How Mississippi State basketball rallied from ‘awful’ Butler game to upset Pittsburgh

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STARKVILLE — Claudell Harris Jr. attempted a stepback 3-pointer in Mississippi State basketball’s first half against Pittsburgh. It clanked off the rim.

Miami transfer center Michael Nwoko nonchalantly crashed the hoop and extended his right arm for the rebound. The ball ricocheted off his hand near the block and perfectly redirected off the glass and into the basket.

All Nwoko could do was shrug his shoulders as he jogged back down the floor.

It was that kind of night for MSU.

Everything seemed to go right for the Bulldogs (7-1) who crushed No. 19 Pittsburgh 90-57 Wednesday night at Humphrey Coliseum in the SEC/ACC Challenge. It was their first ranked win of the season and the largest margin of victory against a ranked opponent in program history.

Coach Chris Jans admitted afterward he wasn’t expecting the result after MSU lost its first game of the season to Butler on Friday in the Arizona Tipoff.

“I didn’t exactly know what the response was going to be but I’m certainly glad with what unfolded tonight,” he said.

Did Mississippi State make changes defensively?

What irked Jans the most from the 87-77 loss to Butler was Mississippi State’s defensive performance. He called it “awful” on Monday, especially with defending the point of attack.

Wholesale changes weren’t made against Pitt, however. Jans said Wednesday that the team watched some “tough tape” from the Butler loss. The only adjustments made were the approach to ball screens, which Jans said would’ve been done anyway to counter Pitt’s guards.

“We had some rough days but we all knew what we had to do,” forward Cameron Matthews said, who made three steals in his first seven minutes of the game. “We had to bounce back and not let these L’s spiral and roll into more L’s. We just got in the lab and got after it.”

The result was a fast start for MSU, who led by 22 points at halftime. The Panthers shot 31.3% from the floor in the first half while the Bulldogs scored 11 points off turnovers…

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Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/mississippi-state-basketball-rallied-awful-111003950.html

Author : The Clarion Ledger

Publish date : 2024-12-05 11:10:00

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