STARKVILLE — February hasn’t been kind to the Mississippi State men’s basketball team.
While MSU has spent weeks searching for an answer to end its six-game losing streak, it has to figure out a way to generate more offense. MSU has set a season lows for scoring twice in the last three games, scoring 52 in a home loss to Florida before a 77-48 loss to Vanderbilt on Saturday in Nashville, Tennessee.
MSU scored 73 points in a home loss to South Carolina on Feb. 11, the second game in its current losing streak. MSU (14-14, 5-11 Southeastern Conference) will hope for more at 8 tonight (ESPNU) when it meets South Carolina (21-8, 11-5).
“Every time we took a bad shot (against Vanderbilt), an early shot, a contested shot, it led to bad things, it led to them going the other ways,” MSU coach Ben Howland said.
Howland identified two factors that have contributed to the offensive slump.
“We just have to get a better ability to score at the basket, going to the basket,” Howland said. “Look at the foul shots over the course of the last five or six games, the foul shots we’re attempting versus our opponent. Getting the ball inside I thought was obviously a problem for us on Saturday. We couldn’t score anything around the basket.
“We’ve had too many turnovers, and during this losing streak that’s been big. Turnovers are killer. We’ve got to take better care of the ball.”
Only four SEC teams have attempted fewer free throws in conference play than MSU (357, a little more than 22 per game). MSU is averaging 15 free-throw attempts per game in its last five games while staying pretty close to its conference-play free throw shooting percentage of 65.8 percent, second worst in the SEC.
“I would say we’re not being aggressive enough,” sophomore forward Aric Holman said. “There are times when our play didn’t work that time, so we just get settled. Everybody’s at the 3-point line standing around instead of just playing basketball like we know we can. That’s what we’ve been working on, getting back to being relaxed, doing what we know we can do and playing our game the way we know we can.”
Only Texas A&M has committed more turnovers in SEC play than MSU. The Bulldogs are averaging nearly 15 per game in conference play, and have committed more than that in three of its last five games.
Howland is adamant that the problems aren’t a result of a lack of effort.
“It’s not easy, and that’s part of growing. Give our guys credit. They come to practice every day and work hard,” he said. “We had a good practice the day before the game, so it’s not like they’re not showing up and working and competing in practice on a daily basis.”
Holman said he feels the Bulldogs still are “hungry” and that he doesn’t see guys being down.
“They’re all ready for the next game, ready to fight again,” Holman said. “We want to learn from our mistakes and get them right again.”
If MSU is to find its offense against South Carolina, it may have to do so without sophomore guard and leading scorer Quinndary Weatherspoon, who sprained his ankle at Vanderbilt. Howland said Weatherspoon is doubtful, but he offered that assessment before seeing him Monday.
MSU has had a habit of bouncing back after a poor offensive performance, at least in terms of points scored. After scoring 61 points against UCF in its second game of the season, MSU scored 80 against Boise State the next day. MSU also followed its 58-point effort in its conference debut against Alabama with 95 points in a victory against LSU.
This trend continued more recently, as MSU scored 82 in the overtime loss to Ole Miss after scoring 52 three days earlier against Florida. Howland doesn’t think much of that trend, but he wouldn’t mind if the Bulldogs did it again.
“I hope so, for (Tuesday)’s sake,” Howland said.
Follow Dispatch sports writer Brett Hudson on Twitter, @Brett_Hudson
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