What to watch, keys to victory for Mississippi State at Texas A&M

Mississippi State found its offense just in time for an overtime win at Kentucky on Thursday night, and up next is another road test Sunday afternoon against Texas A&M.

Aggies head coach Joni Taylor, who grew up in Mississippi, coached Georgia for seven years, reaching the NCAA Tournament four times. She took over in College Station last season for the legendary Gary Blair, who had led the Aggies to the 2011 national championship and reached at least the Sweet 16 eight times. But Taylor’s first year with Texas A&M saw the Aggies tumble to a 9-20 overall record and a 2-14 mark in Southeastern Conference play.

Things are going much better for Texas A&M (15-5, 3-4 SEC) in year two under Taylor. The Aggies are 11-1 at home, with the lone loss coming against defending national champion LSU, and they picked up their biggest win yet on Jan. 14 with a 15-point victory over Tennessee.

It all starts on the defensive end for Taylor and company. Texas A&M allows just 55.3 points per game, trailing only top-ranked South Carolina among SEC programs. The Aggies are also second in the conference in field goal percentage defense and third in both perimeter defense and rebounding.

Offensively, Texas A&M is in the bottom half of the SEC in most categories and is especially poor when it comes to 3-point shooting (13th, 26.4 percent) and free throw shooting (13th, 65.9 percent). The Aggies do at least take care of the ball, turning it over the third-least often in the conference at 13.4 times per game.

Four Texas A&M starters average double-digit scoring, led by point guard and Oregon transfer Endyia Rogers with 12.5 points and four assists per game. Her backcourt partner, Auburn transfer Aicha Coulibaly, is right behind Rogers in scoring, while post players Janiah Barker and former Arizona Wildcat Lauren Ware also average more than eight rebounds per contest.

Here are three keys to victory for the Bulldogs (18-5, 5-3) as they seek their fourth road win in conference play.

Set the pace

The Aggies love to slow the game down and limit their opponents’ offensive possessions, and MSU is a team that is comfortable playing fast. The Bulldogs have a highly-experienced point guard in Lauren Park-Lane, who can penetrate or shoot herself, kick the ball out to another shooter or send it inside to the post. If MSU can get Texas A&M on its heels and keep the Aggies from settling into their defense, the Bulldogs should be able to score some points.

Space the floor

Texas A&M’s strengths lie in the frontcourt, and MSU, despite struggling for most of the Kentucky game, is a good 3-point shooting team. Whether through playing inside-out or moving the ball along the perimeter, setting up outside shots for players like Debreasha Powe and Darrione Rogers would be a winning strategy, even against a team that allows its opponents to shoot just 27.1 percent from deep.

Clog the interior

The Aggies will want to score as many of their points as possible in the paint, and it will be up to Jessika Carter and Erynn Barnum — with help from Nyayongah Gony and Quanirah Montague — to limit Texas A&M’s production inside. The Bulldogs can afford to overcommit slightly to stopping the Aggies’ post players because of how much A&M has struggled to shoot the 3-pointer, and while they obviously don’t want to leave anyone completely unprotected, playing a zone can help make sure all areas are accounted for.