Mississippi State was well represented in the Southeastern Conference’s postseason awards, with grad student post player Tolu Smith, freshman guard Josh Hubbard and senior forward Cameron Matthews all being recognized.
Smith, who missed the Bulldogs’ first 12 games with a foot injury before returning to the court just ahead of the start of SEC play, was named to the all-conference first team. In his final season with MSU, Smith has averaged 16.3 points and 8.2 rebounds per game, with eight double-doubles in 19 contests. It was his second consecutive year on the first team.
Hubbard earned a spot on the all-SEC second team as well as the all-freshman team after leading the Bulldogs with 16.8 points per game. He has played his best basketball of the year over the last five games, with at least 23 points each time. Hubbard was named SEC Freshman of the Week a program-record five times and was far and away the conference’s leader in made 3-pointers per game.
In addition, Hubbard became the first-ever freshman to win the Bailey Howell Trophy, given by the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame to the best men’s college basketball player in the state each year. The award, named after MSU legend Bailey Howell, has gone to a Bulldogs player for the third year in a row, with Iverson Molinar winning it in 2021-22 and Smith claiming the honor last year.
Hubbard beat out Matthew Murrell of Ole Miss and Austin Crowley of Southern Miss to win the Howell Trophy.
Matthews earned a spot on the SEC’s all-defensive team after leading MSU in both blocks and steals, ranking second in the conference with 2.1 steals per game. The only Bulldogs player to start all 31 regular-season games, Matthews was also sixth in the SEC with 7.1 rebounds per contest.
MSU (19-12, 8-10 SEC) is the No. 9 seed in the conference tournament in Nashville, Tenn. and will play No. 8 seed LSU in a second-round game Thursday at noon.
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.
