Today is Friday. Which means you need to check out what I wrote in the Daily Journal about the No. 22-ranked Mississippi State basketball team. Just click on the words below, because the underline function on this blog has been malfunctioning.

• Here's the hoops update.

As the story notes, MSU is set up to make a nice push here, what with three consecutive home games on tap: Saturday vs. Auburn, Thursday vs. Ole Miss, Saturday vs. Georgia.

Coach Rick Stansbury is being guarded in how he views the upcoming stretch.

"You look back already through these games we played, there’s no stretches you look at and say they're easy stretches," he said. "By the time you start trying to look ahead and say, well, this is an easier stretch, you'll get in trouble."

How much will the rest help MSU? The timing seems advantageous.

"The break came at a good time. I feel like we've already played some of the tougher teams," guard Brian Bryant said.

Of course, after this homestand, the Bulldogs (17-5, 4-3 SEC) play four of five on the road, with the lone home game being against No. 1 Kentucky. I'll have more on the Auburn matchup in tomorrow's Journal.

• Hope you checked out the Bulldog Beat this morning. My guests were Jay G. Tate (he is HABOTN!) and Logan Lowery.

• Also, I had a good conversation last night with Jackie Sherrill, talking about the defensive tilt of this 2012 signing class and comparing it to the group he signed in 1999, which included Dorsett Davis and Toby Golliday. Look for it.