Mississippi State remains undefeated as they improved their record to 8-0 after an 82-52 win over Mississippi Valley State.
KenPom's 362nd-ranked Delta Devils weren't much of a test for Mississippi State. The Bulldogs were without starting point guard Rams Davis again, who is nursing an ankle injury, but it didn't matter as they had a clear size advantage in the matchup. It was put on display with the Bulldogs scoring 50 points in the paint and outrebounding the Delta Devils 43-24.
"Rams is progressing," Chris Jans said. "He would've played today if we absolutely needed him. But obviously, we felt like we were in a pretty good position with what we had available. He's still not at 100 percent. He's getting closer."
Mississippi State big man Tolu Smith was too much to handle for the Delta Devil defense. The 6'11" center had three inches on Valley's Alvin Stredic, and he feasted on the inside scoring 24 points on 8-12 from the floor. Smith also lived at the free throw line shooting 8-14 from the charity stripe, and while not great, it's better than his 51.9% season percentage.
New Mexico State transfer Will McNair Jr. also had a nice day on the inside. The big man from Philadelphia added in a season-high eight points and finished third on the team in scoring.
"Even though they were playing zone, we didn't give up on Tolu or Will around the basket," Chris Jans said. "I can't speak for them, but I would imagine for at least Tolu, it's hard to double team in a zone. You're sitting on a middleman in a 2-3, so he probably felt like he had a little bit more space than he usually does."
The Bulldog defense wasn't what we're used to seeing under Chris Jans, as they surrendered 50 points for only the fourth time this season. The Delta Devils got some good production from the backcourt of Terry Collins and Danny Washington. The two guards combined for 28 points and shot 7-13 from beyond the arc.
Mississippi State did continue to have success creating offense with its defense scoring 23 points off turnovers. Valley turned it over 14 times, with Eric Reed Jr. and Keyshawn Murphy each getting three steals a piece. Senior forward D.J. Jeffries was a big part of the Bulldogs' transition offense, and he was State's only other double-figure scorer with 12.
The Bulldogs will get a nice eight-day break before traveling up to Minneapolis for their first true road game against Minnesota. The Golden Gophers came into Starkville and picked up an 81-76 win last year so Mississippi State will have a chance at redemption and to pick up another high major win for their NCAA Tournament résumé.
