STARKVILLE — Up-tempo games don’t faze Vic Schaefer.
In fact, the Mississippi State women’s basketball coach offered a warning Thursday to opponents that think his team won’t be able to keep pace in up-and-down action.
“I think you better be careful about playing my team really fast,” Schaefer said. “I think our kids are real comfortable playing in that environment, especially when you have the depth we have. I think we’re really, really comfortable playing really fast.”
But coming off its lowest-scoring game of the season, it remains to be seen if MSU is ready for the high-scoring exploits of the Troy Trojans.
That question will be answered at 1:30 p.m. Friday (ESPN2) when second-seeded MSU (29-4) plays host to 15th-seeded Troy (22-10) in the first round of the NCAA tournament at Humphrey Coliseum.
The winner of that game will play the winner of the game between seventh-seeded DePaul (26-7) and 10th-seeded Northern Iowa (24-8) on Sunday at a time to be determined. The winner of that game will advance to the Sweet 16 of the Oklahoma City Regional.
Troy enters the game eighth in the nation in scoring at 82.9 points per game. The Trojans have hit 242 3-pointers, which is three from tying the school’s single-season record. They have five players who have attempted 205 or more shots (MSU has two) and have 10 players averaging double-digit minutes, just like MSU.
Defensively, Troy allows 72 ppg., which MSU has matched or surpassed 20 times this season, including five times since February. The Bulldogs have shot 46.7 percent or better from the field in those games (4-1 record).
Schaefer said MSU tries to play at a fast pace every day at practice when it works in its Bulldog drill. He stressed it will be important for the Bulldogs, who average only 13.1 turnovers per game, to take care of the ball and get good looks at the basket. MSU’s turnover total is the lowest in Schaefer’s five seasons in Starkville.
“We have some kids who can run all day, and you get them up and down now, you lose them in transition and you’re going to end up paying for it,” Schaefer said. “I am comfortable (with a fast pace). The biggest thing at this time or the year is it doesn’t matter if you play slow or fast or anything in between. You just have to take care of the ball. You can’t turn the ball over.”
Sophomore center Teaira McCowan said the Bulldogs play fast but they do it under control, so she is looking forward to the thought of facing the Sun Belt Conference tournament champions.
“We can’t go into playing with Troy wanting to go at their pace,” McCowan said. “We just have to continue to execute at our pace and not feed into what they are doing.”
That is easier said than done because the Trojans force 21 turnovers per game. They have forced 20 or more 19 times, including 25 or more 10 times.
Troy makes life doubly difficult by controlling the backboards. The Trojans have only been outrebounded eight times. They are seventh in rebounding margin (7.5), first in offensive rebounds per game (20), second in total rebounds (1,608), second in rebounds per game (50.2), and fifth in free throws made (514).
In a 105-72 victory against Arkansas State in the quarterfinals of the Sun Belt Conference tournament, Troy had an 86-39 rebounding edge. Its rebounding total tied for the second most in a game in NCAA history. Forty-five of those rebounds were on the offensive end, which led to 43 second-chance points.
MSU junior point guard Morgan William knows she will face added responsibility to take care of the basketball and to rebound. William, who had seven turnovers in a 59-49 loss to South Carolina in the championship game of the Southeastern Conference tournament on March 5 in Greenville, South Carolina, will have to rebound because the Trojans send five players to the boards in an effort to get a shot off every seven seconds.
“We just have to play under control,” William said. “When we go fast, we tend to turn the ball over. We have to play under control and make good decisions and have good possessions.”
MSU averages 74.8 ppg. and shoots 45.1 percent from the field, which is the fourth-best mark in program history. The Bulldogs also have been outrebounded only six times. Tennessee’s 48 rebounds in MSU’s 74-64 victory on Jan. 8 in Knoxville, Tennessee, are the most in a game against the Bulldogs this season.
Schaefer referenced Troy grabbing 150 rebounds in its first two games at the Sun Belt Conference tournament in his news conference Thursday. He also mentioned it Wednesday in his appearance at DawgTalk at The Veranda, so he is well aware the Bulldogs face a rebound challenge against a determined opponent.
“The thing that jumps out at you is how hard they work to rebound,” Schaefer said. “They’re not standing around. None of them are. They’re moving to get position. They’re playing percentages where the shot is going to come off. It is something (Troy coach) Chanda (Rigby) has taught them, and it something they have worked on.
“They’re so energized in that part of the game that is some regards it is a little unusual to who we played.”
Follow Dispatch sports editor Adam Minichino on Twitter @ctsportseditor
Adam Minichino is the former Sports Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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