Mississippi State’s season ended not with a bang but a whimper.
In their first Round of 64 game in the NCAA Tournament since 2019, the No. 8 seed Bulldogs could not string together enough defensive stops, were pushed around on the boards by a smaller Michigan State team and never led in a 69-51 loss to the No. 9 seed Spartans on Thursday.
Mississippi State (21-14) could not have started off much worse as Michigan State (20-14) raced out to a 12-point lead after nine minutes, making eight of their first 11 shots. Offensively, Mississippi State seemed hesitant to attack Michigan State’s excellent defense, with only Dashawn Davis making his way to the hoop early on.
Freshman guard Josh Hubbard soon heated up and kept the Bulldogs in the game late in the first half, scoring 13 of his team’s 24 points. In his NCAA Tournament debut, Hubbard hit back-to-back 3-pointers in the final two minutes of the half to cut the deficit to five, but a Malik Hall jumper at the buzzer gave the Spartans a seven-point lead at the break. Mississippi State also did not attempt a single free throw in the opening 20 minutes.
The Bulldogs’ best defensive player, Cameron Matthews, picked up his second personal foul before the first TV timeout and played limited minutes in the first half, but even with him back on the floor after halftime, Mississippi State struggled on the defensive end. Michigan State started the second half shooting 10-for-13. The Spartans were able to get out in transition with regularity and find clean looks both in the paint and along the perimeter.
Matthews and Tolu Smith were finally able to get going down the stretch, but Hubbard was shut down almost completely, with just one field goal in the second half. He finished 3-for-11 from behind the arc, and the Bulldogs as a team missed 14 of their final 15 shots. They were 6-for-27 from deep in the game.
Mississippi State is still looking for its first NCAA Tournament win since 2008. Smith, Davis and D.J. Jeffries are out of eligibility, and Matthews and Shakeel Moore are also seniors but have the option to return for one more year.
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