Postgame Notes: MSU vs. Florida

TEAM NOTES

Mississippi State grinded its way and won it in the closing seconds of overtime to capture a 69-68 triumph over Florida during Thursday's SEC Tournament Second Round at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville.
The Bulldogs advance to face top-seed and fourth-ranked Alabama in Friday's quarterfinal action. Tip time is set for 12 p.m. CT televised by ESPN.
The Maroon and White have won four of its last six meetings over the Gators dating back to the 2018-19 season. The Bulldogs also improved to 3-2 in SEC Tournament matchups versus Florida.
State improves its record to 21-11 overall. The 21 wins by Chris Jans is a program record for a first-year head coach.
The Bulldogs moved to 3-1 in overtime games this season and to 3-5 in overtime games at the SEC Tournament.
Jans became the third MSU first-year coach to win their first SEC Tournament game. He joins Rick Stansbury (1998-99) and Rick Ray (2012-13).
The Bulldogs have won their last six SEC Tournament opening games.
State controlled the battle on the glass behind 18 offensive rebounds en route to a 46-35 rebounding advantage. The Bulldogs have won 17 of 21 games when outrebounding their opponent this season.
State hit on 19 of its 25 field goals inside the paint to register a 38-26 edge in paint points.
The 18 offensive rebounds enabled the Bulldogs to score 14 of the game's 23 points on second-chance opportunities.
State outrebounded its opponent by a +11 margin which marked the 8th time this season that the Bulldogs have won the battle of the boards by double figures.
State handed out 17 assists on its 25 filed goals. The 17 assists tied for the 7th most for the Bulldogs during a SEC Tournament.
State raced out to a 7-2 lead during the contest's opening 3:02. Shakeel Moore got the Bulldogs going with five early points.
Ahead 17-15 at the 12:20 mark, State went on a 14-2 run to take their largest lead, 31-17, with 6:23 remaining. The flurry was capped by a Dashawn Davis triple and a Tolu Smith free throw.
The Bulldogs took a 36-26 lead going into halftime. Moore tallied 12 of his 13 points during the opening 20 minutes.
Florida started the second half with 16 of the contest's opening 19 points over a 7:02 stretch. Riley Kugel gave the Gators a 42-39 edge with 13:12 to go.
The two teams stayed within a single possession of each other until State went up 57-51 with 1:54 left after a Smith layup.
The Gators answered with a pair of Myreon Jones' treys down the stretch to knot the score at 57-57 and send the game into overtime.
State scored the first five points of the extra session on a Smith old school three-point play and a Cameron Matthews dunk.
Florida charged back and took a 67-66 lead on Niels Lane layup with 11 seconds on the clock. State countered as Davis found Smith for the game-winning layup with 4.1 seconds remaining. The Gators had a Jones three-pointer misfire as State emerged with the win.
As a team, the Bulldogs hit on 25-of-64 from the floor (39.1 percent), 2-of-14 from beyond the three-point line (14.3 percent) and a 17-of-28 clip from the foul line (60.7 percent).
Conversely, Florida was 25-of-62 on its field goal attempts (40.3 percent), was 8-of-35 on its triples (22.9 percent) and 10-of-17 at the charity stripe (58.8 percent).

PLAYER NOTES

Tolu Smith

Led the team in scoring with a career-high 28 points coupled with 12 rebounds and a season's best 3 steals.
The 28 points ties him with Dontae' Jones for the second-most in a SEC Tournament game in program history. Jones accomplished the feat against No. 1 Kentucky during the 1996 SEC Tournament finals.
The 28 points allowed Smith to pass Marckell Patterson (1999-2000-01-02) for 30th place in MSU history, up to 1,180 career points in Maroon and White.
Extended his current streak to a career-long 16 straight games in double figures.
Averaged 17.9 points and 9.3 rebounds per game over the 16-game run.
Notched 12 of his 18 outings of 20+ points versus SEC opponents.
Collected nine double-doubles over the 16-game run and has 24 career double-doubles.
Becomes the first player in school history to record three career double-doubles at the SEC Tournament.
Turned in his 10th career game of 20+ points and 10+ rebounds.
The 12 rebounds are tied for the fourth-most by a MSU player in a SEC Tournament game. The last player to grab 12 rebounds was Tolu Smith versus South Carolina last season.
The 12 rebounds also allowed Smith to eclipse Lawrence Roberts (2004-05) and move into 20th place on MSU's career rebounds list.
The 10 free throws made were a career-high and equaled the second-most made in program history during a SEC Tournament game. The last player to hit 10 foul shots was Barry Stewart versus No. 20 LSU during the 2009 semifinals.
Started in 82 of 83 career games at State.

Shakeel Moore

The second Bulldog in double figures with 13 points, dished out 4 assists, and grabbed 3 rebounds.
Over his last 15 games, Moore has accounted for 12.6 PPG. He has amassed double figures in seven of last nine, nine of last 12 and 11 of last 15 outings.
Has collected 26 of his 31 career games with 10+ points in Maroon and White. Mississippi State and NC State are a combined 22-9 when Moore scores in double figures.
Passed out multiple assists for the 19th time this season and the 53rd time in his career.
Made 42 of his 44 career starts in Maroon and White.

Dashawn Davis

Tucked away nine points, a season-high eight assists and added two steals.
Added 9 points to the scoring total, dished out 8 assists, and grabbed 2 steals.
Distributed 5+ assists on 28 occasions during his career.

D.J. Jeffries

Secured four points, seven rebounds, three steals and two assists.
His 23rd outing this season and 51st career game of 5+ rebounds.
His 10th performance this season and 26th career time with 2+ steals.
Multiple assists in 19 games this season and 58 career games.
Started 63 of 66 career games at State.

Cameron Matthews

Notched two points, eight rebounds and two assists.
Amassed 8.5 PPG, 6.6 RPG, 2.8 APG, and 1.6 SPG over his last 12 outings.
Came away with his 24th game this season and the 42nd occasion during his career with multiple assists.
Picked up 5+ rebounds in 21 games this season and 39 times in his career.

Bench

Tyler Stevenson paced State with six points off the bench.
His ninth outing of 5+ points in 2022-23.
Will McNair Jr. chipped in four points and four rebounds.
Shawn Jones Jr. finished with three points and three rebounds.
His lone bucket was a highlight reel dunk during overtime.
Jones Jr. has scored 6.2 PPG over his last six outings.
Eric Reed Jr. was a team-leading +14 over his 13 minutes of action.

Postgame Notes: MSU vs. Florida

Players Mentioned

Dashawn Davis

D.J. Jeffries

Shawn Jones Jr.

Cameron Matthews

Will McNair Jr.

Shakeel Moore

Eric Reed Jr.

Tolu Smith III

Tyler Stevenson

Mississippi State University Athletics

Postgame Notes: MSU vs. Florida

Players Mentioned

Dashawn Davis

D.J. Jeffries

Shawn Jones Jr.

Cameron Matthews

Will McNair Jr.

Shakeel Moore

Eric Reed Jr.

Tolu Smith III

Tyler Stevenson

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