STARKVILLE — The box score after Mississippi State men’s basketball’s first win over a ranked opponent showed several numbers that aren’t conducive to repeating such a victory. The turnover number was far from one of them.
MSU may have only shot 19 percent from 3-point range (4-21) and 60 percent from the free throw line (24-40) Tuesday, but it is quick to take solace in a mere seven turnovers in its win over No. 22 Arkansas. As a team that has struggled with turnovers in the past, MSU hopes the Arkansas game was signs of what is to come as MSU goes to The Pavilion to face Ole Miss (8-6, 1-1 Southeastern Conference) 3:30 p.m. Saturday (SEC Network).
“We really valued the ball. I was really excited,” MSU coach Ben Howland said.
Before the Arkansas game, MSU was turning the ball over on 21.3 percent of its possessions; even after seven turnovers in 68 possessions bumped that turnover percentage down to 20.6, MSU stills ranks 260th out of 351 Division I teams.
More impressive than the numbers was the team MSU did it against. Arkansas and its trademark fullcourt press averaged forcing 16 turnovers per game before generating seven from the Bulldogs (13-0, 1-0 SEC).
Howland attributed the success to the same thing that should have made MSU good at preventing turnovers all season long: guard depth.
MSU’s rotation at guard has enabled it to have five players at that position with at least 15 minutes per game and it trusts almost all of them in a press break. The most often used ball handlers have been junior Quinndary Weatherspoon, sophomore Lamar Peters and freshman Nick Weatherspoon, and Howland credited all three of them for their work against the Razorbacks, but they’re not alone. Xavian Stapleton has handled the ball behind the halfcourt line and even forward Aric Holman got it across the time line once against Arkansas.
Further, MSU’s guards knew what to do once it got past the press, another encouraging sign for Howland.
“They pressure so much that when you attack the rim, you have to get in there and play through contact,” he said. He added close non-conference games, such as the three-point win over Jacksonville State and the two-point win over Dayton, helped MSU down the stretch.
In MSU’s set of guards, Arkansas coach Mike Anderson did not see a drastically different group of players, just improved versions of the ones from a year ago.
“They’re not different, probably older now. Everybody knows about (Quinndary Weatherspoon) and what he brings to the table, but I think Nick adds something for them on the defensive part,” he said. “I think they’re a year older now.”
If the ball security from Tuesday is a window into the future, MSU is in for something even better against the Rebels: Ole Miss’ defense is the second-worst in the SEC according to Ken Pomeroy’s advanced statistics and its defensive turnover percentage of 18.5 is below the national average.
Follow Dispatch sports writer Brett Hudson on Twitter @Brett_Hudson
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