Show Me My Opponent, 2022-23: Mississippi State #1
bulldog mentality
Sometimes it’s nice to know you were right the whole time.
Anyway! Mississippi State canned Ben Howland after one NCAAT appearance and zero NCAAT wins in seven seasons. This is not to say that Howland did a particularly terrible job; I think there are real reasons why State has just four Tournament bids since their magical 2003-04 season (26-4, 2 seed NCAAT). It’s in a rough spot for recruiting and receives comparatively little fan/monetary investment. What do you do when your big name hire doesn’t work? You hire a program builder.
Chris Jans has entered and made these guys pretty respectable. State’s not a powerhouse, but they sit at 39th on KenPom, 14 spots above preseason expectation and a ranking that would be their second-best finish since 2008. The good news for Jans is that he’s already turned the defense into a darn good unit. The bad news is that you have to play offense in college basketball as well. This is KenPom’s #1 defense versus its #6.
Rock day again. Also, rest in peace Mike Leach.
BELOW THE LINE ($): let’s get that rock