StarkVegasSteve
02-17-2025, 02:19 PM
A really solid weekend of sports, outside of women's basketball, for Mississippi State. Obviously the men's game was paramount, but opening weekend was also upon us. I thought we did exactly what you are supposed to do in baseball and what a win from Jans and Co.
1. You cannot undersell the importance of Saturday. We HAD to have it. We came in at 5-6. We need 8 conference wins to be comfortably in. If you go to 5-7, that means you're probably going to need both @OU and @Arky to get to the 8 if you include LSU. I just was not confident in that. You also give yourself some confidence that 9 or even 10 wins in conference is now possible.
2. The Transfer Trio finally decided to all get on the same page again. We are just a completely different team when those 3 are clicking. If you can even have 2 of the 3 on it's good. But when you've got all 3 clicking, then we're a legit second weekend tournament team.
3. Hubbard. He had a bad game by his standards, but he still played pretty well. I think the biggest difference in his game now as opposed to when we played them last is that he's getting down hill and getting to the rim. Is he going to get his shot blocked some? Absolutely. But he's also going to get to the line and he was 6-6 on Saturday. The shots will come, but just continue attacking.
4. Cam Matthews finally had a Cam Matthews game again. Only 1-6 from the field, but he attacked the basket and got to the line. Also was a huge help on the glass when Nwoko got in foul trouble.
5. It was good to see Delquan Warren get in the game and not look like he was going to crap himself. He only gave us 6 minutes, but I thought he was under control for those minutes and had a great assist that led to a dunk.
6. I harped on the transfers as a group, but that is the Claudell Harris we need. Play good defense, hit your 3s, and get to the goal when the opportunity is there. We have really been missing THAT Claudell Harris for about the last 3 weeks.
7. Defensively we were a lot better, but they missed some open looks. I thought we changed up defenses enough to kind of keep them on their heels, but they missed some open looks that would've made it a closer ballgame. So better, but needs improvement.
8. We need to find a way to go 1-1 this week. It would be just peachy if we could actually get a home conference win. Currently we are 6-6 with 4 of our 6 wins on the road. That'd be great if 4 of our 6 losses weren't at home. I don't like our chances on the road in Tuscaloosa.
9. Season is still in front of us. We could still get up to even a 4 seed, but I expect we'll end either as the last 5 or one of the high 6 seeds. I would prefer being on that 6 line if we could get it. It avoids the 5/12 matchup and also avoids a 1 seed until the E8
As always, #HailState
1. You cannot undersell the importance of Saturday. We HAD to have it. We came in at 5-6. We need 8 conference wins to be comfortably in. If you go to 5-7, that means you're probably going to need both @OU and @Arky to get to the 8 if you include LSU. I just was not confident in that. You also give yourself some confidence that 9 or even 10 wins in conference is now possible.
2. The Transfer Trio finally decided to all get on the same page again. We are just a completely different team when those 3 are clicking. If you can even have 2 of the 3 on it's good. But when you've got all 3 clicking, then we're a legit second weekend tournament team.
3. Hubbard. He had a bad game by his standards, but he still played pretty well. I think the biggest difference in his game now as opposed to when we played them last is that he's getting down hill and getting to the rim. Is he going to get his shot blocked some? Absolutely. But he's also going to get to the line and he was 6-6 on Saturday. The shots will come, but just continue attacking.
4. Cam Matthews finally had a Cam Matthews game again. Only 1-6 from the field, but he attacked the basket and got to the line. Also was a huge help on the glass when Nwoko got in foul trouble.
5. It was good to see Delquan Warren get in the game and not look like he was going to crap himself. He only gave us 6 minutes, but I thought he was under control for those minutes and had a great assist that led to a dunk.
6. I harped on the transfers as a group, but that is the Claudell Harris we need. Play good defense, hit your 3s, and get to the goal when the opportunity is there. We have really been missing THAT Claudell Harris for about the last 3 weeks.
7. Defensively we were a lot better, but they missed some open looks. I thought we changed up defenses enough to kind of keep them on their heels, but they missed some open looks that would've made it a closer ballgame. So better, but needs improvement.
8. We need to find a way to go 1-1 this week. It would be just peachy if we could actually get a home conference win. Currently we are 6-6 with 4 of our 6 wins on the road. That'd be great if 4 of our 6 losses weren't at home. I don't like our chances on the road in Tuscaloosa.
9. Season is still in front of us. We could still get up to even a 4 seed, but I expect we'll end either as the last 5 or one of the high 6 seeds. I would prefer being on that 6 line if we could get it. It avoids the 5/12 matchup and also avoids a 1 seed until the E8
As always, #HailState