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Mississippi State faces tussle with LSU

Mar 14, 2009 - 11:40 AM Mississippi State (21-12) at No. 20 LSU (26-6), 2:00 p.m. EDT

TAMPA BAY, Florida (Ticker) -- Mississippi State was probably rooting for LSU in the SEC quarterfinals to help thin out the bubble for the NCAA Tournament.

The Bulldogs get another chance to move further off it themselves Saturday when they play the 20th-ranked Tigers in the semifinals at the St. Pete Times Forum.

After finishing third in the West Division and arriving in Tampa as one of six teams in the SEC with at least 19 wins and a .500 or better conference record while harboring NCAA Tournament hopes, Mississippi State needed to make a deep run to give itself a chance to make the field of 65 as an at-large team.

LSU contributed to Mississippi State's cause by knocking off Kentucky 67-58 in the first quarterfinal before the Bulldogs also advanced with an 82-68 victory over fellow bubble team South Carolina.

The Bulldogs have won four straight after a three-game skid, and a win over the SEC's regular-season champion would provide a huge boost to their NCAA tournament chances. But after being swept by the Tigers in the regular season, Mississippi State coach Rick Stansbury knows it will be a tall order for his team as it plays for the third straight day.

"They're a very difficult match up," he admitted. "You know besides being the most experienced, poised team, one of the most experienced, poised teams in the country. They don't rattle easy. They beat us both times. Beat us at LSU. We had a heartbreaking loss in Starkville, double-overtime game.

"So it will be a very difficult challenge for us (Saturday), but we're glad we're around to have that opportunity to still do it."

Bulldogs center Jarvis Varnado will be pivotal to Mississippi State's hopes. He had 12 points, nine rebounds and six blocks in Friday's win, and had a career-high 31 points with six blocks before fouling out in the 97-94 double-overtime loss to LSU on February 11.

The Tigers had a bye into the quarterfinals, and first-year coach Trent Johnson felt the six days off did his team good after they struggled offensively in losses to Vanderbilt and Tennessee to close the regular season before leading nearly wire-to-wire against Kentucky.

"In all from start to finish, I thought our energy was good," Johnson said. "I thought defensively we were good. And offensively, Tasmin (Mitchell) and Marcus (Thornton) were how we've been all year, really, really consistent."

Thornton finished with 21 points and Mitchell added 18, but Garrett Temple had a superb defensive effort in limiting Jodie Meeks - the SEC's leading scorer at 24.2 points - to a season-low eight on 3-of-9 shooting.

Mitchell and Thornton - both seniors who were members of LSU's 2006 Final Four team - have given Mississippi State fits this season. Mitchell, who shot 75 percent (21-for-28) in the two wins, had a career-high 41 points - shooting 12-for-15 from the field and 15-for-18 from the line - to go with 11 rebounds in the double-overtime victory and also had 24 points in LSU's 81-57 rout on January 21.

Thornton, meanwhile, had 31 points in LSU's home victory and 19 points and 10 rebounds in the win at Mississippi State. He was 16 of 37 in the two games, including 8-for-16 from beyond the arc.

"Even though it's not the NCAA Tournament, it felt like it was the NCAA Tournament," Mitchell said. "So we're going to approach it like it's the NCAA Tournament. We're going down the stretch here."

LSU has not been to the SEC tournament final since 1993, while Mississippi State hasn't been there since 2003. The Bulldogs have won their last two SEC tournament games against LSU, including the most recent meeting in the 2003 semifinals.