Major Delays Looming

I admit, I'm not getting off to the best start here in my little slice of the Mississippi State universe. Unfortunately I am experiencing ten different kinds of technical difficulties at the moment. I'm not going to lie, its going to take a while to get all this worked out to a point where I can be updating daily. The plan is to have things running at full speed by the first of January. It is unfortunate because much has happened in the past few days. Two decommits, an influx of new commitments to cover those two losses and then some, and a basketball game today (vs. McNeese State at 2:00pm CST. Check your local listings.) I will do my best to cover all the missed time when I resume in January, but if the task proves too daunting, I may just pick up things as they stand at that future moment and go from there. You have been warned. Enjoy the holidays everyone.

Stewart leads MSU win in Miami

Freshman Barry Stewart scored a career high 22 points in State's 70-52 win over the Miami Hurricanes last night. True, his career thus far consists of 8 games, but this is still impressive considering he was a reserve guard in this game. Charles Rhodes played limited minutes as his wrist continues to bother him. Vernon Goodridge and Jarvis Varnado filled in well enough though as they combined for 12 points and 11 rebounds. Jamont Gordon had 12 points, 8 assists, and 7 rebounds in yet another solid performance.

So, just how big of a win was this? Well....it doesn't have the impact of beating a team like UCLA, but with 2 losses already, I would rate the importance at 7/10. This was a road game....Mississippi State hadn't won a true road game since they beat Jacksonville State on December 15, 2005. Even that was in Jackson, Mississippi. If you want a win outside of the state you have to go back to November 23 of that same year, a win over Charlotte. That's over a year! So, yeah, I would say any road win at this point is pretty darn important.

Let's also not discount the effects this may have on potential NCAA tournament consideration. If a team is sitting on the bubble come March, which is where I see Mississippi State being, one factor among many that will help seal their post season fate will be non-conference victories, specifically road victories. Its not a win that will yank your attention away from other bubble teams, but it will add some shine to the resume.

The requisite introduction to MisStateCentral!!

Throughout the year I will be posting on this blog reports, and subsequently my own analysis as necessary, of the goings on of Mississippi State athletics. You should be made aware that by athletics I really mean primarily basketball and football...maybe some baseball on occasion if I am in the mood. The reasons for this are simple: 1) these three are the easiest to follow and therefore cover, with baseball being by far the most difficult and 2) my main interest is in basketball and football, with baseball a distant third. Football has just recently wrapped up a somewhat disappointing (though not unexpected) season, but basketball is just now getting into gear! Whooo!! There is sure to be plenty to talk about and I hope you enjoy!