STARKVILLE – Ole Miss clinched its first road win over Mississippi State since 2021 on Saturday. The win spoiled a party in Starkville, thrown to honor Bulldog teams from more than 60 years ago through the 2010s, and in particular the 1996 Final Four squad, which was almost entirely in attendance for a special halftime ceremony.
MSU Athletic Director Zac Selmon pulled out a few party tricks, showing off the new lights in the renovated Humphrey Coliseum to welcome alums, and granted seating in the premium seating area. The crowd was also treated to an LED lightshow on the court at halftime before welcoming back the legends of old.
The crowd of 9,212 was certainly the rowdiest crowd The Hump has seen all season, and was into the game from the tipoff.
There was just one problem on the night: the ball wouldn’t go in.
“The ball doesn’t go in every night,” said MSU guard Jayden Epps after the game.
It was somewhat ironic coming from the team’s leading scorer on the night with 14 points, but it was especially true for both him and MSU’s leading scorer on the season, Josh Hubbard.
The pair shot a combined 7-34 from the field and 3-20 from three-point range. Hubbard’s missed free throws and missed layup in the final seconds were the final nail in the coffin after a slow death for the Bulldogs in a 68-67 loss at home against their rivals.
The Bulldogs, now 10-8 on the season and 2-3 in SEC play, came out strong and took a 22-11 advantage at the midway point of the first half, but managed just eight more points over the rest of the period. It was the third game in a row where a fast start was followed by scoring droughts, but they never let the game get away from them.
“Tonight’s game unfolded much differently than the two previous games,” Jans said, referring to losses against Kentucky and Alabama. “I didn’t think our guys handled the runs by the other teams that we’ve talked about, but tonight they handled it a lot better. They stood their ground, and even found themselves down four late in the game, and stayed together. We got the stops that we needed, we just couldn’t find a way to put the ball through the goal on the last couple possessions.”
The Bulldogs even took a lead as the final minute of the game ticked down. Hubbard finally got a shot to fall from distance to put his team up 66-65, but an answer by Ole Miss put the pressure on again. MSU’s talisman, the guy they want with the ball in his hands with the game on the line, simply couldn’t convert at the free throw line or on a desperation drive as the clock ran out.
“I wouldn’t change any of it with what we did, even going back to Hubbard’s three and how we generated that. Getting to the line, getting to the cup again, with the right player. I’ll take that scenario 100 out of 100,” Jans said, passionately backing up Hubbard. “I’ll take that scenario in that type of game where the score was, time remaining, etc. 100 out of 100. Just for whatever reason, they didn’t decide to let the ball go through the net.”
There was a sense of luck even from Ole Miss head coach Chris Beard, who noted that Hubbard normally hits on many of the shots he was able to get off on Saturday. He and Epps tried time and again, but couldn’t manage to shoot their way out of their respective slumps on the night.
“You could name a bunch of plays, a bunch of things. I wouldn’t say just one play is the reason, sometimes things don’t go that way,” Epps said when asked about what made the difference in the game. “It’s one shot, one turnover, one anything that can make a game swing either way some nights. It just was not our night tonight.”
MSU will hit the road for its next game at Texas A&M on Wednesday at 8 p.m., and returns to Starkville for its next home game against Vanderbilt next Saturday at 5 p.m. Both games will air on SEC Network.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 35 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 35 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
