It's just too early to tell
By By Tony Krausz / assistant sports editor
Feb. 28, 2003
STARKVILLE Let the bar room talks, water cooler discussions and coffee maker arguments begin.
After Mississippi State University moved into sole possession of the top spot in the Southeastern Conference West Division on Wednesday, it is inevitable that this season's team is measured against the 1995-96 squad that made it all the way to the Final Four.
Which squad is better?
Which team the 95-96 or the 02-03 would win in a head-to-head contest?
Is Rick Stansbury's wardrobe better than Richard Williams' wardrobe?
Well maybe not the last one, but you get the idea.
With the Bulldogs currently sprinting towards the end of the season, ranked 20th and on the cusp of capturing the West crown, it is all too easy to banter about which team was more formidable.
But the answer is very simple for the time being.
The 1995-96 MSU Bulldogs are better than the current incarnation of the team right now.
Why is the team from six seasons past better?
Simple, those Bulldogs went to the Final Four. This season's team hasn't even finished the regular season.
In other words, it is too early to say which team is better.
But as MSU inches closer and closer to finishing the year atop the West, and the Bulldogs seem poised to make another appearance in the Big Dance come mid-March, the two squads a certainly comparable.
Sticking with the "What have you won theory?," this year's basketball team could end up being better than the Final Four Bulldogs.
MSU's 8-5 record in conference play has the chance to one-up the 96 squad by winning out its last three games.
But it will not be easy to top the 95-96 record of 10-6 in the SEC, as the Bulldogs have to play their next two games on the road.
MSU travels to Fayetteville on Saturday to take on Arkansas in an arena where the Razorbacks hold a 12-1 series edge over the Bulldogs.
The 2002-03 team than travels to Tennessee for another tough road match-up before finishing the regular season at home against Auburn.
MSU holds its fate in its own hands and capturing the West title would give them an equal achievement to the 95-96 team.
But the cold-hard record comparison does not stop in the regular season, let us not forget about the SEC tournament.
The Bulldogs captured their first-ever SEC tourney crown in 1996, if the 2002-03 team doesn't win it all in New Orleans can the team be thought of as better than the squad that did.
Heck, if MSU doesn't win the tournament this year, does this mean the team isn't as good as last season?
The Bulldogs did capture the SEC title and an automatic berth into the NCAA tournament by winning three straight in the "Big Easy" last year, remember.
Wins and losses are great for comparisons, but there is more to dissecting teams, right?
Right.
Let's go ahead and take a look at the regular season averages on offense and defense of the two squads.
The 95-96 team holds the edge on offense averaging 76.9 points per game during the regular season. This year's team has averaged 72.2 points per game, with three games to go in this season.
The 02-03 squad does hold a defensive edge over the Final Four Bulldogs. MSU is holding opponents to 60.8 points per game so far this season, while the 95-96 team gave up an average of 69.8 points a game.
So for the time being, point averages are a push between the two teams.
So what's left, how about which team had the better one-two punch?
Darryl Wilson and Dontae Jones proved to be a two-headed monster that few teams could contain in the regular season in 95-96.
The two Bulldogs averaged 32.7 points per game six years ago.
Mario Austin and Timmy Bowers are proving to be just as formidable as the Wilson-Jones connection.
The two Bulldogs are currently averaging a combined 31.1 points per game.
The two numbers are very comparable, but just to be a stickler, Wilson and Jones did get 1.6 points more per game. Though no one knows how you can score a sixth of a basket.
So the better one-two combination goes to the 95-96 team.
Do all of these numbers and rudimentary math mean the Final Four team is better than this year's team?
Not really, but it sure makes for some fun arguments and get's you ready for March Madness.
Doesn't it?
