Georgia basketball followed up a great win against Florida on Tuesday with an absolute dud of a performance at Mississippi State.

The road Bulldogs trailed by double digits for the final 32 minutes and never really made it a competitive outing. The offense struggled once again, as Yante Maten didn’t make a shot in the first half and Mississippi State won 72-57.

At halftime, Georgia trailed 37-21. The lone bright side was that senior Pape Diatta came off the bench to score 9 points after hitting a trio of 3-pointers in the first half. He hadn’t scored all season coming into the game.

The second half didn’t get much better, as Georgia never made Mississippi State sweat the final outcome. Georgia was without reserve guard Jordan Harris, who was suspended indefinitely before the game.

With the loss, Georgia moves to 13-9 and 4-6 in SEC play, while Mississippi State now is 17-6 and 5-5 in conference.

3 who mattered

• Lamar Peters: The Mississippi State guard got the better of the Georgia backcourt, as he finished with a season-high 20 points and 4 steals in the game.
• The Weatherspoon brothers: Nick and Quinndary Weatherspoon had great games for Mississippi State, as the brothers combined for 28 points. With both players expected back next season, Mississippi State should be very, very good.
• Tyree Crump: Maten had just 2 points in the first half and only 13 for the game. Crump, meanwhile, had his first start of the season and finished with 13 points. He wasn’t to blame for Georgia’s sluggish performance.

Turning point:

To be blunt, the opening tip. Mississippi State dominated the game from beginning to end.

Observations:

• The defense was poor, too: Georgia was once again held under 70 points, but another problem was that Georgia did not get stops, especially in the second half. Anytime Georgia strung together some baskets, Mississippi State countered rather easily. Mississippi State shot 51 percent for the game, while Georgia made 41 percent of its shots.
• The older guards didn’t show up: While Crump was making his first start of the season, Turtle Jackson and Juwan Parker were still in the starting lineup. But neither of them made an impact. The pair scored just 8 points and were 3 of 15 from the floor.
• Dominated on the glass: With Maten and a number of competent frontcourt players, Georgia is normally a good rebounding team. That wasn’t the case against Mississippi State. The home Bulldogs controlled the glass, outrebounding Georgia 37-20.

What’s next for Georgia basketball

Georgia takes on Vanderbilt on the road Wednesday night. The game is scheduled for an 8:30 p.m. tip on the SEC Network.