Postgame Notes: MSU vs. Omaha

TEAM NOTES

Following back-to-back neutral site wins, Mississippi State returned to Humphrey Coliseum and continued their winning ways en route to a comfortable 74-54 victory over Omaha.
The win enabled the Bulldogs to move to 7-0 for the first time since the 2017-18 season when they won their first eight contests on the year.
Chris Jans became the 4th head coach in program history to win his opening seven contests. He is joined on the list by E.C. Hayes (1911-12, 9-0, won 1st 10 games), Jim Hatfield (1978-79, 8-0), and Rick Stansbury (1998-99, 8-0).
The two teams exchanged leads early in the contest, with Omaha opening up as large as a five-point advantage with 9:56 to go in the first half. However, after that, Mississippi State tore off a quick 7-0 run to give themselves the lead, one which they wouldn't give back.
The biggest moment of separation for the Bulldogs came in the second half. With 15:45 to go, Tolu Smith dropped in a layup that would evolve into a 17-0 run for the Dogs extending what was a seven-point lead into a 55-31 advantage.
As a team, the Bulldogs connected on 28-of-65 from the floor (43.1 percent), 7-of-23 (30.4 percent) from three, and 11-of-15 from the free throw line (73.3 percent).
Defensively, State held Omaha to 22-of-54 from the floor (40.7 percent), 6-18 from beyond the three-point line (33.3 percent) and 4-of-7 at the charity stripe (57.1 percent).
The 54 points scoring line for the Mavericks was their lowest total so far this season.
The Bulldog defense finds itself as one of the top defenses in the country. Through seven games, Chris Jans' squad has yet to allow an opponent to score more than 55 points.
MSU's defense continued to shine and forced 18 turnovers, Omaha's highest clip on the year.
Offensively, the Bulldogs dominated inside scoring 40 of their points in the painted area.
MSU outrebounded their opponent for the sixth time in seven games, winning the battle of the boards 39-33. The Bulldogs grabbed 15 of those boards on the offensive glass.
This marked the first meeting between Mississippi State and Omaha. MSU now moves to 8-2 all-time versus opponents in The Summit League.

PLAYER NOTES

Tolu Smith

Led the Bulldogs with 12 points and grabbed eight rebounds.
Marked his 42nd game in double figures out of 58 appearances for the Bulldogs
Has led MSU in scoring in five of the Bulldogs' seven games and has led in rebounding in six contests.
Now sits just 107 points shy of eclipsing the 1,000-point mark in his career.

D.J. Jeffries

Pumped in 10 points, reaching double figures for the fifth time in the last six outings.
Hit multiple treys in four of his seven outings this season.
MSU is 16-5 when Jeffries scores in double figures.
His 47th career game with 10-plus points. MSU and Memphis are 37-10 in those games.
Moves to within 150 points away from reaching the 1,000 mark for his career.

Cameron Matthews

Contributed nine points, four rebounds and two steals.
Marked the 23rd multi-steal game of his career

Eric Reed Jr.

Poured in nine points with three rebounds, an assist and a steal.
Has started in 58 of 64 career games between MSU and Southeast Missouri.
Moves to within 182 points away from eclipsing the 1,000 career points mark.

Will McNair Jr.

Made his first ever start as a Bulldog.
Came away with three points, three rebounds and an assist.

Bench

Off the bench, the Bulldogs were led by eight points and seven rebounds courtesy of Tyler Stevenson.
The eight points match a season high for Stevenson, and the seven rebounds are his highest total this year
KeShawn Murphy also put up career-bests of eight points, four rebounds and three blocks.
Kimani Hamilton had his first make from beyond the arc on the year as a part of a five-point performance.
Shakeel Moore returned the scoring column with six points. He also dished out a season's best four assists and came away with four steals.
Recorded multiple steals in 34 of 66 career steals.

Players Mentioned

Kimani Hamilton

D.J. Jeffries

Cameron Matthews

Will McNair Jr.

Shakeel Moore

KeShawn Murphy

Eric Reed Jr.

Tolu Smith III

Tyler Stevenson

Mississippi State University Athletics

Postgame Notes: MSU vs. Omaha

Players Mentioned

Kimani Hamilton

D.J. Jeffries

Cameron Matthews

Will McNair Jr.

Shakeel Moore

KeShawn Murphy

Eric Reed Jr.

Tolu Smith III

Tyler Stevenson

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