By Timothy R. Brown
Associated Press
JACKSON, Miss. ó Four games in four days, the celebration of an improbable SEC tournament title run and a trip from Florida back to Starkville more than qualifies Mississippi State for a little relaxation.
The Bulldogs (23-12) insist fatigue won’t be an issue when they play Washington (25-8) in the first round of the NCAA tournament Thursday.
MSU, which is the 13th seed in the West Regional, will have to travel cross country to Portland, Ore., to face the Pac-10 regular-season champions.Washington is led by the guard tandem of Justin Dentmon and Pac-10 Freshman of the Year Isiah Thomas, who is averaging 15.4 points a game. Thomas played last year at South Kent (Conn.) School and went head-to-head with Mississippi State freshman point guard Dee Bost, a Concord High graduate who played last season at Hargrave Military Academy.
“He’s a lefty. He’s a scoring point guard. I know that,” Bost said. “So I know that he can score at will. I’m going to have to stay focused and play D.”
Bost scored 21 points against South Kent last year, and Thomas had 18.
Thomas rolled his eyes when he heard Bost’s name Monday. Thomas said Bost is a good player and “Yeah, they beat us.”
That was the past, and Mississippi State’s present will include rest and preparation for Washington and then the long trip to Oregon.
“Fatigue right now is not an issue because we have a deep bench that came in and gave us some quality minutes throughout the whole (SEC) tournament,” Bost said. “We’re happy to be there, but at the same time we are not saying, ‘Oh, we made it to the first round. We want to just stop right here.’ We want to try to win. Settling for less ain’t an option.”