … he’s no factor. Right now, shoot, hey, I mean, he’s the one guy now that changes their team totally. He gives them some length defensively, and then offensively he’s so skilled and stretches you out. All he does is make it easier for all those perimeter guys driving that basketball.”
Murphy had 14 points on 5-of-9 shooting. He hit all four of his 3-pointers and had his ninth double-figure scoring game in his past 12 games.
“Murphy just opens up the floor for our guards because when he’s spotting up like he can do, you have to account for him,” Florida coach Billy Donovan said. “We’re allowed to start him at different spots on the floor whether it’s high or low.
In 28 minutes, the Rhode Island native also had two blocked shots and was key in keeping Moultrie to two offensive rebounds. It was his non-stop confidence with the jumper that confounded MSU’s defense and left Stansbury impressed.
“Probably when (Patric) Young went out hurt a little bit, his role has changed, and he’s the one guy that is difficult to defend,” Stansbury said. “He stretches you out. He’s that fourth guy out there that can really shoot the basketball. He stepped up there tonight in huge situations and made shots for them.”
On the other end, Moultrie couldn’t make Florida’s combination of Murphy and Will Yeguete pay on defense. The quick hands of the Florida guards forced the transfer from the University of Texas at El Paso into a team-high six turnovers. Moultrie also hit just 4 of 10 shots from the field.
The game plan for MSU was clear in the first half, as Moultrie had a significant number of touches to make a post move or to get to the free-throw line. However, the junior’s 4-of-8 effort from the foul line resulted in too many empty possessions and left MSU trailing by three points at halftime.
“I ain’t concerned with it,” Stansbury said of Moultrie’s foul shooting. “Hey, that’s just the game. Between 22 games, 21 of them he has been almost an 80-percent shooter, so I’m not concerned with his free-throw shooting. I have a lot of confidence in him. He just missed some free throws today, and that’s part of those things you have to capitalize when you’re on the road playing a good team like Florida.”
In one of MSU’s biggest game of the season, Moultrie had 12 points and 13 rebounds, but he needs to be a dominant factor for the Bulldogs if they’re to get big victories against quality opponents to secure an at-large NCAA tournament.
When Moultrie scores more than 20 points in a game, MSU is 8-0 this season, but opponents are starting to recognize the number of minutes he and other MSU players are logging.
“Rick doesn’t have a long bench, so you don’t want them to dictate tempo,” Donovan said.
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