Postgame Notes: MSU vs. Ole Miss

TEAM NOTES

In-front of a second consecutive home sellout, Mississippi State picked up its first SEC win with a 64-54 victory over in-state rival Ole Miss.
Mississippi State moves to 148-119 all time against the Rebels, while also boasting a 98-28 advantage in games played at Humphrey Coliseum
After falling behind 8-6 at the 15:22 mark of the opening half, MSU used a 9-0 run over a four-minute span to take an early 15-8 lead.
Stout defense kept the Bulldogs in the hunt during the first half. From the 17:30 to 7:23 mark of the first half, MSU held Ole Miss without a field goal.
During the second half, MSU benefitted from a pair of 8-0 spurts. Down 38-31 with 12:26 left to play, State rattled off eight straight to take the lead.
After an Ole Miss three pushed the Rebels back ahead 41-39, the Bulldogs tore off another eight consecutive points to surge ahead 47-41 and would lead the rest of the way.
Crucial for the Bulldogs was an advantage in turnovers. MSU only committed nine during the contest, while forcing Ole Miss into 15 miscues.
For the 10th time this season, MSU outrebounded their opponent. The Bulldogs collected 17 offensive rebounds en route to a 42-34 edge. The Maroon and White is 10-0 when winning the battle of the boards.
State hit on 17 of its 23 field goals in the paint as the Bulldogs registered a 34-24 paint points advantage.
As a team, the Bulldogs connected on 23-of-58 from the floor (35.8 percent), 5-of-15 from three-point territory (33.3 percent) and 13-of-26 from the free throw line (50.0 percent).
Conversely, Ole Miss was 19-of-53 on its shot attempts (35.8 percent), hit 4-of-17 of its triples (23.5 percent) and were 12-of-17 at the charity stripe (70.6 percent).

PLAYER NOTES

Tolu Smith

Paced the starters with 12 points on 5-of-7 shooting, coupled with five rebounds.
The 12 points pulled Smith to an even 1,000 for his career.
State is 11-0 when Smith reaches double digit points this season.
Amassed 10-plus points for the 47th time in his career
Started 65 of his 66 career outings.

Eric Reed Jr.

Scored all nine points during the second half.
Knocked down multiple three-pointers in four of his last six outings and for the 42nd time during his career.
Pulled down a season's best and a career-high tying eight rebounds.
Five of his eight boards came on the offensive glass.
Started 66 of 72 career outings between MSU and Southeast Missouri.

D.J. Jeffries

Tallied six points, alongside a team-leading eight rebounds and a career-best four steals.
Led the Bulldogs on the glass in seven outings this season and 11 times over his career.
Collected multiple steals in five games in 2022-23 and for the 21st time in his career.
Pulled to within 79 points from reaching 1,000 in his career
Started in 46 of 49 career games at State.

Cameron Matthews

Stuffed the stats sheet with five points, five rebounds and a career-high tying five assists.
Marked the sixth time this season and 25th career outing of 5+ rebounds.
The Bulldogs are 6-0 when Matthews grabs five or more rebounds.

Dashawn Davis

Added four points, two assists and two steals.
Tallied multiple steals four times this season and 17 times over his career.
Connected for at least one trey in 11 of his 12 appearances this season.

Bench

The Bulldogs have outscored their opponents in bench points during 11 of their 15 games. State dialed up a 28-12 advantage over the Rebels.
Will McNair set a season-high in points for the second time over the last three games.
He pumped in 13 points on 5-of-7 from the floor and was 2-of-3 at the foul line.
McNair Jr. equaled a season-high with seven rebounds.
Six of his seven boards came on the defensive end.
Marked the seventh time this season and 33rd time over his career with 5+ rebounds.
Shakeel Moore and KeShawn Murphy both added seven points apiece.
Moore notched five of his seven points during the second 20 minutes.
He garnered three assists and two steals.
Recorded multiple steals in 37 of 72 career games, 26 of those 37 occasions are at State.
Notched 10 of his 18 career games of 3+ assists against SEC opponents.

Postgame Notes: MSU vs. Ole Miss

Players Mentioned

Dashawn Davis

D.J. Jeffries

Cameron Matthews

Shakeel Moore

KeShawn Murphy

Eric Reed Jr.

Tolu Smith III

Mississippi State University Athletics

Postgame Notes: MSU vs. Ole Miss

Players Mentioned

Dashawn Davis

D.J. Jeffries

Cameron Matthews

Shakeel Moore

KeShawn Murphy

Eric Reed Jr.

Tolu Smith III

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