Postgame Notes: State vs. Ole MIss

TEAM NOTES

Mississippi State worked its way to its fourth straight win and knocked off Ole Miss, 83-71, to improve to 18-8 overall and 7-6 in SEC play.
The Bulldogs earned their fourth win in the last five outings over Ole Miss headed by a 3-1 mark under Coach Jans. Dating back to 2017-18, State has earned six consecutive victories when dropping the first meeting of the season to earn a regular season split.
Overall, the Bulldogs hold a 150-120 series advantage in one of the most-played series in the history of college basketball.
This season, State has won 13 of their 18 games by 10-plus points.
State is 11-2 this season and 23-6 over the last two seasons under Coach Jans in home games. Overall, Coach Jans is 90-17 in home games during his 8th season at the NCAA Division I level.
The Maroon and White earn their second comeback win of 2023-24 when trailing at the half with the other coming in a neutral-site contest against Northwestern. It marked the 25th time for Coach Jans over his 8-year coaching career to erase a halftime deficit.
The Bulldogs have won 10 of their 13 games under Coach Jans, while Coach Jans is 47-12 overall over his eight seasons at the NCAA Division I level in February games.
State and Ole Miss each had 34 rebounds which included 15 offensive rebounds apiece. Both teams ended the 12 points on second-chance opportunities.
A key for the Bulldogs was hitting 21 of their 27 field goals on the interior en route to outscoring Ole Miss, 42-24, in paint points.
Another key for State was firing off a dominate 49-11 advantage in bench points and have outscored its opponent in 17 outings this season. In those 17 aforementioned contests, the Bulldogs have outscored their opponents by a 592-213 margin.
All 18 of State's wins this season have come when the Bulldogs have eclipsed 60 points. The Maroon and White improved to 37-12 over the last two seasons when scoring 60 or more points under Coach Jans.
State has registered 10-plus steals in nine outings this season and on 21 occasions in two seasons under Coach Jans.
In 120 halves over the last two seasons with Coach Jans at the helm, State has allowed 30 points or fewer on 60 occasions (50.0 percent) and limited the opposition to under a 35 percent shooting clip 38 times (31.7 percent).
The Maroon and White improved to 5-1 this season and 10-2 over the last two seasons under Coach Jans when shooting 50.0 percent or higher.
State connected on 27-of-54 from the floor (50.0 percent), sank 6-of-14 from three-point territory (42.9 percent) and hit on 23-of-39 at the charity stripe (59.0 percent).
The Maroon and White improve to 5-0 this season and 7-1 over the last two seasons under Coach when making 20 or more free throws.
Conversely, Ole Miss turned in a 23-for-57 shooting effort (40.4 percent), sank 6-for-19 of its three-pointers (31.6 percent) and produced a 19-for-21 clip from the free throw line (90.5 percent).

PLAYER NOTES

Cameron Matthews

Started 59 of the team's 60 games over the last two seasons.
Stuffed the stat sheet with 11 points, 6 rebounds, 3 steals and 3 assists.
Marked his 12th game of the season in double figures with 20 of his 23 games with 10+ points coming over the last two seasons. State is 18-5 lifetime on those games.
Finished 8-for-12 from the free throw line which marks his 3rd outing of the season and 8th career outing with 5+ free throws.
The eight made foul shots are a career-high for Matthews.
Grabbed 5+ rebounds for the 21st outing in 2023-24.
Handed out 3+ dimes for the 13th time this season and 36th time of his career.
Grabbed 3+ steals for the 11th time this season and 26th time of his career.
Compiled of 43 of 61 games with multiple assists, 43 of 61 games of 5+ rebounds and 30 of 49 games of multiple steals have come during the 2022-23 and 2023-24 seasons.

Shakeel Moore

Made 62 of his 64 career starts while at State and has started the team's last 18 games.
Secured 12 points and 5 rebounds.
Produced double-digit points in six of his last seven games and in 12 of the 18 aforementioned starts this season.
Registered 39 of his 44 career games with double figures at State.
Mississippi State and North Carolina State improve to 30-14 when Moore scores 10+ points.
Secured 5+ rebounds for the 3rd outing of 2023-24 and 22nd career outing.
Marked his 6th outing of the season and 29th career outing of 5+ field goals made

Josh Hubbard

Earned the nod in the starting five for the 7th straight game.
Collected 5 points and 2 assists.
Amassed 380 total points which is 5th-most for a freshman in program history through 26 games and the most since Rickey Brown (1976-77).
Drained 70 of his 119 field goals from beyond the arc (58.8 percent).
Distributed multiple assists for the 13th time this season.

Jimmy Bell Jr.

Inserted into the starting five for the 15th time this year.
Started his 49th game over the last two seasons between Mississippi State and West Virginia. Overall, Bell Jr. has started in 113 of 141 career games.
Recorded 6 points, 4 rebounds and a steal.
Finished with a team-best +20 plus/minus rating during his time on the floor.

Shawn Jones Jr.

Registered the starting nod for the fourth straight game, the fifth time this season and the fifth time over his 50 career appearances.
State improves to 4-1 this season with Jones Jr. in the starting lineup.
Over the last 5 games, Jones Jr. is averaging 6.2 points per contest.

Bench

Tolu Smith III produced a team-leading 24 points, 18 coming during the first half, on 8-of-15 from the floor and hauled down 6 rebounds.
Secured 20+ points for the 5th time in 2023-24 and has amassed 17 of his 23 career outings of 20+ points against SEC opponents.
Notched double figures in 76 of 99 games at State.
Distributed multiple assists for the 5th time this and 36th time of his career.
Smith III's 8 made field goals movies into 13th-place tie with Gavin Ware (2013-14-15-16) on the program's field goals made list with 532 made baskets.
KeShawn Murphy compiled 12 points and 5 rebounds.
Secured his 3rd outing of the season and 5th career outing in double figures.
Led the bench in plus-minus points with a +17 rating.
The 12 points for Murphy are a SEC career-high in addition to the 2nd highest scoring outing of his career.
Recorded his 3rd game of the season and 5th game of his career with 5+ rebounds.
D.J. Jeffries tacked on 9 points, 2 rebounds and 2 assists.
Dished out multiple assists for the 12th outing of 2023-24 and 71st outing of his career.
Sank multiple three-pointers for the 5th time this season and 33rd time during his career.
Dashawn Davis tucked away 4 points, 3 assists and 3 steals.
Distributed 3+ assists for the 15th outing of 2023-24.
Secured multiple steals for the 12th time this season, whereas 30 of his 43 career games of 2+ steals have come during the 2022-23 and 2023-24 seasons.
Trey Fort returned to action for the first time since State's contest against No. 8 Auburn.

Mississippi State University Athletics

Postgame Notes: State vs. Ole MIss

Players Mentioned

Jimmy Bell Jr.

Dashawn Davis

Trey Fort

Josh Hubbard

D.J. Jeffries

Shawn Jones Jr.

Cameron Matthews

Shakeel Moore

KeShawn Murphy

Tolu Smith III

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