Postgame Notes: MSU vs. No. 5 Tennessee

TEAM NOTES

Mississippi State battled its way to thrilling 77-72 triumph over No. 5 Tennessee to improve to 12-3 overall and 1-1 in SEC play.
It marked the fifth straight season that the Bulldogs have defeated a ranked SEC opponent. State also earned the program's first victory over an Associated Press Top 5 foe for the first time since a 54-49 win over No. 5 Oklahoma on December 28, 2002.
Ahead 16-14 at the 7:51 mark of the first half, the Bulldogs scored 19 of the last 27 points to build a 35-22 halftime advantage.
Tennessee worked its way back into the contest getting within single digits during the opening 1:54 of the second half and would draw even at 62-62 with 5:17 remaining.
All square at 72 apiece inside the final minute, Tolu Smith III put State up for good with a traditional three-point play with 14.7 seconds to go.
On the ensuing possession, Tennessee missed a game-tying three-point attempt. After an offensive rebound, Dashawn Davis stole the ball and found Cameron Matthews for a transition dunk to close out the five-point victory for State.
The Maroon and White ended a five-game losing streak to Tennessee. The Volunteers have been ranked inside the top 20 during 10 of the 11 meetings since the 2017-18 season.
In 98 halves over two seasons with Coach Jans at the helm, State has allowed 30 points or fewer on 53 occasions (54.1 percent) and limited the opposition to under a 35 percent shooting clip 32 times (32.7 percent).
The Bulldogs have won 10 of their 11 games this season and moved to 28-4 over the last two seasons under Coach Jans when leading at the half.
State improves to 18-5 over the last two seasons under Coach Jans at Humphrey Coliseum, and he improved to 85-16 during home games under over his eight-year coaching career.
The Maroon and White have registered 10-plus steals in three consecutive games, seven outings this season and on 19 occasions in two seasons under Coach Jans.
State outscored the Volunteers, 33-4, in bench points and has outscored its opponents in 13 of 15 outings this season. In those 13 aforementioned contests, the Bulldogs have outscored their opponents by a 464-177 margin.
Mississippi State connected for 18 of its 27 field goals on the interior and outscored the Volunteers in paint points, 36-32.
State drained 26-of-52 from the floor (50.0 percent), sank 6-of-18 from three-point territory (33.3 percent) and hit on 19-of-27 at the charity stripe (70.4 percent).
For the season, State has connected on 112 three-pointers which ties the 2010-11 squad for 5th-highest in program history through 15 games.
Conversely, Tennessee turned in a 27-for-59 shooting effort (45.8 percent), converted on an 8-for-29 mark on its three-pointers (27.6 percent) and produced a 10-for-16 clip from the free throw line (62.5 percent).

PLAYER NOTES

Tolu Smith III

Inserted into the starting five for the first time during the 2023-24 season and has started in 85 of his 88 career games at State.
Amassed a season's best 23 points going 7-of-10 from the floor and 9-of-12 at the foul line.
Racked up double figures in 68 of his 88 games at State.
Notched 13 of his 19 outings of 20-plus points versus SEC opponents.
The 23 points gives him 1,262 career points and moves him into 24th place on the program's all-time list.
Eclipsed Jerry Graves (1959-60-61) and Jack Bouldin (1970-71-72) on the scoring list during tonight's game.
Became the 8th player to score State's first points in 2023-24 courtesy of a layup.

D.J. Jeffries

Started 80 of 83 career games at State.
Chipped in 4 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists and a career-best 5 steals.
Tallied his 10th outing of the season and 63rd career outing with 5+ rebounds.
Marked his 3rd game of the season and 29th career performance of multiple steals.

Cameron Matthews

Started 48 of the team's 49 games over the last two seasons.
Provided 8 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals.
The 3 rebounds enabled him to become the 39th player with 500 career rebounds in program history.
Marked his 10th outing of the season with multiple steals.
Collected 35 of 53 games with 2+ assists and 27 of 46 games of 2+ steals during the 2022-23 and 2023-24 seasons.

Dashawn Davis

Started 43 consecutive games and 44 of 46 games at State that he's played in.
Tucked away 5 points, tied a season-high with 5 rebounds and dished out 4 assists.
Registered 5+ rebounds for the 2nd consecutive game and 10th time of his career.
Marked his 9th outing of the season with 4+ assists.

Shakeel Moore

Earned the nod in the starting five for the 7th straight game and made 51 of his 53 career starts while at State.
State improved to 6-1 with Moore as a starter this season.
Secured 4 points, 5 rebounds and 2 assists.
The 2nd time this season and the 21st time in his career with 5+ rebounds.
Moore's lone steal gives him 118 for his career and places him in 19th place tie with Jamont Gordon (2006-07-08) on the program's all-time list.

Bench

Josh Hubbard shined with 25 points, his 4th 20-plus point outing, off the bench this season.
The 4 games of 20-plus points off the bench matches Darryl Wilson's single-season mark from 1993-94 dating back over the last 35 seasons.
Produced double figures in 13 of 15 games this season.
Equaled a season's best with 5 three-pointers made, his third performance with 5 treys.
Amassed 227 total points which is 5th-most for a freshman in program history through 15 games and the most since Rickey Brown (1976-77).
Registered 43 of his 71 field goals from beyond the arc (60.6 percent).
Shawn Jones Jr. collected 6 points, 3 rebounds and 1 assist.
Finished with a team-best +16 plus/minus rating during tonight's contest.
Jimmy Bell Jr. tacked on 2 points, 3 rebounds and a block.

Mississippi State University Athletics

Postgame Notes: MSU vs. No. 5 Tennessee

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Players Mentioned

Jimmy Bell Jr.

Dashawn Davis

Josh Hubbard

D.J. Jeffries

Shawn Jones Jr.

Cameron Matthews

Shakeel Moore

Tolu Smith III

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