Bulldogs fall short at Ole Miss, 64-46

Well, it’s Groundhog Day. Again. Of course, that’s what Bill Murray’s character said in his movie, Groundhog Day. But, for the current circumstances, let me revise it.

Well, Mississippi State basketball lost to Ole Miss. Again.

For the 11th time in the last nine seasons, the Bulldogs fell to their in-state rival, tonight’s contest ending with a 64-46 final score.

“It’s our rivalry game,” Ben Howland said postgame. “End of the day, this is something we need to rectify and do better. The last three years, we’ve split with them, but it’s obviously always the game you mark down on your schedule.”

The game was yet another chapter in the annals of State’s downright pitiful recent performances against Ole Miss. MSU couldn’t find an offensive rhythm at any point in the contest. Ole Miss completely and totally stifled State from the opening tip to the final buzzer.

The Bulldogs shot a hapless 35% from the field, 29% from beyond the arc. While State’s defense kept them in the game, cutting the Rebel lead to four in the 2nd half, the offense couldn’t back it up.

A snowflake turned into a snowball which turned into an avalanche with Ole Miss outscoring MSU by 13 in the final 10 minutes of the game.

“We’ve got to be better offensively than we were tonight,” Howland stated. “We need to get better to beat anybody in our conference.”

D.J. Stewart led MSU with 18 points while Tolu Smith followed him with 10. Beyond those two, no other Bulldog was in double digits.

A promising season featuring an inexperienced team playing over their heads has officially started to crash and burn, as Mississippi State falls to 9-6, 4-3 on the year. They now face a backto-back road slate with the two best teams in the conference, Alabama and Tennessee.

It’ll still be Groundhog Day.