Random donation of an article sent from a regular visitor I thought I would share with the public. On that note, if any readers want to send me any material published BY THEMSELVES, and preferrably nowhere else, I’ll be happy to publish it here as well.
By Ray Floriani
NEWARK – Mississippi State dropped a tough 77-73 decision in the Legends Classic consolation here at the Prudential Center on Saturday. A few observations from press row…
The first half saw State struggle to find the Texas Tech shooters. The Big 12 representatives are running under coach Pat Knight. They also have the green light to fire from the perimeter. Several times State lost the shooters, mostly in transition, or were susceptible to quick ball reversals on the perimeter. Offensively the Tech zone clogged the middle and big men like Jarvis Varnado saw their touches limited (5 pts on 2 of 3 shooting.
Half : 42-34 T.Tech
Efficiency
T.Tech 102
Miss. St. 85
(41 possessions, a near track meet)
The second half the Bulldogs came right out and tightened defensively. When Texas Tech saw the perimeter wasn’t as easy to exploit they went inside and the Bulldog ‘block party’ began. Offensively State made a concerted effort to look inside more. The result saw State back in it and the game, a two point lead by Tech with 12 to go, basically remained a one possession affair. State never could get the lead. There were some unfortunate bounces of the ball and several bad decisions on their part. Regardless, they came up empty.
Final : 77-73 T.Tech
Efficiency
T. Tech 103
Miss. St. 87
(75 possessions)
The differences…Texas Tech had a 48% effective Fg Pct to that of 43% for State. Miss. State enjoyed an edge in offensive rebounding Pct 36% to 24%. But the big difference was 17 of 31 from the foul line for the Bulldogs. “You don’t win a game like this against a quality opponent shooting free throws like that,” said State coach Rick Stansbury.
Despite finishing 0-2 (State lost to Washington State in the semis) at the ‘Rock”, Stansbury felt the experience was beneficial. “We played two very good teams, Stansbury said. “We grew up in some areas but found what we need to do in others.”
Stat that jumped off the page…State blocked 9 shots. Texas Tech attempted 42 two pointers so the State block rate was an incredible 21%.
