Three Reasons Mississippi State Could Give Memphis a Run for Its Money

by Jonah Keri
Fri, 21 Mar 2008 at 11:49 PM

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	AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki Down 13 early in the second half, Mississippi State rallied against Oregon to win 76-69 — a 20-point swing.

1) Charles Rhodes. The senior from Jackson, Mississippi, is one of the best low-post offensive players in the country. Against Oregon, Rhodes exploded for a career-high 34 points. There wasn't any great mystery behind his performance. Rhodes sank 10 of 12 shots from the field by doing most of his damage in the paint. The only Oregon player beefy enough to contain him, Joevan Catron, fouled out with more than five minutes left. Catron was unable to contain Rhodes' array of moves, and Oregon couldn't stop Rhodes from taking 18 free throws. Memphis will probably throw enigmatic big man Joey Dorsey on Rhodes, or possibly play some zone. Rhodes has the ability to get Memphis' erratic big men in foul trouble — and to take over the game.

2) They play defense. Mississippi State is one of four teams this year to hold all their opponents under 50% shooting from the field; the Bulldogs held Oregon to just 34%. That effective defense comes from several sources. Six-foot-nine jumping jack Jarvis Varnado led the nation in blocked shots with 4.6 a game, swatting four Ducks shots today. Jamont Gordon is a versatile defender, with the quickness to guard speedy perimeter players and the strength to compete down low. He drew a late charge on 6'6", 220-pound Malik Hairston to help seal the win over Oregon. The rest of the Bulldogs play smart D, guarding the three-pointer well (the Ducks missed 15 straight threes in the second half, partly because they simply went cold, but also thanks largely to a strong effort by Mississippi State). With Varnado in the paint to curb penetration by Memphis' star point guard Derrick Rose and the rest of the defense fanning out to guard against threes, Mississippi State could give Memphis fits in the half-court set.

3) Gordon can hurt you in so many ways. His shot didn't fall against the Ducks, as Gordon bricked 12 of 14 attempts from the field. Recognizing that, he focused on other aspects of his game, snaring 11 rebounds and dishing out nine assists. He's very good at slicing through an opponent's defense and dishing for lay-ups and open threes. Even more importantly, Gordon's strong with the ball and likely won't get flustered against Memphis' full-court pressure defense. If Gordon and fellow guards Ben Hansbrough and Barry Stewart don't give up the orange, Memphis could be forced into a slower-paced game, which would favor the Bulldogs.

Mississippi State put all those positive traits to work against Oregon, rallying from down 13 early in the second half to win 76-69 — a 20-point swing. Despite hailing from the SEC, the Bulldogs didn't get much national attention this season. But they're for real and they could give no. 1 seed Memphis a big challenge on Sunday.

Elsewhere, North Carolina thrashed Mount St. Mary's, while Oklahoma held St. Joseph's to 22 first-half points, then hung on for the win. Carolina remains an odds-on bet to go far in the tournament, while Oklahoma's likely to be overmatched assuming the Sooners meet Louisville in the second round.

The biggest "upset" was no. 13 Siena crushing no. 4 Vanderbilt 83-62. The Saints' dual threat of Kenny Hasbrouck (deadly off the bounce with 30 points) and Tay Fisher (6 for 6 from the field, all threes) torched the Vandy defense. Then again, we saw this coming, predicting Vandy to bow out early for the exact reasons they lost to Siena — a leaky defense (Siena shot 56.5%) and iffy point guard play (Alex Gordon shot just 2 for 8 and netted zero assists).

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