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The Bulldogs (16-6 overall, 4-3 SEC) look to regain their shooting touch today when they visit Florida (16-6, 5-3). Tipoff is set for 12:30 p.m. on the SEC Network (WCBI).
Having dropped three of its last four games, Mississippi State has made just 21-of-82 3-pointers in its last three games. And MSU head coach Rick Stansbury knows his squad must improve on that 25 percent showing to leave Gainesville, Fla., with a victory.
"We're limited in ways we can score," Stansbury noted. "Naturally, we want to get the ball to Jarvis (Varnado) as much as you can. But shooting is a very fragile thing. It would be different with good shooters taking bad shots. We've been having some good looks.
"It's obvious we've lost some of that confidence shooting and we just have to fight through."
However, the players added that some of those "good looks" may be released too early in the shot clock.
"We've got to get back to playing regular basketball, our basketball," said Bulldog junior Phil Turner. "The guys all know how big that is and we have to stress that with everyone. We've simply got to get back to playing our style of basketball. Sometimes we take quick shots instead of making that extra pass to find a better shot."
The Bulldogs have spent the better part of the last three weeks on the road. Ending with today's trip to Florida, MSU will have played four of five games on the road.
After a win at Oxford on Jan. 9, the Bulldogs have lost three straight SEC road games and are now 3-4 for the season in opposing gyms.
The Bulldogs return home to host Ole Miss on Thursday, which opens their season-best three-game homestand.
But to keep pace with the likes of Arkansas (4-3 in the SEC) and Ole Miss (4-4), the MSU needs to find a way to win on the road.
"It's discussed from Day 1, how hard it is to go on the road and win," Turner said. "The guys know the importance of it."