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A few nice comments about BU and quotes from Jim Les.
From the Mississippi State Rivals site:
"March 17, 2007
Bulldogs scalp the Braves 101-72
Jamont Gordon is what a certain ESPN commentator might call a "PTP'er," or a "Prime-Time Player."
The bigger the game for the Bulldogs, the bigger the performance from Gordon.
Saturday was no different.
Gordon had his sixth double-double of the season Saturday to lead Mississippi State to a 101-72 victory over Bradley Saturday in the second round of the National Invitational Tournament in front of 5,733 at Humphrey Coliseum.
Gordon had 20 points and 10 assists in the game, and scored MSU's first eight points in the opening half. The Bulldogs hit five of their first seven 3-pointers.
"It's always good when you can come out and get that early lead," MSU head coach Rick Stansbury said. "I didn't think they could keep Jamont out of the lane all day."
Junior forward Charles Rhodes added 17 points and six blocks for MSU. Reginald Delk had 15 points on 5-of-10 shooting, and guards Dietric Slater and Barry Stewart also chipped in 13.
The win moves the Bulldogs into the quarterfinal round of the NIT, where they will host Florida State Tuesday night.
After establishing a dangerous perimeter game with seven first-half 3's, MSU was able to pound the Braves inside and take advantage of their size advantage.
The Bulldogs (20-13) scored 50 points in the paint while out-rebounding Bradley 51-32 and limiting the Braves' high-powered offense to just 37 percent shooting.
"We knew they were like the worst rebounding team in their conference," MSU forward Charles Rhodes said. "So we knew we had to be ready to grab the rebound every time a shot went up. When they did get second-chance shots they were knocking them down, so we knew we couldn't let them get too many."
The Braves ???¬??? who lead the nation in 3-point field goal percentage ???¬??? were 9-of-30 from behind the arc.
"I though fatigue got into their legs a little bit," Stansbury said. "They are going to get up and down the floor and shoot it. But we like to play that way too."
The trio of Stewart and fellow freshmen Ben Hansbrough and Jarvis Varnado provided a huge spark for the Bulldogs off the bench in the first half. Varnado pulled down 11 rebounds in the first half alone.
After halftime, MSU went on a 23-2 run to eventually put the game out of reach.
"I would hate to see if they could play better," Bradley head coach Jim Les said. "Every time we made a run they had an answer. They just wore us down. That might be the best team that we have played all year in terms of just all-around athleticism, size, depth and skill.
Bradley (22-13) was led by senior guard Will Franklin, who had 15 points on 4-of-13 shooting.
The Braves finished the season with 22 wins for the second season in a row for the first time since the 1959 and 1960 seasons.
The win extends MSU's school-record number of home wins to 15, and sets up an NIT quarterfinal matchup with the Seminoles Tuesday for the right to go to New York City for the NIT Final Four.
"FSU will be the most talented basketball team we've played all season long, except maybe Florida, and they beat Florida," Stansbury said. "They're going to play nine or 10 people and we're going to have to play exceptionally well Tuesday to win that game."
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From the Mississippi State scout site:
"State Bests Bradley From Long Range 101-72
Jamont Gordon By David Murray
Editor-Dawgs' Bite
Posted Mar 17, 2007
The nation???¬??s top team in perimeter production came to Humphrey Coliseum for a Saturday afternoon shooting show. Except it was the home team which put on the long-range exhibition, as Mississippi State threw in a dozen three-point baskets in a 101-72 win over Bradley.
Five Bulldogs scored in double-digits and the team set a program record for post-season points as Mississippi State (20-13) advanced to the third round of the National Invitation Tournament. ???¬?We did good tonight,???¬?? said guard Jamont Gordon, the day???¬??s top gunner with 20 points. ???¬?This is the best I think we???¬??ve played the whole year as a team.???¬??
State will host Florida State in third-round action Tuesday at 6:00 with national telecast on ESPN. The winner advances to the NIT???¬??s final-four round in Madison Square Garden. Bradley ended their season 22-14.
And the visiting Braves left Starkville having been beaten at their own game. Bradley, the NCAA leader in three-point scoring with 340 treys for the season, did connect on nine treys this day. But they needed 30 tries to get them, while State went 12-of-27 at their own home arcs. And nobody on the MSU side was surprised. In fact, the Bulldogs welcomed this chance to match marksmanship at a run, gun, and fun tempo.
???¬?That???¬??s the kind of pace we like playing at,???¬?? said guard Reginald Delk, who like Gordon had three treys. ???¬?We were in the Hump and we were comfortable.???¬?? So was guard Barry Stewart with four longballs in seven attempts. Backcourt Dogs Dietric Slater and Ben Hansbrough had the other threes. Yet there was much more to State???¬??s offense than bombing from down-range, as the Dogs shot 53% for the day and blistered Bradley with 65% gunnery in the second half.
???¬?Everybody was creating for each other,???¬?? Gordon said. ???¬?We played team basketball out there and just made shots. We made a lot of good shots.???¬??
???¬?When you get more than one person shooting it on this team, we???¬??re pretty hard to stop,???¬?? said Coach Rick Stansbury, who is now 4-2 in NIT action. Meanwhile the Braves were held to 37% overall shooting and crushed on the backboards 51-32, with most of those long-range misses turning into transition opportunities for the home team.
Not that the Dogs took their guests lightly even after the victory. ???¬?They???¬??re the best three-point team I???¬??ve played against,???¬?? junior center Charles Rhodes said. ???¬?I???¬??m glad they weren???¬??t on all cylinders, I???¬??m glad they missed a lot of threes. That hurt them and helped us.???¬??
Rhodes finished with 17 points and eight rebounds, and blocked six of the ten swatted Bradley shots. His backup, rookie Jarvis Varnado, had three blocks???¬???tying the freshman-season record of Erick Dampier at 65--and a dozen rebounds in 16 minutes of relief work. Reginald Delk added 15 points with 13 from both Slater and Stewart.
Bradley was led by guard Will Franklin with 15 points and three treys, though he was 4-of-13 from the floor. Center Zach Andrews scored 13 points with a team-high nine rebounds, while guards Jeremy Crouch and Daniel Ruffin had 12 and 11 points with a combined nine assists. But that was one less than Gordon collected himself as he matched his personal high of ten assists, giving him 300-even for his career.
Still the soph point-forward was calling his own number early and often. He took and made State???¬??s first three shots for eight points. ???¬?This time it was my time to shoot the ball. My teammates got me open shots and I knocked them down.???¬?? And while the Dogs were playing perimeter ball, the Braves were going against expectations and attacking inside. In fact 14 of their first 18 shots were taken inside the arc. An Andrews dunk put them in front 9-8 at 16:22.
Rhodes took care of that with a rebound basket, then a driving stuff. ???¬?Momentum is the key factor,???¬?? he said. ???¬?The Braves collapsed their coverage and State took advantage with open three-pointers from Reginald Delk, Hansbrough, and Stewart to trigger a 12-0 surge. Bradley stopped play at 22-13, but the deficit reached 11 on an inbounds-layup by Slater before the Braves got a Franklin jumper to roll in and end a three-minute scoring drought.
Still Bradley was able to avoid being blown entirely out before halftime. When Rhodes picked up a second foul and sat down Warren was able to drive for a pullup and free throw, then sink a trey at 8:34 that had the Braves back within three. And over the next five minutes BU had five chances to tie things up, only to miss every field-shot and a couple of free throws. J.J. Tauai got his second free chance to go and make it 33-32 at 4:32, and Varnado missed his layup.
The rebound was tipped out to Hansbrough who found Richard Delk cutting back-door for the layup. With Bradley mis-firing on consecutive trey-tries State was able to regain control. Varnado???¬??s hook rolled right and Hansbrough went end-to-end for a acrobatic layup, but it was Stewart???¬??s stick of a longball that let the Dogs take a 44-38 advantage into the locker room. Seven players already had at least two baskets.
???¬?It was much easier to play from ahead than behind,???¬?? Stansbury said. And State got farther ahead fast in the second half with Slater scoring a rebound and Delk dunking on a run-out to draw a Bradley timeout. They burned another at 16:28 down a dozen on a Slater slam.
Bradley still wasn???¬??t entirely done, hitting just enough long jumpers to stay either side of a ten-point difference and waiting for a chance to rally. The Dogs gave them that with some sloppy series while Gordon was sitting with three fouls, and the Braves scored nine-straight to make it 69-62 at 8:32. This time it was Stansbury stopping action for a talk.
If the coach told his team to go back to their perimeter punch, it worked as Stewart, Slater, and Reg Delk drained treys before Rhodes got loose for a layup and 80-62 score at 6:33 that settled the issue. ???¬?We spurted back out,???¬?? Stansbury said. There was still plenty time left to entertain the home folk, such as Gordon???¬??s flying slam and his lob to Rhodes for a slam. guard Joseph Iupe had the honor of breaking the century with his layup at nine seconds, matching the longest lead of the Dogs???¬?? day at 29 points.
???¬?I think we wore them down,???¬?? said Gordon, as Bradley just couldn???¬??t keep pace. ???¬?That last 8-10 minutes I think we went on a 23-2 run to finish the game off,???¬?? Stansbury noted. ???¬?It was a great team effort.???¬??
???¬?That is a very good basketball team,???¬?? BU Coach Jim Les said. ???¬?That might be the best team we have played all year in terms of just all-around athleticism, size, depth, and skill. I would hate to see if they can play better.???¬??
Stansbury hopes his Dogs can play better in the next round, against a Florida State squad that has a NCAA-sized chip on their collective shoulders. ???¬?We???¬??ll have to play exceptionally well here to have a chance to win that game,???¬?? he said. With a win, the Bulldogs will be able to take their act to New York City, a destination State missed on a last-second shot back in 2001 in the NIT???¬??s quarterfinal round."
From the Mississippi State Rivals site:
"March 17, 2007
Bulldogs scalp the Braves 101-72
Jamont Gordon is what a certain ESPN commentator might call a "PTP'er," or a "Prime-Time Player."
The bigger the game for the Bulldogs, the bigger the performance from Gordon.
Saturday was no different.
Gordon had his sixth double-double of the season Saturday to lead Mississippi State to a 101-72 victory over Bradley Saturday in the second round of the National Invitational Tournament in front of 5,733 at Humphrey Coliseum.
Gordon had 20 points and 10 assists in the game, and scored MSU's first eight points in the opening half. The Bulldogs hit five of their first seven 3-pointers.
"It's always good when you can come out and get that early lead," MSU head coach Rick Stansbury said. "I didn't think they could keep Jamont out of the lane all day."
Junior forward Charles Rhodes added 17 points and six blocks for MSU. Reginald Delk had 15 points on 5-of-10 shooting, and guards Dietric Slater and Barry Stewart also chipped in 13.
The win moves the Bulldogs into the quarterfinal round of the NIT, where they will host Florida State Tuesday night.
After establishing a dangerous perimeter game with seven first-half 3's, MSU was able to pound the Braves inside and take advantage of their size advantage.
The Bulldogs (20-13) scored 50 points in the paint while out-rebounding Bradley 51-32 and limiting the Braves' high-powered offense to just 37 percent shooting.
"We knew they were like the worst rebounding team in their conference," MSU forward Charles Rhodes said. "So we knew we had to be ready to grab the rebound every time a shot went up. When they did get second-chance shots they were knocking them down, so we knew we couldn't let them get too many."
The Braves ???¬??? who lead the nation in 3-point field goal percentage ???¬??? were 9-of-30 from behind the arc.
"I though fatigue got into their legs a little bit," Stansbury said. "They are going to get up and down the floor and shoot it. But we like to play that way too."
The trio of Stewart and fellow freshmen Ben Hansbrough and Jarvis Varnado provided a huge spark for the Bulldogs off the bench in the first half. Varnado pulled down 11 rebounds in the first half alone.
After halftime, MSU went on a 23-2 run to eventually put the game out of reach.
"I would hate to see if they could play better," Bradley head coach Jim Les said. "Every time we made a run they had an answer. They just wore us down. That might be the best team that we have played all year in terms of just all-around athleticism, size, depth and skill.
Bradley (22-13) was led by senior guard Will Franklin, who had 15 points on 4-of-13 shooting.
The Braves finished the season with 22 wins for the second season in a row for the first time since the 1959 and 1960 seasons.
The win extends MSU's school-record number of home wins to 15, and sets up an NIT quarterfinal matchup with the Seminoles Tuesday for the right to go to New York City for the NIT Final Four.
"FSU will be the most talented basketball team we've played all season long, except maybe Florida, and they beat Florida," Stansbury said. "They're going to play nine or 10 people and we're going to have to play exceptionally well Tuesday to win that game."
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From the Mississippi State scout site:
"State Bests Bradley From Long Range 101-72
Jamont Gordon By David Murray
Editor-Dawgs' Bite
Posted Mar 17, 2007
The nation???¬??s top team in perimeter production came to Humphrey Coliseum for a Saturday afternoon shooting show. Except it was the home team which put on the long-range exhibition, as Mississippi State threw in a dozen three-point baskets in a 101-72 win over Bradley.
Five Bulldogs scored in double-digits and the team set a program record for post-season points as Mississippi State (20-13) advanced to the third round of the National Invitation Tournament. ???¬?We did good tonight,???¬?? said guard Jamont Gordon, the day???¬??s top gunner with 20 points. ???¬?This is the best I think we???¬??ve played the whole year as a team.???¬??
State will host Florida State in third-round action Tuesday at 6:00 with national telecast on ESPN. The winner advances to the NIT???¬??s final-four round in Madison Square Garden. Bradley ended their season 22-14.
And the visiting Braves left Starkville having been beaten at their own game. Bradley, the NCAA leader in three-point scoring with 340 treys for the season, did connect on nine treys this day. But they needed 30 tries to get them, while State went 12-of-27 at their own home arcs. And nobody on the MSU side was surprised. In fact, the Bulldogs welcomed this chance to match marksmanship at a run, gun, and fun tempo.
???¬?That???¬??s the kind of pace we like playing at,???¬?? said guard Reginald Delk, who like Gordon had three treys. ???¬?We were in the Hump and we were comfortable.???¬?? So was guard Barry Stewart with four longballs in seven attempts. Backcourt Dogs Dietric Slater and Ben Hansbrough had the other threes. Yet there was much more to State???¬??s offense than bombing from down-range, as the Dogs shot 53% for the day and blistered Bradley with 65% gunnery in the second half.
???¬?Everybody was creating for each other,???¬?? Gordon said. ???¬?We played team basketball out there and just made shots. We made a lot of good shots.???¬??
???¬?When you get more than one person shooting it on this team, we???¬??re pretty hard to stop,???¬?? said Coach Rick Stansbury, who is now 4-2 in NIT action. Meanwhile the Braves were held to 37% overall shooting and crushed on the backboards 51-32, with most of those long-range misses turning into transition opportunities for the home team.
Not that the Dogs took their guests lightly even after the victory. ???¬?They???¬??re the best three-point team I???¬??ve played against,???¬?? junior center Charles Rhodes said. ???¬?I???¬??m glad they weren???¬??t on all cylinders, I???¬??m glad they missed a lot of threes. That hurt them and helped us.???¬??
Rhodes finished with 17 points and eight rebounds, and blocked six of the ten swatted Bradley shots. His backup, rookie Jarvis Varnado, had three blocks???¬???tying the freshman-season record of Erick Dampier at 65--and a dozen rebounds in 16 minutes of relief work. Reginald Delk added 15 points with 13 from both Slater and Stewart.
Bradley was led by guard Will Franklin with 15 points and three treys, though he was 4-of-13 from the floor. Center Zach Andrews scored 13 points with a team-high nine rebounds, while guards Jeremy Crouch and Daniel Ruffin had 12 and 11 points with a combined nine assists. But that was one less than Gordon collected himself as he matched his personal high of ten assists, giving him 300-even for his career.
Still the soph point-forward was calling his own number early and often. He took and made State???¬??s first three shots for eight points. ???¬?This time it was my time to shoot the ball. My teammates got me open shots and I knocked them down.???¬?? And while the Dogs were playing perimeter ball, the Braves were going against expectations and attacking inside. In fact 14 of their first 18 shots were taken inside the arc. An Andrews dunk put them in front 9-8 at 16:22.
Rhodes took care of that with a rebound basket, then a driving stuff. ???¬?Momentum is the key factor,???¬?? he said. ???¬?The Braves collapsed their coverage and State took advantage with open three-pointers from Reginald Delk, Hansbrough, and Stewart to trigger a 12-0 surge. Bradley stopped play at 22-13, but the deficit reached 11 on an inbounds-layup by Slater before the Braves got a Franklin jumper to roll in and end a three-minute scoring drought.
Still Bradley was able to avoid being blown entirely out before halftime. When Rhodes picked up a second foul and sat down Warren was able to drive for a pullup and free throw, then sink a trey at 8:34 that had the Braves back within three. And over the next five minutes BU had five chances to tie things up, only to miss every field-shot and a couple of free throws. J.J. Tauai got his second free chance to go and make it 33-32 at 4:32, and Varnado missed his layup.
The rebound was tipped out to Hansbrough who found Richard Delk cutting back-door for the layup. With Bradley mis-firing on consecutive trey-tries State was able to regain control. Varnado???¬??s hook rolled right and Hansbrough went end-to-end for a acrobatic layup, but it was Stewart???¬??s stick of a longball that let the Dogs take a 44-38 advantage into the locker room. Seven players already had at least two baskets.
???¬?It was much easier to play from ahead than behind,???¬?? Stansbury said. And State got farther ahead fast in the second half with Slater scoring a rebound and Delk dunking on a run-out to draw a Bradley timeout. They burned another at 16:28 down a dozen on a Slater slam.
Bradley still wasn???¬??t entirely done, hitting just enough long jumpers to stay either side of a ten-point difference and waiting for a chance to rally. The Dogs gave them that with some sloppy series while Gordon was sitting with three fouls, and the Braves scored nine-straight to make it 69-62 at 8:32. This time it was Stansbury stopping action for a talk.
If the coach told his team to go back to their perimeter punch, it worked as Stewart, Slater, and Reg Delk drained treys before Rhodes got loose for a layup and 80-62 score at 6:33 that settled the issue. ???¬?We spurted back out,???¬?? Stansbury said. There was still plenty time left to entertain the home folk, such as Gordon???¬??s flying slam and his lob to Rhodes for a slam. guard Joseph Iupe had the honor of breaking the century with his layup at nine seconds, matching the longest lead of the Dogs???¬?? day at 29 points.
???¬?I think we wore them down,???¬?? said Gordon, as Bradley just couldn???¬??t keep pace. ???¬?That last 8-10 minutes I think we went on a 23-2 run to finish the game off,???¬?? Stansbury noted. ???¬?It was a great team effort.???¬??
???¬?That is a very good basketball team,???¬?? BU Coach Jim Les said. ???¬?That might be the best team we have played all year in terms of just all-around athleticism, size, depth, and skill. I would hate to see if they can play better.???¬??
Stansbury hopes his Dogs can play better in the next round, against a Florida State squad that has a NCAA-sized chip on their collective shoulders. ???¬?We???¬??ll have to play exceptionally well here to have a chance to win that game,???¬?? he said. With a win, the Bulldogs will be able to take their act to New York City, a destination State missed on a last-second shot back in 2001 in the NIT???¬??s quarterfinal round."
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