STARKVILLE – Ole Miss clinched its first road win over Mississippi State since 2021 on Saturday. The win spoiled a party thrown in Starkville 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 and seating returning alums courtside. 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 – certainly the rowdiest The Hump has seen all season – was into the game from the tipoff.
There was just one problem on the night: the ball wouldn’t go in the hoop.
“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, despite shooting 37% from the field and just 18.5% from distance.
“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.”
‘100 times out of 100’
Even as the game kept getting away from MSU, Ole Miss looked vulnerable in the closing stages of the game. The chances were there for the Rebels to blow it, and Hubbard kept finding the ball in his hands.
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.
Many on social media and fan forums pointed to Sergej Macura, who was open to receive a pass on Hubbard’s last shot attempt, but the head coach was adamant that the junior guard was the guy he wanted with the ball in his hands with the game on the line.
“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. “Obviously, fortune goes our way with some of Hubbard’s shots tonight,” Beard said. “Because he makes those shots, period. But I think we earned the right to have some fortune with how hard we were playing, and playing as a team tonight.”
Both Hubbard and Epps tried time and again, but couldn’t manage to shoot their way out of their respective slumps. Jans talked about it a bit on Monday, acknowledging the struggles but noting that both players understood they needed to play better and execute.
For the players, there is no secret formula, it’s just about putting the next shot in.
“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.”
History on display
The loss itself was historic in a negative way for MSU. It was the first home loss to Ole Miss in five years, and the first at home to the Rebels in four years under Jans.
Beard’s team is also struggling for consistency and was equally in need of a win. Now at 10-8, the postseason resume is looking worse and worse for MSU, as are the program’s chances of making the NCAA Tournament for a fourth straight year.
There was a positive note of history on the night though, with the honoring of the 1996 Final Four team and an announcement that Bailey Howell and LaToya Thomas will have some more company in the rafters at The Hump in 2027.
The Bulldogs announced during the second half that Jeff Malone’s No. 24 and Erick Dampier’s No. 25 will be retired in 2027, honoring two of the greatest MSU basketball players in the history of the men’s team.
Malone played for MSU from 1979-1983 and became the most prolific scorer in program history, still holding the record for most points in a season and career, with 2,142.
Dampier, who was there for the game on Saturday as part of the 1996 festivities, was a centerpiece of the Final Four run and one of the most accomplished Bulldogs of all time as a professional as well as collegiately.
MSU will hit the road for its next game at Texas A&M at 8 p.m. Wednesday and then returns to Starkville for its next home game against Vanderbilt at 5 p.m. Saturday. Both games will air on SEC Network.
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