This isn’t Mississippi State’s first rodeo.
Apart from star freshman guard Josh Hubbard, every player in the Bulldogs’ regular rotation has experienced the NCAA Tournament before. Mississippi State got a taste of March Madness in 2023, losing in a First Four game against Pittsburgh, and grad transfer big man Jimmy Bell Jr. played in the tournament last year with West Virginia.
The No. 8 seed Bulldogs and head coach Chris Jans may not have quite the historical resume of their first-round opponents — No. 9 seed Michigan State is playing in its 26th consecutive NCAA Tournament under legendary coach Tom Izzo — but after recovering from a four-game losing streak to end the regular season with two big wins in the Southeastern Conference Tournament, Mississippi State arrived in Charlotte, N.C. brimming with confidence.
“Those losses helped us, motivated us going into the SEC Tournament,” veteran post player Tolu Smith said. “We have all the confidence in the world right now going into the NCAA Tournament. So we’ve just got to bottle that up and use it for this game and the next games.”
It’s certainly been a topsy-turvy winter for the Bulldogs (21-13, 8-10 SEC), who were without Smith for the first 12 games due to a foot injury, saw grad transfer Andrew Taylor leave the team midway through the season after appearing in just six games, and later dealt with multi-game absences to KeShawn Murphy and D.J. Jeffries.
Taylor was supposed to provide Mississippi State with much-needed 3-point shooting after the Bulldogs finished last in all of Division I in 3-point percentage in 2022-23, but thanks mostly to the emergence of Hubbard, Mississippi State has shown significant improvement in perimeter shooting even without Taylor. Hubbard makes more than three 3-pointers per game, easily the most in the SEC, and has scored at least 20 points in seven of his last eight games.
Jans said he did not see this kind of freshman season coming for Hubbard, who originally signed with Ole Miss before flipping to Mississippi State when the Rebels made a coaching change, but is certainly glad to be wrong now.
“The people who did believe that he would were Josh Hubbard and his family,” Jans said. “They know the work that he’s put in, and now having gotten to know him even better after working with him this past year, I understand why. His confidence, his belief stems from his work. He’s a dogged worker, he’s a disciplined worker, he works at his craft. He loves the game. It means so much to him.”
In that First Four game against the Panthers a year ago, the Bulldogs were a par-for-the-course 6-for-23 from behind the arc and only attempted seven free throws, losing 60-59 after they missed three shots in the last three seconds.
Moore, who missed a would-be game-winning 3-pointer just ahead of the buzzer, grew up in Greensboro, N.C., and played his freshman year at North Carolina State, and will have plenty of family members in attendance Thursday.
“That’s one of the first things that I said once we were selected and then knew we were coming to Charlotte is that, ‘Hey, man, you’re going home,’” Jans said. “His smile lit up. … I’m happy for him. I’m happy he gets another opportunity to play in March Madness and that he gets to do it in front of a bunch of his family and friends.”
Scouting Michigan State
The Spartans (19-4, 10-10 Big Ten) found themselves in a somewhat unfamiliar position — on the bubble — heading into Selection Sunday but kept their tournament streak alive thanks to favorable metrics, including a NET ranking of 24. Michigan State opened the season in the top five in the AP poll and played a difficult non-conference schedule before alternating hot and cold stretches during Big Ten play.
As is frequently the case under Izzo, the Spartans are an excellent defensive team, allowing 65.9 points per game. Despite an offense in the bottom half of the Big Ten in scoring, Michigan State shoots the 3-pointer effectively, with its 35.9 percent clip ranking third in the conference.
“First thing that jumps off the page to me is just how quickly they get the ball up the court,” Jans said. “Certainly everybody runs on turnovers, and most people push it on misses, but when that ball goes through the net, I’m not so certain that they’re not better that way than they even are in missed shots.”
Veteran point guard Tyson Walker leads the Spartans with 18.2 points per game, with A.J. Hoggard serving as the primary distributor in the backcourt. Hoggard, Malik Hall and Jaden Akins all average double-digit scoring alongside Walker, and Mady Sissoko completes the starting five in the post.
The one constant in East Lansing has been behind the bench, and Jans said he has long admired the man with whom he will share the sideline Thursday.
“If I had to emulate someone or some program, and I’m talking about my early 20s, it would be Tom Izzo at Michigan State,” Jans said. “I always respected the way he went about his business, the way his teams played. … I chuckled when we got paired up with him because I’m sure he had to look down at his staff and say, ‘Hey, who is Chris Jans and who are we playing against?’ I’m sure he had to ask a couple people to get some information about me.”
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