Postgame Notes: State vs. Utah

TEAM NOTES

For the fourth consecutive season, Mississippi State moved to 4-0 as the Bulldogs dialed up a 78-73 comeback victory over Utah during Sunday's Mid-South Showdown at the Landers Center in Southaven, Mississippi.
The last time the Maroon and White started 4-0 in four straight seasons was in 1970-71, 1971-72, 1972-73 and 1973-74.
Coach Jans is the second coach in State history to start 4-0 in each of his first three seasons while at State. The other is Kermit Davis Sr. in 1970-71, 1971-72 and 1972-73.
State has won all three meetings with Utah dating back to the 1994-95 season and all three games the Bulldogs have played in the Landers Center.
The Maroon and White began the second half by scoring 20 of the stanza's opening 25 points after trailing by a 39-28 margin at halftime. State ultimately won the second 20 minutes by a 50-34 scoreline.
Coach Jans has registered 27 halftime comeback wins over his nine seasons as a Division I head coach. He has accomplished the feat seven times while at State.
The 11-point halftime hole is the largest deficit erased for Coach Jans while at State, and the second-largest for Jans as a head coach.
The last time the Maroon and White overcame a double-digit halftime margin was against No. 13 Missouri on 01/05/2021. State turned a 39-27 deficit into a 78-63 victory.
State had four players secure double figures for the 18th time over the last three seasons and improved to 14-4 when accomplishing the feat with Coach Jans at the helm.
The Bulldogs improved to 17-1 during the month of November and have posted a 22-8 mark in day games under Coach Jans.
State has dialed up wins in 27 of 31 games versus non-SEC opponents during the Jans era.
The Bulldogs have posted a 9-3 mark versus fellow non-conference Power 6 basketball schools (ACC, BIG EAST, Big Ten, Big 12, former Pac-12) under Coach Jans. Eight of the nine wins have come on the road or neutral floors with the Bulldogs posting an average 9.4 margin-of-victory in those contests.
Overall, State is 14-5 in neutral site games over the last three seasons under Coach Jans.
The Maroon and White forced 13 turnovers and cashed in 19 of the game's 29 points off takeaways.
State won the battle of the boards for the 49th time in 73 games under Coach Jans and improved to 37-12 when accomplishing the feat.
The Bulldogs claimed the rebounding battle, 45-41, as State moved to 24-6 when grabbing at least 40 boards during the Coach Jans era.
State grabbed 17 offensive rebounds and won second-chance point opportunities, 18-11.
As a team, State connected on 24-for-67 from the field (35.8 percent), notched a 6-of-25 clip from three-point territory (24.0 percent) and sank 24-for-33 at the foul line (72.7 percent).
The Bulldogs connected for a season's best 24 free throws, which is tied for the second-most under Coach Jans.
State moves to 8-1 with Coach Jans at the helm when the Bulldogs knock down at least 20 foul shots.
On the other hand, Utah recorded a 28-of-62 shooting effort (45.2 percent), hit 9-for-28 of its three-pointers (32.1 percent) and knocked down 8-of-14 at the charity stripe (57.1 percent).

PLAYER NOTES

Josh Hubbard

Started in his 20th consecutive game over the last two seasons.
Fired in 20 of his game-leading 23 points after halftime where he was 8-for-16 from the field, 5-of-9 on three pointers and 2-of-2 on foul shots.
Notched his 16th outing of 20-plus points and registered double figures for the 34th time in 39 career outings.
Hubbard now has 685 points in his career, which is third in school history for freshmen and sophomores through 39 career games. He trials only Ray White (695 points) and Rickey Brown (692 points) from the 1970s.
Buried at least one trey in 17 consecutive games dating back to the Georgia game on 02/07/2024.
Drained at least five three pointers for the 10th outing of his career and canned multiple trifectas for the 33rd time in 39 career games.
Led State in scoring for the 27th time in 39 career games and for the 16th time over his 20 career starts.
Through four games, Hubbard is shooting an efficient 32-of-54 (59.2 percent) from the field and a healthy 18-of-30 clip (60.0 percent) on three-pointers.
Dished out multiple assists for the 21st outing of his career.

Claudell Harris Jr.

Made his second start at State and his 66th of his career.
Secured five points to go along with three assists, two rebounds and a steal.
Marked his 67th career game with multiple dimes.

Shawn Jones Jr.

Made his 11th start of his career and has been inserted into the starting five in 10 of the team's last 17 outings dating back to the Georgia game on 02/07/2024.
Hauled in three rebounds with a rejection.

Cameron Matthews

Started in 71 of the team's last 73 games spanning a three-season span.
Opened the scoring for the Bulldogs on a layup.
Impacted the game with a team-high plus/minus rating of +9.
Filled the stat sheet with 12 points coupled with four boards, four assists, two steals and a block.
Posted 24 of his 27 outings with 10+ points over the last three seasons.
State improves to 20-7 when Matthews scores double-digit points.
Sank 5-of-6 at the line in the final two minutes and 8-for-10 overall for the game.
The eight free throws made for Matthews ties his career-high.
Swiped multiple steals for the 58th game of his career.
The two steals give Matthews 201 for his career, which ties him with Quinndary Weatherspoon (2016-17-18-19) for 3rd place in program history.

Michael Nwoko

Made his 2nd start as a Bulldog and his 3rd of his career.
Grabbed a career-high 11 rebounds fueled by five offensive boards.
Secured a career-best three blocks and has registered a block in all four games at State.
Dished out multiple assists for the first time in his career.

Bench

State's bench outscored Utah by a 36-30 margin.
KeShawn Murphy led the bench brigade with his first career double-double by tying his career-high of 18 points and achieving a new career-best of 14 rebounds.
He also scored 18 points versus North Texas on 12/17/2023 in Tupelo, Mississippi.
State improves to 7-1 when Murphy scores double-digit points.
Notched a career-high in free throws by sinking 8-of-10 at the charity stripe.
Blocked multiple shots for the 5th time of his career.
Riley Kugel recorded 12 points as well as six boards with a dime and a takeaway.
Reached double-figures for the second time in three games and the 31st time of his career.
Distributed multiple assists in 23 career games.
RJ Melendez chipped in six points while snagging two boards.
Kanye Clary grabbed one rebound as well as an assist and a steal.

Mississippi State University Athletics

Postgame Notes: State vs. Utah

Players Mentioned

Cameron Matthews

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