Mississippi State hasn’t had a great start to the season.
But the Bulldogs (4-4) hope their last game was a turning point as they prepare to meet San Francisco (5-4) on Sunday afternoon in Tupelo, Miss.
Mississippi State, which had lost to Iowa State, Kansas State and New Mexico on neutral courts, got its second win in three games when it won its first game on an opponent’s home floor, defeating Georgia Tech 85-73 in Atlanta in the ACC/SEC Challenge on Wednesday night.
“I was just so happy for (the Bulldogs) to see that winning feeling, you know, coursing through their veins and through the program,” Mississippi State coach Chris Jans said. “We talked a lot about that heading into the game that this was our first true road opportunity.
“Everyone talks about it, I think, but for me personally, I don’t think there’s anything better in this sport than going into someone else’s barn and getting a win, hearing the silence when you walk off and head to the bowels of the arena and get to celebrate with your team.”
Josh Hubbard scored 25 points and leads Mississippi State with 23.5 points per game.
The game against the Dons will be at a neutral site, but it’s essentially a home game for the Bulldogs.
Jans was concerned that Georgia Tech had 17 offensive rebounds, but Mississippi State still had a 16-11 advantage in second-chance points and a 42-26 advantage in points in the paint.
San Francisco coach Chris Gerlufsen also is concerned about rebounding after the Dons allowed 19 offensive rebounds in a 65-63 home loss to North Alabama on Wednesday.
“We need to be a lot better in a lot of areas going forward,” Gerlufsen said, “but the rebounding part was really the separator.”
San Francisco has lost its last three games and got outscored by 14 points after taking a 14-2 lead against North Alabama.
“We don’t accept losing,” Gerlusfen said. “This is a winning program and we’re going to figure it out. Sometimes you have to go through these really uncomfortable moments, and this is a super uncomfortable moment for our whole organization. It’s unacceptable. We’re going to look at it head on and figure it out.”
Ryan Beasley leads the Dons with a 13.1 scoring average.
