| 17 January 2012
Rick Stansbury went to great lengths yesterday to say Ole Miss is just another critical SEC game for Mississippi State, and nothing more. I don't believe him. I've witnessed the crowds at Tad Smith Coliseum and the Hump when these two teams play. It's not just another game to them. Filling Tad Smith Coliseum has been so difficult in recent years, and it's not uncommon for Ole Miss to give away tickets just to entice fans inside the old relic. That won't be the case when State visits. It'll be jam packed with diehards for both teams eager for a win over in-state rivals. Aside from being larger, the crowds are usually just plain louder and more into the games. The players will scrap harder for loose balls and the fans will yell as though each play could decide game. While the Hump fills a little easier thanks to years of successful hoops under Stansbury, he's surely noticed the atmosphere is a little more electric when Ole Miss visits. Coaches aren't deaf.
Stansbury's comments about this game not meaning much to him were nothing more than a subtle jab - an easy one too, because he owns a 20-7 records in the series. To be frank, beating Ole Miss isn't that difficult for him. When you beat a team often enough I suppose that might take a little of the anticipation out of it, but don't think for a minute that Stansbury is genuine when he says it's just another game. He relishes his mark in the series, as does his school with its "Our State" billboards.
Those billboards are ringing more and more true with each game that the Rebels and the Bulldogs play. Ole Miss hasn't beaten the Bulldogs in a Big 3 sport since baseball in 2010. That's right. We are now nearing the two-year mark since the Rebels beat Mississippi State in a major sport. No matter how Stansbury feels about it, this better be a big game for Ole Miss. It's a huge game. You don't lose to your in-state conference rival in every major sport for two years. It's really inexcusable, and it's a sign of how far the Ole Miss athletic department has fallen. Mississippi State isn't Kentucky. It's not Alabama. It's also not Florida. It's Mississippi State. That school in Starkville with a budget similar in size to Ole Miss. It's not a perennial powerhouse in any sport. Yet, Ole Miss hasn't beaten them in almost two years.
Andy Kennedy has lost five straight to Stansbury. Wednesday night, when Kennedy's young offensively challenged (Kennedy's words, not mine) backcourt faces off with the No. 18 Bulldogs there's a good chance it'll become six straight.
That would be unacceptable. A seventh straight would be downright intolerable. It's a big game.
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