Mississippi State Bulldogs
SEC (29-4, 13-3)
Mississippi State has continued its rise towards the elite of women’s college basketball and they battled SEC foe South Carolina down to the wire during the regular season. The Bulldogs have continued to assert themselves as one of the top defensive teams in the game and have continued to get better and better at the offensive end of the court. Being at home for the opening weekend of the NCAA Tournament, look for Mississippi State to be a strong contender to get to the Sweet 16 and Elite Eight once again.
Big Wins: 11/20 Texas (75-65), 1/8 at Tennessee (74-64), 2/19 at Texas A&M (72-67)
Bad Losses: 1/23 at South Carolina (61-64), 2/23 at Kentucky (75-78), 2/26 Tennessee (64-82)
Coach: Vic Schaefer
Why They Can Surprise:
The depth throughout the roster could be a difference maker in the NCAA Tournament as the Bulldogs have an ability to wear teams down as the game goes on. Victoria Vivians is one of the best backcourt players in all of women’s college basketball. She is averaging points 16.4 per game and 4.2 rebounds per game. Morgan William does a nice job of distributing the basketball and shoots the basketball very effectively as well. Defensively, Mississippi State does an outstanding job of turning teams over and creating easy shots for themselves offensively. If the Bulldogs can come out strong in the opening quarter of games during the NCAA Tournament and get teams to play faster than they want to, it will set them up very nicely to advance several rounds. The home court advantage at Humphrey Coliseum is another reason Mississippi State has a great shot go deep in the NCAA Tournament. Bulldog fans create a very electric atmosphere in Starkville and that should be worth a few points in the opening two rounds.
Why They Can Disappoint:
Mississippi State is a team that will struggle if they don’t bring enough energy and focus at the defensive end of the court. When the Bulldogs lost to Tennessee late in the season the Lady Vols came out and punched them right in the mouth offensively. Tennessee shot 54.7 percent from the floor as they sprinted out to a 36-20 lead at halftime and cruised to an 82-64 victory. That game served as a wake up call for the Bulldogs as they put together a very strong SEC Tournament at both ends of the court.
Probable Starters:
Morgan William, Junior, Guard, 10.6 ppg, 4.6 apg
Victoria Vivians, Junior, Guard, 16.4 ppg, 1.4 apg, 4.2 rpg
Dominque Dillingham, Senior, Guard, 7.0 ppg, 2.1 apg
Breanna Richardson, Senior, Forward, 7.4 ppg, 4.7 rpg
Chinwe Okorie, Senior, Center, 7.8 ppg, 5.5 rpg
Key Role Players:
Teaira McCowan, Sophomore, Center, 8.2 ppg, 6.6 rpg, 1.4 bpg
Ketara Chapel, Senior, Forward, 2.9 ppg, 2.3 rpg
Roshunda Johnson, Junior, Guard, .9 ppg
Blair Schaefer, Junior, Guard, 4.2 ppg
By the Numbers:
Scoring Offense: 75.9 (23rd in nation, 2nd in conference)
Scoring Defense: 55.2 (16, 1)
Field-Goal Percentage: 45.2 (24, 2)
Field-Goal Defense: 38.3 (101, 5)
Three-Point Field Goals Per Game: 5.5 (191, 6)
Three-Point Field-Goal Percentage: 35.8 (33, 4)
Free-Throw Percentage: 70.8 (134, 6)
Rebound Margin: 6.6 (32, 3)
Assists Per Game: 14.9 (83, 5)
Turnovers Per Game: 13.3 (32, 3)
Recent Postseason Appearances:
2016 NCAA Round of 64 win over Chattanooga
2016 NCAA Round of 32 win over Michigan State
2016 NCAA Regional Semifinal loss to Connecticut
2015 NCAA Round of 64 win over Tulane
2015 NCAA Round of 32 loss to Duke
2014 NIT First Round win over Tulane
2014 NIT Second Round win over Southern Miss
2014 NIT Third Round win over Auburn
2014 NIT Quarterfinal loss to South Florida
2010 NCAA Round of 64 win over Middle Tennessee State
2010 NCAA Round of 32 win over Ohio State
2010 NCAA Regional Semifinal loss to Florida State
2009 NCAA Round of 64 win over Texas
2009 NCAA Round of 32 loss to Ohio State
2008 NIT Second Round loss to Southern Mississippi
2007 NIT Second Round win over Tulane
2007 NIT Third Round loss to Western Kentucky
2005 NIT First Round loss to Arkansas State
*all team stats through 3/2
