MSU not living but dying by the 3, free-throw line
STARKVILLE — Arkansas shot Mississippi State out of Little Rock with a season-high 16 made 3-pointers last month.
When the Bulldogs and Razorbacks meet again inside Humphrey Coliseum on Tuesday (8 p.m., SEC Network), exactly a month will have passed since their first meeting.
Since then, Mississippi State switched back to man defense and inserted Quinndary Weatherspoon into the starting lineup. The Razorbacks have also gone to a four-guard lineup, but they still lead the SEC in 3-point shooting while the Bulldogs still struggle to stop it.
“I thought we gave up a lot of 3s especially when we were in zone, which was true in this last game,” coach Ben Howland said.
MSU’s lack of depth hasn’t prevented Howland from abandoning the zone all together. The Bulldogs allowed LSU to shoot 10 of 25 (40 percent) from beyond the arc last weekend. Opponents – not including Missouri’s 2-for-25 performance – are shooting 43 percent on the year from 3 against Mississippi State. MSU is shooting 33.8 percent in conference play.
Seven of 10 conference opponents have shot better than their season average against the Bulldogs.
In its eight SEC losses, Mississippi State has 28 fewer 3-point field goals than its opponents or 3.5 per game. The average margin of defeat in those losses is 6.5 points, or about two 3-pointers.
“I would say when I look at the stats, the biggest ones that jump out is that we have 35 more fouls, shot about 50 less foul shots and we’re getting out-boarded,” Howland said. “Those are the things that stick out the most to me.”
Opponents have shot 59 more free throws in games against MSU. They’ve made 36 more from the line too, equating to a 3.6-point advantage per game.
Combining 3-pointers and free throws, teams have about a 12-point advantage against Mississippi State.
“It’s hard (from the line) because we only have one true post player in Gavin (Ware),” Howland said. “(There’s) not a lot of other guys that are real post up guys. Our next best guy in the post would be (Craig Sword) at 6-3.”
Mississippi State (9-13, 2-8) has made fewer free throws than its opponent in nine of its 10 SEC games. The lone exception came at Arkansas (12-11, 5-5).
Ware leads the team in conference play with 46 foul shots. Sword is second with 43. No other Bulldog has shot more than 32.
Overall this season, no team has made or shot less free throws than Mississippi State. The Bulldogs are the only team in the conference without at least 300 buckets from the line at 286.
South Carolina leads the league with 453. The Gamecocks have attempted a league high 679. MSU ranks last in the SEC with 383 attempts, nearly 100 fewer than Alabama, which ranks second to last in the league.
“We just don’t get to the line that much from our other inside players, our four-man in particular,” Howland said. “That’s who would be the next guy. Normally you would think the next guy that gets to the line most would be one of the other bigs.”
Contact Michael Bonner at mbonner@jackson.gannett.com. Follow @MikeBBonner on Twitter.