Jackson Free Press

Mississippi State University saw its historic baseball season come to a close on Saturday night in a 6-5 loss to the University of Arizona in 11 innings. The Bulldogs won the SEC regular season championship and was named a national seed for the first time in school history.

MSU had little trouble in the four-team regional, which the Bulldogs hosted last weekend. The team was a perfect 3-0 as it cruised to the Super Regionals. Arizona had to battle through the loser's bracket in the Lafayette Regional just to reach this Super Regional.

The Wildcats' pitching was the story in game one of the Super Regional. MSU could only muster five hits in a sensational performance by Arizona pitcher Bobby Dalbec. Arizona got eight and 2/3 innings out of Dolbec, who needed just a run in the sixth inning to secure the win.

Game one saw a 37-minute delay due to a power outage all over the MSU campus. But the stoppage didn’t have any effect on Dolbec, who came out to pitch once power was restored.

The power outage seemed like an exact metaphor for the MSU bats, but maybe it was really just foreshadowing the end of the Bulldogs' season.

MSU had a chance in the ninth inning with two men on and two outs. The Bulldogs' superstar freshman Jake Mangum struck out on three straight pitches, giving the Wildcats a 1-0 win in game one.

In game two, both teams put up a run in the second inning after a scoreless first inning. MSU jumped out to a 2-1 lead in the third inning as the Bulldogs got a run off two errors.

The Bulldogs added to their lead in the top of the fourth when right fielder Brent Rooker hit a solo homerun, giving MSU a 3-1 lead. In the seventh inning, MSU was able to manufacture a run to up the lead to 4-1 over the Wildcats.

Rooker went deep once again in the top of the eighth inning, giving the Bulldogs a huge 5-1 lead and needing only six outs for the win. The bottom of the eighth inning is when things fell apart for MSU.

Arizona quickly got two men on first and second when first baseman Ryan Aguilar blasted a three-run home run, cutting the MSU lead to 5-4. The Bulldogs got out of the eight, but the damage was done, and the momentum had shifted to the Wildcats.

MSU went down in order at the top of the ninth inning. Arizona got a double by Cody Ramer to start off the inning. The Bulldogs got a strikeout by pitcher Reid Humphreys before Alfonso Rivas singled to score Ramer to tie the game at 5-5 to force extra innings.

Neither team was able to muster any offense in the 10th inning, as the score stayed 5-5 heading to the 11th inning. MSU went down in order at the top of the …

The regular season is over for the SEC women’s basketball teams. This week the conference will hold its tournament in Greenville, SC., from March 1 to March 5.

Winning the tournament means getting the SEC’s automatic bid into the NCAA Women’s Division I Basketball Tournament. That automatic bid will be important for a team that is currently outside the projections to make the tournament.

In the latest ESPN Bracketology for the women’s tournament, eight SEC teams could end up in the field. Those eight need to make sure a surprise team doesn’t steal the automatic bid and possibly knock them out of the tournament.

Those teams are Mississippi State University, Texas A&M University, Auburn University, the University of Kentucky, the University of South Carolina, the University of Tennessee and the University of Missouri, which also happen to be the top eight teams in the conference standings.

None of the teams playing on the opening day of the tournament are from our state, so let’s skip to day two when 10th-seed University of Mississippi faces seventh-seed Louisiana State University.

The Rebels might make the tournament if they can reach the championship game, but at 17-12 overall and 6-10 in conference, they more than likely need to win the whole thing. UM is 10th in the conference and behind the University of Georgia, the eighth seed, and ninth-seed Auburn.

The latest Bracketology says Auburn is in the tournament, but the team faces Georgia, which is also 7-9 in SEC play. The Tigers are 17-13 overall and the Bulldogs of Georgia are 15-14. An opening-game lose for Auburn could knock the team out of the tournament and open the door for another one.

The Rebels enter the tournament after a 62-49 win over Texas A&M at the end of the regular season. UM is 4-6 in its last 10 games, which won’t look good to the committee. The team struggled in conference play after going 12-2 in the nonconference slate.

If the Rebels happen to get past LSU, they will have Mississippi State waiting for them in the quarterfinals on March 3. In two games against the Bulldogs, UM has lost by 11 points in the first meeting and 22 points in the second meeting.

But there is hope for the team.

MSU enters the tournament as the second seed but has lost two straight games heading into the postseason. That is not how you want to end the regular season and go into the conference tournament.

Teams want to be peaking at this time of year. Instead the MSU Bulldogs went from playing for the conference title to losing two straight games, ending up as the second seed.

MSU was considered one of the top four seeds overall in the NCAA tournament, but the two straight losses has dropped them to a two-seed in the latest Bracketology. The two …

Day one of the NFL Draft begins tonight with the first round and continues Friday and finishes on Sunday. This could be one of the wildest in recent memory, with the first two picks having already been traded.

In the remaining few hours before the draft, pass the time by reading as many mock drafts as you can if you don’t have a feel for the players. The best teams are able to build through and add free agents to become a title contender.

All the first-round action begins at 7 p.m. CST on ESPN and the NFL Network. Here’s what to watch for mainly tonight but a couple things throughout the draft.

Which quarterback do the Los Angeles Rams select?

It is hard to remember that the Rams are back in L.A. again. But they are, and they traded with the Tennessee Titans to get the top pick.

L.A. is going to draft a quarterback, but the question is, will it be Carson Wentz or Jared Goff? Whichever quarterback the Rams choose leaves the other for the Philadelphia Eagles, who traded with the Cleveland Browns for the second pick.

What will San Diego and Dallas do with picks at three and four?

The real intrigue of this draft begins with the Chargers and Cowboys. Both teams could make a pick on offense or defense. San Diego and Dallas could also start a run on defensive linemen since both teams need help in the trenches on the defensive side.

If the right deal comes along, either team could be enticed into a trade. Both could in fact move back in the draft if the teams that need a quarterback decide to move up.

Will the Browns and 49ers draft a quarterback?

After nearly two decades, Cleveland is still trying to find who will be the man under center. San Francisco might be ready to move from Colin Kaepernick and start fresh at quarterback.

The 49ers have the seventh pick, and the Browns follow with the eighth pick. Both teams have plenty of holes to fill, so they could pass on a quarterback in this round to pick one up later.

If both the Browns and 49ers take a quarterback, it could cause a run on the other ones in the draft.

Will the Saints take a quarterback or defensive player?

There is some thought that the Saints could go after a quarterback in the first round. New Orleans really needs defensive help like a pass rusher or in the secondary if they want to make a run at a title with Drew Brees.

On the other hand, Brees won’t play forever, so when do you get his replacement if you don’t think you already have him on the roster? This would be a classic build for the future or a play--for-right-now spot for the Saints.

More quarterbacks late in round one?

Two other teams …

The New Orleans Saints are 0-2 but their two defeats were only by a combined four points. Both losses have come in the final minute of each game.

That is something that a team still looking for its first win can build upon. New Orleans is in danger of missing the playoffs with their slow start, however.

This team started the last two seasons at 0-2 and finished 7-9 both years. In 2014, the Saints started with two losses by a combined five points, and in 2015, they started with three straight losses with only the third loss less than six points.

Just once in the Saints’ history have they made the playoffs after a 0-2 start, and that was in 1990. History gives New Orleans a 12 percent chance of making the playoffs this season.

The Saints face a must-win game on Monday Night Football against their most hated rival, the Atlanta Falcons. While a 0-2 start is bad, only five teams have reached the playoffs since starting 0-3, and that was the 1998 Buffalo Bills.

It has been a strange start to the season for New Orleans. The team had a shootout to begin the season against the Oakland Raiders but were in a defensive battle against the New York Giants.

The Saints’ passing offense looks like its normal self with 333 yards per game for fourth in the NFL. New Orleans needs to get more out of the rushing attack, which is averaging 64.5 yards per game, tied for 28th in the league.

Play-calling could be one reason why the Saints rushing attack seems lacking. New Orleans has attempted 78 passes in two games. The Saints have only 35 rushing attempts over the same span.

Only the Washington Redskins, also 0-2, have few rushing attempts. The five teams with the fewest rushing attempts are Washington, New Orleans, the Miami Dolphins, the Jacksonville Jaguars and the Cincinnati Bengals.

Of those five teams, only the Bengals have a victory this season. In fact, all eight of the teams that are 0-2 have 44 or less rush attempts this season. Only two teams, Cincinnati and the Kansas City Chiefs, have a win with fewer than 45 rushing attempts.

On the reverse side, the top four teams in passing attempts are Washington, Jacksonville, the Indianapolis Colts and New Orleans. All four teams are 0-2 to start the season.

The Colts only have 40 rushing attempts. Of the other 0-2 teams, the Chicago Bears have 38 rush attempts, the Buffalo Bills have 43 rush attempts, and the Cleveland Browns has 44 rushing attempts.

Buffalo, Cleveland and Chicago are in the bottom five in passing attempts. That tells us that the Bills, Browns and Bears are very bad offensive teams.

Some of the teams that are at the bottom of the rushing attempts and top of passing attempts could …

Defensive backs were on display for the final day of on-the-field workouts at the 2017 NFL Combine. The secondary group is the largest at this combine, as the passing game has become a bigger part of the NFL.

When discussing defensive backs, it is good to know terms like tight hips, good feet, or good movement. Tight hips means a player struggles in turns and quickly changing directions, good feet are quick, up and down with no wasted steps, and good movement is the opposite of tight hips as a player is good or great at making change of directions or quick turns.

The defensive backs were split into two groups, with safeties and cornerbacks working out together in both. The two are vastly different positions, so when evaluating a player, it helps to know if they will be a corner or a safety.

Out of the group-one cornerbacks, Shaquill Griffin from the University of Central Florida, is going to move up draft boards with his 4.38-second run in the 40-yard dash. He did well during the on-the-field drills, showing good movement and speed.

Adoree’ Jackson out of the University of Southern California is a converted wide receiver, and it showed with his 4.42-second 40-yard dash and his ball-catching skills. He will be an instant help in one team’s return game.

Another converted wide receiver is Brian Allen from the University of Utah. He ran the 40-yard dash in a solid 4.48 seconds and showed good feet and ball skills. He will also help in the return game for whichever team drafts him.

Chidobe Awuzie out of the University of Colorado ran a 4.43-second 40-yard dash, and Sidney Jones from the University of Washington ran it in 4.47 seconds, but both showed some tight hips, when making turns or changing directions. Awuzie and Jones showed some good ball skills and moved well overall.

Marlon Humphrey out of the University of Alabama ran a 4.41-second 40-yard dash. He moved well and has good DNA since his father, Bobby Humphrey, played in the NFL at running back.

A group-one safety that stood out right from the get-go was Josh Jones from North Carolina State University who ran the 40-yard dash in 4.41 seconds. That is an outstanding time for a safety, and he showed good movement and ball skills.

Budda Baker out of Washington and Delano Hill out of the University of Michigan are the top safeties in this draft class, with 4.46-second and 4.48-second runs, respectively. Both moved well and showed good footwork, but they struggled with catching the ball at times.

Jamal Adams out of Louisiana State University ran a slower 40-yard dash than other top safeties at 4.56 seconds, but he has a good family tree, with his father, George Adams, being a former NFL running back. He could still run better on his Pro Day. Adams looked faster than his 40-yard time during the on-the-field drills.

A group-two …

Last week was a tough week for the college football teams in Mississippi. Nearly every team lost but Ole Miss and Belhaven. It was the type of week you just want to forget about but if you missed any of last week's action you can pick up the current issue of the JFP and read the round up or [follow this link][1]. Things don't get any easier this week for college football teams in Mississippi. Southern Miss is still searching for win one, Mississippi State faces a tough test in Texas A&M and Ole Miss will look to avoid a blowout against Georgia.