STARKVILLE — The Mississippi State men’s basketball team spent the first part of the season at home building momentum.
Coach Ben Howland’s team won its first nine games in Starkville to set the stage for its first road game, which it lost at Cincinnati.
Four more wins in Starkville followed as well another in a “home” game in Jackson. But the positive vibes earned from a victory against Arkansas at home in the Southeastern Conference opener vanished in a loss to Ole Miss in Oxford.
MSU continued that trend throughout the rest of the SEC schedule. The Bulldogs flourished at home but struggled on the road, going 2-6 to round out the schedule.
Now, though, MSU hopes to build on its biggest road victory of the season to extend its season. MSU (24-11) will get that chance at 8 tonight (ESPN) when it takes on Louisville (22-13) in the quarterfinals of the National Invitation Tournament at the KFC Yum! Center.
MSU kept its season alive Sunday thanks to a buzzer-beating 3-pointer from junior guard Quinndary Weatherspoon in a 78-77 victory against Baylor in Waco, Texas.
Another road victory would send MSU to Madison Square Garden in New York City for the semifinals.
“I think it’s maturing, growing as a team, improving,” MSU coach Ben Howland said of the team’s improved play on the road.
It didn’t take long for MSU’s issues on the road to become evident. MSU shot 30 percent from the field and 28 percent from 3-point range in a 65-50 loss to Cincinnati on Dec. 12. It then edged Southern Mississippi 70-64 on Dec. 23 in Jackson.
MSU lost four times on the road in its first seven SEC games, including two by double digits. There also was the second-half collapse at Ole Miss.
Things started to turn Jan. 31, when MSU earned an 81-76 victory against South Carolina in Columbia, South Carolina. The win was MSU’s quality victory away from home. It catapulted MSU onto the bubble for the NCAA tournament.
“That was the first road win, but we’ve had some other games where we’ve played well on the road and not won,” Howland said.
MSU continued to show signs of improvement on the road by beating Texas A&M 93-81 on Feb. 20 in College Station, Texas. It also defeated LSU 80-77 on March 8 at the SEC tournament in St. Louis. In between, MSU lost in overtime at Missouri on Feb. 10 and lost on a buzzer-beater to Vanderbilt on Feb. 14.
The solid performances away from home revealed a formula. MSU freshman forward Abdul Ado has scored in double digits only four times since the beginning of February, but three of those have been in road games (Texas A&M, Missouri, and Vanderbilt).
Getting that kind of production from Ado against Louisville might be difficult given it blocks 15.1 percent of its opponents’ two-point attempts, according to Ken Pomeroy’s advanced numbers, for a block percentage that ranks 10th in the nation. Anas Mahmoud leads the Cardinals with 2.9 blocked shots per game. Ray Spalding is averaging 1.7.
“We’ve got plenty of good shot-blocking teams in this league, too,” Howland said. “One thing about playing in the SEC is it prepares you for anything else you’re going to see.”
MSU also improves its chances on the road when Weatherspoon and sophomore point guard Lamar Peters play well. Weatherspoon scored 18 points in the victory against South Carolina and 17 against Texas A&M. Peters nearly willed the Bulldogs to the win at Missouri with 22 points, five rebounds, and seven assists.
MSU’s chances also improve when freshman guard Nick Weatherspoon is on the court. Weatherspoon scored 15 points at Missouri and 10 against Vanderbilt before returning from an injury to play at Baylor. Howland said Nick practiced for 40 minutes on offense only the day before the Baylor game to help him prepare for Baylor’s zone. He said he decided then Weatherspoon would return to the lineup.
“He hit his first two shots and I thought, ‘Hey, this guy has been out for nine days but nobody would know,’ ” Howland said. “Sometimes when you’re out for nine days, you’re out of rhythm, and I think he’ll be much more comfortable tomorrow because he has this one under his belt.”
The same could be said for MSU’s fortunes on the road.
Follow Dispatch sports writer Brett Hudson on Twitter @Brett_Hudson
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