Get the big takeaways in Mississippi sports with our weekly ‘Take Five’ series. Five minutes, five takes, all the insight and information you need to stay plugged in.
By Jon Wiener and ‘Iso’ Joe Simeone
1. Offenses Still a Question Post-Spring
(Jon Wiener) Spring football rarely brings a lot of real answers. But it should at least make you feel better about your questions. So for Mississippi State and Southern Miss, the fact there’s still uneasiness about the offenses after the spring games is a problem. Keep in mind these were two of the best defensive teams in the country last season that were hamstrung by ineptitude on the other side of the ball — State went 8-4 with the No.1 scoring defense in the country, Southern put up a 6-5 and missed a bowl game with their best defensive unit since the 2011 C-USA championship team. The same issues were apparent in Saturday’s spring game: the Bulldogs struggled through the air even against vanilla defenses. Projected starter Keyton Thompson went 9-18 for 106 yards and never looked in sync with receivers. Second-year head coach Joe Moorhead’s system still felt clunky and slow. The Golden Eagles, albeit in awful conditions, showed little offensively in a 10-6 game and may have a quarterback competition developing with returning starter Jack Abraham and Tate Whately. Whately (9-15, 203 yds) arguably outplayed Abraham (18-27, 191 yds) on Saturday. Top target Quez Watkins left USM in January and may not return. It’s not time to project doom and gloom quite yet; again, it’s just the spring. But the fact no one feels better about anything is cause for concern that will linger until the fall.
Photo by: Southern Miss Athletics
2. Miss. State Baseball: A Complete Team
(Joe Simeone) A 31-6 overall record, a No. 3 spot in the national power rankings, and dominating the SEC. Mississippi State is an outright powerhouse. After dropping their first series of the year to LSU two weeks ago State has bounced back in a big way, going 7-1 over their last eight games. The wild part is State has not had to lean on any one part of their game to carry them through the year: this is a complete baseball team. The Bulldogs rank first in batting average in the SEC, first in slugging percentage, first in runs scored, and that’s just to name a few. In fact, it might be easier to list what State is not leading in. That’s how good this offense has been. One key stat that might fly under the radar is the Dogs are dead last in offensive strikeouts. This team is not going to give you an easy out. You have to work and grind your way through this entire lineup if you want a chance to beat them and honestly that might not even be enough. On top of the league-leading offense, the Bulldogs pitching has been nothing short of fantastic. The staff dominates the SEC leaderboards with three pitchers in the top five for Wins, ERA, and WHIP. The group also ranks second in the SEC for strikeouts and has allowed the least amount of walks. From top to bottom this is a first-rate team. Good luck getting the lineup out and good luck facing the pitching. State would be the last team I would want to face on the road to a College World Series.
Photo by: Mississippi State Athletics
3. Tough spot for Southern Miss basketball
(Jon Wiener) Doc Sadler surprised many last Thursday when he resigned as Southern Miss basketball coach after five seasons to take an assistant coach job at Nebraska. But let’s be honest: the basketball job in Hattiesburg is one of the toughest in the country with the limited resources, outdated facilities, and lack of a good recruiting base. Sadler impressed nearly everyone with the way he rolled up the sleeves, worked to the bone, and built the program back into a respectable basketball team. He did more with less than just about anybody the past two seasons. But coaching work is thankless when the rewards are few and the ceiling is lower. So when the call to “come home” came from a Power 5 school, it’s hard to blame or begrudge Sadler for taking it, even as an assistant. The question now is what — and who — is next for Southern Miss basketball? Is there a hire out there that can be better than Sadler, who would also stick around for a while as Doc did? New athletic director Jeremy McClain will have his work cut out for him in his first big hire in Hattiesburg.
4. Golf rivalry ramps up at Old Waverly
(Jon Wiener) It may not be Tiger Woods winning the Masters, but the Old Waverly Collegiate Invitational is worth paying attention to this week as Ole Miss, Mississippi State and some other power schools in the southeast compete at one of Mississippi’s landmark golf courses. Heading into the final round (Tuesday) Ole Miss stood in third place (-14), with State in sixth at eight under, both trailing Lousiana-Monroe and No.4 Vanderbilt. The Rebels have separated in the golf rivalry in recent years with three NCAA appearances in four seasons under coach Chris Malloy and star Braden Thornberry. That didn’t sit well with Mississippi State and new AD John Cohen, who ushered out longtime coach Clay Homan and brought in Vanderbilt assistant Dusty Smith to jumpstart the program. Smith led the Bulldogs back to the NCAAs in his first season and has the Bulldogs trending up in year two.
5. Playoffs?! You kiddin’ me?
(Joe Simeone) Baseball is getting into a groove, The Masters just wrapped up, and the NFL Draft is around the corner. But the best part of April? Well, it’s probably the playoffs. Jim Mora may not be ready to talk about it but I sure am. The NBA and NHL playoffs are officially underway and while we won’t blame you if you have not locked in yet, it’s time to change the channel and tune in to the NBA. With no LeBron in the East, there are no guarantees for the Finals. In fact, it feels as wide open as a conference playoff has ever been. The Milwaukee Bucks may have dominated the regular season (60-22) but the question still remains if they can do it for the first time in the postseason. We have already seen some upsets, but which teams will be able to rise up and move on to the second round? In the West, the Warriors again stand tall, looking to make their fifth straight NBA finals. The Thunder, the Rockets, the Nuggets: there are plenty of good teams in the West, but will any be able to knock out the champs? Don’t sleep on the Stanley Cup playoffs either. Time to get woke, and I will tell you why. There is nothing like watching two teams develop deep, real hatred for each other over the course of a best of seven hockey series. Hockey is ruthless and fast paced which makes it exhilarating; every shot could be the game winner and will have you on the edge of your seat. While the NBA may be more popular, the race for the Stanley Cup is just as exciting. So remember to sit back, turn on your T.V., and get locked in. Because the month of April has all the playoff excitement you could want.
Tweet of the Week: Game of Thrones Edition
This is Us 😎😏🤘🏻😂🔥#GameOfThrones pic.twitter.com/PKkQuU8eAC
— COMME LA LUNE (@ai_ysfi) April 15, 2019
I mean who isn’t excited about the return of Game of Thrones?
