Mississippi State coach Chris Jans would prefer to avoid the deficits his squad has faced in its last two games.
But he is pleased with how his team responded and hopes for smoother sailing when his 25th-ranked Bulldogs (5-0) face UNLV (4-1) in the Arizona Tip-off on Thursday night in Tempe, Ariz.
Mississippi State trailed host SMU by 13 points in the first half and by five points at halftime before outscoring the Mustangs 51-41 in the second half of an 84-79 victory last Friday.
Five days earlier, the Bulldogs trailed Utah by 11 at halftime before outscoring the Utes 50-34 in the second half of a 78-73 victory.
“I want to play better to start the game,” Jans said, “but if I’m going to have to choose, I want to play better the last 10 minutes of the game.”
The Bulldogs entered the Top 25 for the first time after the victory against SMU. They showed their depth with five players scoring in double figures for the second time this season, four of them off the bench.
Josh Hubbard, who leads the team with 20.2 points per game, was the only starter to score in double figures (14), but he made just 4 of 18 field-goal attempts, including 2 of 10 3-pointers.
The offense struggled in the first half but improved significantly after the break. The Bulldogs shot 32 percent from the floor in the first half and 53 percent in the second. They made just 23 percent of their 3-pointers in the first half, but 46 percent in the second.
“They stuck together,” Jans said. “The biggest difference in the second half is they just played together and shared the ball.”
MSU had 16 offensive rebounds and a 16-5 advantage in second-chance points.
The Runnin’ Rebels have won three games in a row as they prepare to play away from home for the first time.
They also finished strong in their most recent game, using a 9-2 run to complete a 72-65 victory against New Mexico State.
“Our talking to each other and problem solving was great,” UNLV coach Kevin Kruger said. “We had some really good plays late where we executed and got exactly what we were looking for. Defensively we made shots tough.”
The Rebels had four double-figure scorers, led by Dedan Thomas Jr. with 22, four above his team-leading average.
UNLV, whose loss came against Memphis (80-74), got its previous three victories by 14, 11 and 21 points.
“It was really good for us to be in a tight game against a good team that plays incredibly hard and plays really well together,” Kruger said. “I’m happy to see things go our way as we continued to figure things out in the flow of the game.”
UNLV had a season-low eight turnovers against New Mexico State and is facing a Mississippi State team that had just seven turnovers in each of its last two contests.
–Field Level Media
