STARKVILLE — “The grind starts now.”
That comment was part of Mississippi State women’s basketball coach Vic Schaefer’s remarks Monday following his team’s victory against Arkansas-Pine Bluff. MSU’s 83-26 victory helped it wrap up the non-conference portion of its schedule with a 15-0 record. The best start in program history has helped the Bulldogs climb to No. 17 in this week’s The Associated Press Top 25 poll.
MSU will put that winning streak and that ranking to the test at 3 p.m. today (SEC Network +) when it plays host to No. 19 Georgia (12-1) at Humphrey Coliseum. The game will be the Southeastern Conference opener for both teams.
“We’re not making the same good decisions in the open floor,” Schaefer said after the rout of Arkansas-Pine Bluff. “We will in practice, but we get into ballgames and we’re not making those same good decisions outside of a set offense. When I turn them loose and let them play, we’re turning it over, and we have the wrong people turning it over.”
Schaefer was disappointed in the fact that MSU had 22 turnovers on a night in which it held Arkansas-Pine Bluff to a program-record low 15.3 percent from the field. The total of nine field goals Arkansas-Pine Bluff made was one more than Georgia made in a 50-38 loss to MSU on Feb. 28, 2013. MSU’s upset of then-No. 11 Georgia was Schaefer’s biggest victory up to that point at the tail end of his first season as head coach at the school. Last season, MSU took a big step forward in finishing 22-14 and advancing to the quarterfinals of the Women’s National Invitation Tournament. That record included an 80-67 victory against Georgia on Feb. 2, 2014, in Starkville and a 77-48 loss to Georgia on March 2, 2014, in Athens, Georgia. In both games, MSU had notable shooting percentage marks. In the win, MSU shot a season-best 51.9 percent in a SEC game. In the loss, it shot 28.6 percent in the first half in a game Georgia controlled from the start.
Today’s game will feature the SEC’s highest-scoring team (MSU, 84.7 points per game) vs. the league’s No. 2 team in scoring defense (Georgia, 49.6). MSU is fifth in scoring defense (52.7), while Georgia is 11th in the league in scoring (65.5).
But Schaefer knows you can throw all of those numbers out the window when it comes to league play. He talked Monday about how MSU needed to develop better consistency and needed to take better care of the basketball. The Bulldogs also have to realize things won’t come nearly as easily as they have in their past three victories.
“We have to get ready for I am sure a mad, upset Georgia team,” Schaefer said. “They will be coming in her with a chip on their shoulder. I am sure they’ll be reminded of the past couple of years.”
Georgia fell from the ranks of the unbeaten Sunday when it lost at Seton Hall 70-51. The loss left MSU, South Carolina, Texas, and Princeton as the only undefeated teams in Division I.
Georgia coach Andy Landers knows his team will be in for a battle today.
“Mississippi State is just an excellent basketball team,” Landers said. “They are very well balanced. They have terrific scorers. They’re a terrific defensive basketball team, one that like to harass and turn you over. It will be an aggressive and physical basketball game. There’s no question about that.”
Defense likely will play a key role in the outcome. MSU enters the game leading the SEC in turnover margin (+10), while Georgia is No. 2 in the league in steals (13.1). MSU also is No. 1 in the league in 3-point field goal percentage defense (18.3). It hasn’t allowed a 3-pointer in its past three games. Georgia is eighth in the league in 3-pointers (4.5 per game, 58).
The game will be the first time MSU has opened SEC play at home since the 2011-12 season. It’s an advantage Schaefer hopes can improve his team’s chances, especially since MSU has had crowds of 3,000 fans or better for the past month.
“They handed us our tail over there,” Schaefer said. “Them and (Texas) A&M beat us as bad as anybody. That game over there to end the season was not pretty. They really got after us over there. Our kids are going to have to be ready to play because I am sure they are going to come in here with a little bit of an edge.”
MSU freshman Victoria Vivians, who is leading the team in scoring at 16.3 ppg., said Monday she is looking forward to playing her first SEC game in front of what could be a season-high crowd.
“I think we are going to be ready because if we practice well we should come into the game and play well,” Vivians said. “If we continue to practice well this week and get ready to play the game, we should be fine.”
NOTE: The game is the opening half of a doubleheader. The MSU men’s team will play host to Florida State at 7 p.m. (ESPNU).
Follow Dispatch sports editor Adam Minichino on Twitter @ctsportseditor
Adam Minichino is the former Sports Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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