The Mississippi State men’s basketball team needed a strong second half to beat the Vanderbilt Commodores.
After one half, the Bulldogs (15-8, 6-4 SEC) found themselves behind the struggling Commodores (9-14, 1-9 SEC) 35-31 thanks to a sluggish start at home.
But, much sharper shooting and more efficient play in the second half propelled the Bulldogs to victory.
In the first half of the game, Mississippi State hit just one of its seven three point attempts. In the second half, the Bulldogs were able to knock down four of their seven three’s. In terms of all shots, Mississippi State was able to hit 62.5 percent of its shots in the second half, up from 44.83 percent from the first half.
The Bulldogs also took advantage of Vanderbilt’s turnovers in the second half after failing to score a single point off of a turnover in the first half. State scored 11 points off of turnovers in the second half, a significant improvement for the Bulldogs.
A similar story can be seen in fast break points. MSU got 12 fast break points in the second half, 10 more than its total from the first half.
Mississippi State was able to pull out a win, bouncing back following a frustrating loss to Kentucky. But now State has to hit the road.
The Bulldogs travel to Oxford to face Ole Miss on Tuesday at 6 p.m. and then Fayetteville for a noon game against the Razorbacks on Saturday.
All stats via HailState.com
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