MISSISSIPPI STATE

Tolu Smith takes charge in Mississippi State basketball's bounceback win over Florida

Tyler Horka
Mississippi Clarion Ledger

STARKVILLE – It was the Tolu Smith show Saturday at Humphrey Coliseum. 

The only thing the Mississippi State basketball redshirt sophomore forward could do wrong against Florida was miss a few free throws – he went 5 of 10 from the line in a 72-69 win. But whenever the Bulldogs needed a big bucket, Smith was the player who delivered more times than not. 

Smith scored a career-high 27 points and grabbed 14 rebounds to record his fifth double-double of the season for Mississippi State (9-4, 4-2 SEC) in the win over Florida  (6-4, 3-3). 

"He really played the best game of his young career here at Mississippi State," MSU coach Ben Howland said. "I'm just so happy for him and proud of him." 

Jan 16, 2021; Starkville, Mississippi, USA;  Mississippi State Bulldogs forward Tolu Smith (35) takes possession of a loose ball while defended by Florida Gators forward Colin Castleton (12) during the first half at Humphrey Coliseum.

Here are three other takeaways from MSU's bounceback win three days after falling to Texas A&M by one point. 

Big on the boards 

Powered primarily by Smith, Mississippi State outrebounded Florida 47-26. That was no small feat considering the level of post play Florida got from 6-foot-11 forward Colin Castleton. 

Castleton entered the game fresh off blocking eight shots against Ole Miss earlier in the week. He blocked six of the Bulldogs' shots. 

"That guy is a human fly swatter," Howland said. 

Castleton finished with 16 points and seven rebounds. The collective effort of the Bulldogs to secure rebounds was too much for him to overcome on his own, though. Mississippi State had four players with five or more rebounds. Castleton was the only Florida player in that category. 

"We felt like we had a mismatch down low," Smith said. "The guards did a great job of getting us the ball." 

Scoring where it counts 

Mississippi State's rebounding led directly to huge disparities in key scoring areas. Mississippi State won the second-chance points battle 18-2 and held a 52-30 advantage in points in the paint. 

The game was sloppy early on as both teams struggled to settle into any sort of rhythm. Getting production in the gritty areas of the game was monumental in Mississippi State ultimately coming out on top. 

Defense down the stretch 

Mississippi State built an 11-point lead early in the second half, but it was whittled down to four on a Castleton layup with eight minutes left. The Bulldogs tightened up defensively from that point forward. 

The Gators did not make another shot from the field until there was 1:15 left, a stretch of nearly seven minutes. Mississippi State made four shots and a collection of free throws to regain its 11-point lead.

"I thought our defense was absolutely terrific today," Howland said. 

Senior center Abdul Ado sprinted down the lane and slammed in a one-handed jam to put Mississippi State head 69-58. He reached double figures in scoring for just the second time this season with the dunk. He also tied a season high with nine rebounds. 

Florida fought back to have a chance to tie the game on the last possession, but stifling defense from senior guard Jalen Johnson forced a tough look from 3-point range as the buzzer. 

"Jalen Johnson has a very high IQ for basketball," Ado said. "I don't think a lot of people know that, but the dude can really play. He knows what to do and when. As an older guy, you know when to foul and not to foul and when to just stand up there and just defend and just contest the shot. He did that." 

Up next

Mississippi State closes its three-game homestand against Ole Miss (6-6, 1-3) on Tuesday at 8 p.m. 

Mississippi St. 72, Florida 69

FLORIDA (6-4, 3-3 SEC)

Castleton 7-13 2-3 16, Duruji 2-4 0-0 4, Appleby 4-7 11-11 20, Locke 3-10 0-0 8, Mann 6-17 1-2 14, Ruzhentsev 1-4 0-0 3, Glover 0-1 0-0 0, Payne 2-3 0-0 4, Osifo 0-2 0-0 0, Jitoboh 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 25-61 14-16 69.

MISSISSIPPI ST. (9-5, 4-2)

Ado 5-5 1-2 11, J.Johnson 1-4 1-2 3, T.Smith 11-13 5-10 27, Molinar 5-13 2-2 13, Stewart 4-15 3-4 11, D.Smith 2-6 1-2 5, Matthews 1-4 0-2 2, Post 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 29-60 13-24 72.

Halftime_Mississippi St. 32-29. 3-Point Goals_Florida 5-19 (Locke 2-6, Appleby 1-3, Ruzhentsev 1-3, Mann 1-5, Duruji 0-2), Mississippi St. 1-8 (Molinar 1-1, Matthews 0-1, D.Smith 0-1, J.Johnson 0-2, Stewart 0-3). Rebounds_Florida 22 (Castleton 7), Mississippi St. 43 (T.Smith 14). Assists_Florida 11 (Mann 6), Mississippi St. 14 (D.Smith 4). Total Fouls_Florida 17, Mississippi St. 15.