Mississippi State Lady Bulldogs
SEC (26-6, 11-5)
Mississippi State has been one of the best stories of the 2014-15 women’s college basketball season. The Bulldogs have been outstanding at home all season long. Mississippi State has also taken advantage of a 15-0 out of conference schedule, which included wins over teams like West Virginia. That momentum carried over into the conference schedule with wins over Georgia and Texas A&M and the Bulldogs are in a great position to make some noise in the NCAA Tournament.
Big Wins: 11/23 Western Kentucky (80-70), 1/8 Arkansas (72-57), 2/8 Texas A&M (63-61)
Bad Losses: 1/11 at Vanderbilt (62-78), 1/15 LSU (69-71), 2/12 at Kentucky (90-92)
Coach: Vic Schaefer
Why They Can Surprise:
The level of confidence the Bulldogs will bring into the NCAA Tournament is going to be very high as they will be ready to make their mark in this year’s tournament. Victoria Vivians has had an outstanding freshman season and she has been a very effective three-point shooter and has done a nice job on the boards as well. Defense is another strength of the Bulldogs. They don’t let teams roam free from behind the three point line, as teams barely shoot over 20 percent from behind the arc against Mississippi State. The depth of the Bulldogs is also a strength. Dominique Dillingham, Jerica James, Breanna Richardson and Martha Alwal have all played relentless team defense and that will help Mississippi State greatly in their quest to advance on in the NCAA Tournament.
Why They Can Disappoint:
The youth of the Bulldogs could be a potential pitfall in the NCAA Tournament since it is truly a different intensity level at both ends of the court. Thus, it is going to be very critical for Mississippi State to get rolling early and either keep a game close or get off to a fast start. This will only help the Bulldogs with their overall confidence level and allow them to get into the flow of the game. Shooting at times has been problematic during the season and it will be important for Mississippi State to create turnovers to get easy layups to take some stress off the offensive attack of the Bulldogs.
Probable Starters:
Jerica James, Senior, Guard, 5.1 ppg, 2.8 apg
Dominique Dillingham, Sophomore, Guard, 5.7 ppg, 1.8 apg, 4.8 rpg, 2.0 spg
Breanna Richardson, Sophomore, Forward, 8.3 ppg, 5.6 rpg
Victoria Vivians, Freshman, Forward, 15.1 ppg, 5.0 rpg
Martha Alwal, Senior, Center, 9.9 ppg, 6.8 rpg, 2.3 bpg
Key Roleplayers:
Morgan William, Freshman, Guard, 8.9 ppg, 3.6 apg
Ketara Chapel, Sophomore, Forward, 5.0 ppg, 2.9 rpg
Chinwe Okorie, Sophomore, Center, 3.6 ppg, 3.8 rpg
LaKaris Salter, Freshman, Forward, 4.4 ppg, 1.6 rpg
By the Numbers:
Scoring Offense: 74.4 (28th in nation, 3rd in conference)
Scoring Defense: 57.1 (35, 7)
Field-Goal Percentage: 40.3 (150, 6)
Field-Goal Defense: 36.9 (46, 5)
Three-Point Field Goals Per Game: 5.8 (121, 2)
Three-Point Field-Goal Percentage: 34.2 (75, 3)
Free-Throw Percentage: 71.4 (96, 2)
Rebound Margin: 5.2 (47, 4)
Assists Per Game: 13.4 (140, 5)
Turnovers Per Game: 16.5 (190, 6)
Recent Postseason Appearances:
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 3/5
See All Women’s Basketball Postseason Capsules
