State Loses to Georgia 71-61 in SEC Tournament; WTH was that Stansbury?

First off, let's dispense with the pleasantries. Congratulations go to Georgia on playing a good game and moving on to face Vanderbilt tonight in the SEC Tournament. Now that that's out of the way, let's talk about the abomination that we witnessed last evening.

Going into last night, many national experts told us that Mississippi State needed at least a win against Georgia to secure a berth in the NCAA Tournament. That made sense to me, as State's 5 game losing streak at the end of the season put them in a position of being squarely on the bubble. But what I could not and this morning still do not understand is how a team that knows it is on that perennial bubble can come out and play like it did for about the last 33 minutes of last night's 71-61 loss to Georgia in New Orleans.

Like so many other games preceding it this season, State's game last night started off well. They were executing, rebounding, and generally outplaying the red and black bulldogs like most people would expect them to. But then the lead started to dissipate, turnovers started to mount, and the defense disappeared faster than cake at a weight watchers convention.

State went in at halftime down 31-29, and most of you were probably like me in thinking "okay, we're down, and this isn't pretty, but it's only two points. We can still win this easily." But what we saw in the second half was a maroon and white (and grey) team that didn't reverberate those thoughts. We saw a team that appeared lost much as it has a good bit of this year.

Here's how to best sum up what then transpired in the second half of last night's game:

I don't know how I could sum it up any better than that right there. State played undisciplined defense, took poor shots, and never showed any signs of life or being a team that desperately needed a win to get into the NCAA's. And when MSU did come out and make a good shot what did they follow that up with? No defense, and then they sat right where they left off. It's hard to claw your way back into a contest when you continue to let the opponent score. And yes some of that credit deserves to be poured on the Georgia team. Ware, Caldwell-Pope and Co. were hot again and found ways to make shots against us. But part of what you saw, especially in the second half, was a Mississippi State defense with no energy, didn't switch off on ball screens, and was lazy in the 2-3 zone. Really, it looked exactly like an NBA defense to me.

Now this is where I would typically give you stats from each of the players and tell you about each of their individual performances. If you want the stats you can find them here, but really typing anything else specific about the team's effort or statistics from last night is a waste of my poor fingers efforts'. It really was almost weird watching State in the final 20 minutes of last night's game. When Jalen Steele hit that 3 to pull it to 60-57 with 3:50 left to play, I thought just maybe we would escape this nightmare and live to play tomorrow, when who the hell knows which MSU team will show up to play. But the last four minutes of the game after that 3 were like a lull. I looked back up and it was almost a minute remaining, and Georgia has quietly pulled back away to a 7 point lead.

Shouldn't that have been the time when we really, desperately pushed to win, instead of going out without a fight? Because that's what we did, bent over and took it and thanked them for it afterwards. And the best part? The most entertaining part of it all after the 71-61 loss was over and the team was back in the lockerroom? The best part was this quote from Rick Stansbury:

"Hopefully, the selection committee will look at our entire body of work," he said. "This team is one of the 68 best in the country. They deserve a chance to play in the (NCAA) Tournament." (from Locke's post game report)

I just about fell out of my chair last night when I read that. Body of work? You have lost 6 out of your last 8 games! Rick Stansbury walked off the court after and embarassing loss and walked in to tell reporters that we're still one of the best 68 teams out there??? Was he present for what the rest of us saw? Of course, this is the genius mind that told us after the LSU loss that we were underdogs. SMH.

Now, to conclude this tyrade, let me say that I'm not going to call for Rick Stansbury's firing. If you follow me on twitter, you know that I did enough of that last night to last for awhile. But what I will do is raise questions. What did Stansbury do when his team was down double digits in the second half and it was clear that they needed some sort of motivation/guidance? Did Stansbury ever get fired up, try to fire up his players in an effort to salvage the game? Did Stansbury, when he saw his team was taking bad shots, ever stop them and maybe call a few set plays to get them back going again? No answers, you decide for yourself friends.

And what's the craziest part of all of this? That State still, STILL is considered by some to be in the NCAA Tournament. How?! I mean, I'm a fan of the team and I don't even understand that. And as a State fan, I fully expect to make the NCAA's and then we can't fire Stansbury and he stands there with his tounge sticking out at us all saying "nanana booboo, you caaannn't fiiirrreee me." Sheesh

My apologies if you came here this morning looking for actual analysis. If it's any consolation, I feel much better after typing all of this. If you are looking for more analysis, stats, and quotes, make sure to check out Marcello's, Locke's, and also this article about State falling off the bubble.

Good day, and as always, #HailState.