Bulldogs playing way into possible tourney bid

NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE - Mississippi State coach Rick Stansbury feared Vanderbilt would break out of a recent 3-point shooting slump against his team Wednesday night. It turned out the Bulldogs only made the slump worse. <br> <br> Mississippi State held Vanderbilt to 2-for-20 shooting from 3-point range and cruised to an easy 66-43 victory, putting the Bulldogs squarely in contention for an NCAA Tournament bid. <br> <br> ``It was a big win for us, no question,&#39;&#39; Stansbury said. ``Our team is fighting for NCAA positioning and we need to win games. Every game at this point in the season is important. We feel for sure our team has to be at least 8-8 in this league with our RPI and our strength of schedule.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> Vanderbilt was the league&#39;s top 3-point shooting team until a recent three-game slump that saw the Commodores connect on just 16 of 66 threes (24 percent). Wednesday, the Bulldogs (20-7, 7-6) harassed the Commodores (14-12, 4-9) into their worst 3-point performance of the season. <br> <br> ``We never let them get the Vanderbilt magic going,&#39;&#39; Stansbury said. ``They feed off the 3-pointers in here. For them to only get two 3-pointers the whole game is kind of incredible. They do a very good job, run a good offense and they have some very good shooters.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> Mississippi State also blocked seven shots and forced 18 Commodore turnovers. <br> <br> ``We knew we had to take advantage of our athleticism tonight,&#39;&#39; Stansbury said. ``Tonight we were as quick as we have been all year and we didn&#39;t give them any open looks.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> Offensively, the Bulldogs rode the broad shoulders of 6-foot-9 center Mario Austin, who muscled in 23 points and grabbed five rebounds. He scored eight points during a 14-2 Mississippi State run early in the first half that gave the Bulldogs an 18-6 lead. <br> <br> ``Mario Austin was a load inside,&#39;&#39; Stansbury said. ``Our philosophy was to get the ball into him as much as we could early in the game. We got it in to him pretty consistently and he made things happen.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> The Bulldogs&#39; victory was just their second on the road in league play this season. Stansbury said the key was his team&#39;s ability to maintain its focus after taking an early lead. <br> <br> ``We came back out in the second half and built on what we had started,&#39;&#39; Stansbury said. ``I thought that was the key to the basketball game.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> Mississippi State led 30-18 and put together a 13-2 run early in the second half to take a 45-25 lead with 13:30 to play. Vanderbilt never came closer than 15 the rest of the way. <br> <br> The victory for Mississippi State was the first at Vanderbilt since 1992 and was its largest SEC road victory since winning at Florida by 25 in 1990. <br> <br> For Vanderbilt, which lost to South Carolina 66-43 at home Saturday, it is the first time in the 50-year history of Memorial Gym it has lost back-to-back home games by more than 20 points. The Commodores have lost six of their last seven games. <br> <br> ``We&#39;re a fragile group right now,&#39;&#39; said Vanderbilt coach Kevin Stallings, whose team had only four assists and 18 turnovers. ``We&#39;re having trouble passing the ball to guys that are 10 feet away. We&#39;re not playing with any confidence.&#39;&#39;