It may have come against a Missouri team that is still without a victory in Southeastern Conference play, but Mississippi State has finally won a true road game, and the Bulldogs did so in dominant fashion.
Leading by just four points at halftime, MSU opened the second half on a 20-4 run and coasted to a 75-51 win over the Tigers on Saturday night, picking up another much-needed victory for its NCAA Tournament hopes.
Cameron Matthews, playing without his former high school teammate and defensive co-star D.J. Jeffries, had seven steals, tied for the third-most in a single game in program history. Tolu Smith recorded his second consecutive double-double with 13 points and 11 rebounds, and Shakeel Moore tallied 14 points on a perfect 4-for-4 from 3-point range.
“Confidence is an amazing trait,” Bulldogs head coach Chris Jans said. “When you’ve got it, that basket looks really big.”
MSU (16-8, 5-6 SEC) struggled again from the free throw line, making just 10 of 21 foul shots, but the Bulldogs’ defense was more than good enough to make up for it. Missouri (8-16, 0-11) finished a paltry 3-for-18 from deep and turned the ball over 20 times.
Josh Hubbard led all scorers with 16 points, 12 of them coming from behind the arc and eight of them within the game’s first seven minutes to help MSU take the lead for good. Matthews scored seven straight points during the Bulldogs’ early second-half run, and the visitors ultimately led by as many as 29.
MSU won all six of its neutral-site games in non-conference play, but lost its only true road non-conference game to Georgia Tech and had fallen at South Carolina, Kentucky, Florida, Ole Miss and Alabama before finally getting the monkey off its back Saturday.
The Bulldogs will have the week off before returning to Humphrey Coliseum for another must-win game next Saturday against Arkansas. ESPN bracket expert Joe Lunardi currently has MSU as one of his last four teams in the NCAA Tournament field, which would mean a second consecutive year with a trip to Dayton, Ohio for the First Four.
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 24 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 24 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
