Postgame Notes: MSU vs. Florida

TEAM NOTES

Mississippi State nearly overcame a 10-point deficit over the final four minutes and had a chance to send the game to overtime during the closing seconds. However, Florida held on for a 61-59 win over the Bulldogs.
The Gators have earned back-to-back wins over State and improve to 67-52 overall in the all-time series.
Mississippi State scored 17 of its 24 field goals on the interior and outscored the Gators by a 36-20 margin in paint points. The Bulldogs have score more paints points in 12 of 19 games on the season.
The Bulldogs held a 39-35 rebounding advantage and have won the battle of the boards in 12 of 19 games this season.
State collected 13 offensive rebounds and tallied 11 of the game's 20 points off second chance opportunities.
As a team, the Bulldogs connected on 24-of-61 from the floor (39.3 percent), 4-of-17 from three-point territory (23.5 percent) and 7-of-11 from the free throw line (63.6 percent).
Conversely, Florida was 23-of-55 on its shot attempts (41.8 percent), made 10-of-24 of its triples (41.7 percent) and were 5-of-10 at the charity stripe (50.0 percent).

PLAYER NOTES

Tolu Smith

Recorded his third consecutive double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds.
Marked his fifth double-double of 2022-23 and 18th career double-double.
Tallied his 14th outing this season and his 50th career outings in double figures.
Started 69 of 70 career outings.
Moved to within 64 points of becoming the 6th MSU player since 2017-18 and 42nd player overall to reach 1,000 career points at State

D.J. Jeffries

Eric Reed Jr.

Cameron Matthews

Secured eight points, a season's best 11 rebounds and two assists.
His second game of 10+ rebounds this season and fourth of his career.
Dished out multiple assists in 12 games in 2022-23 and 30 occasions over his career.

Dashawn Davis

Contributed nine points, three rebounds, two assists and two steals.
Knocked down multiple treys for the 6th time this year.
Collected multiple steals for the 7th game this season ad 20th occasion over his career

Bench

Shakeel Moore and Will McNair Jr. were State's top performers off the bench.
The duo combined for 22 points as State outscored the Gators, 27-21, in bench points.
Moore has registered 10+ points in three of his last four outings.
McNair Jr. pitched in 10 points, six rebounds and two assists.
Marked his third game of 10+ points this season, and 8th game of 5+ boards.
Passed out multiple assists for the first time this season and 10th time in his career.

Mississippi State University Athletics