NASHVILLE — When Mississippi State listlessly lost on its home court to Tennessee last week to end the regular season, it seemed preposterous to think the reeling Bulldogs could successfully defend their SEC basketball tournament crown.
But that’s exactly what they’ll attempt to do against No. 2 Kentucky at 1 p.m. EDT today after stunning Vanderbilt 62-52 on Saturday afternoon.
“I don’t know what it is about this team,” Mississippi State’s Barry Stewart said after scoring a team-high 14 points and holding Vandy freshman sharpshooter John Jenkins to seven points. “But when our backs are against the wall, we’re at our best.”
That was certainly the case last year when the Bullies won four games in four days to deny Tennessee the tournament title. By sharing the SEC West title with Ole Miss this time around — State earned the West’s top seed by sweeping the Rebels — the Bulldogs had to win only three times in three days to repeat.
“We just got outplayed today, especially close to the basket,” losing coach Kevin Stallings said after watching MSU center Jarvis Varnado block six shots and hold Commodores center A.J. Ogilvy to two points, nearly 12 below his average.