Mississippi State

After 12 hours of college basketball yesterday (I was actually productive while doing it, remarkably enough) I think the thing that impressed me most was the win Mississippi State picked up at Vandy, one of the nation's hotter teams. Though they have 2 losses on the road in conference, they're probably the 2nd best team in the SEC right now. At 16-4, their only losses are against top 67 RPI teams, including a loss to the Zips of Akron and a neutral court loss to Baylor by two points. Their best win is against West Virginia and last night. The RPI is 39.

Ranked 57th overall by KenPom, they seem like just another team but the more I looked at them, the more upside I saw. They protect the ball with only 17% of possessions ending in TO, 3 less than the national average and good for 23rd overall. Though 112th in AdjD, they do things well on defense. They don't foul, only averaging 14 per game. They also protect the glass. The national average for offensive rebounding % is 32. MSU is only giving up 28%, so second shot points are limited. Their one flaw on defense is they don't force a lot of turnovers. They're also a little soft in the paint. They also don't get to the line enough, averaging about 18 throws a game, below the national average.

The two most productive players have been 6' 11" SOPH F Arnett Moultrie who averages 16.1 ppg and 11 boards per game, 8th in the nation. JR. G Dee Bost averages 16 ppg. The most talented player is JR. Renardo Sidney who shows flashes of brilliance but hasn't lived up to the hype he had coming out of high school. One of the reasons they're soft in the paint is because he's not a good help defender and Vanderbilt consistently blew by him to the rim. MSU can be dangerous if he plays better.

This is a good team capable of a Sweet 16 run.