Postgame Notes: No. 14 State at Carolina

TEAM NOTES

No. 14 Mississippi State fought its way to a 65-60 overtime win over South Carolina on Saturday afternoon at Colonial Life Arena.
The Bulldogs improved to 16-4 overall and 4-3 in SEC action.
It marked the 9th time in program history, and the first time since 2011-12 that State has started a season with a 16-4 record or better through 20 games.
State swept the regular season series from the Gamecocks for the second time during the three seasons under Coach Jans.
The Bulldogs have posted a 12-5 record against South Carolina since 2017-18. Overall, the Maroon and White hold a 31-19 advantage in the all-time series.
State improved to 2-0 this season and 5-2 over the last three seasons under Coach Jans during overtime games. Overall, Coach Jans has posted a 9-3 mark in OT games over his nine-year coaching career at NCAA Division I level.
The Bulldogs have picked up four true road wins before the month of February for the first time since the 2007-08 season.
State advanced to 9-4 versus NCAA NET Quad 1 and Quad 2 opponents on the season. Seven of the nine victories have come on the road or on a neutral floor.
The Bulldogs had five players score in double figures for the seventh time this season and have won six of seven outings when accomplishing the feat.
State advanced to 12-0 this season and 46-5 over the last three seasons under Chris Jans when leading at the half.
State is 5-0 this season and 26-8 over the last three seasons under Coach Jans during day games. Day games are considered contests that tipoff before 5 p.m. local time.
The Bulldogs never trailed during today's contest. The game was tied on three occasions, the latest at 57-57 with 2:04 left in overtime, before the Bulldogs ripped off eight of the game's last 11 points.
Josh Hubbard, Claudell Harris Jr. and Riley Kugel sealed the victory by going 8-for-8 from the free throw line over the last 56 seconds of the extra period.
The Hubbard-Harris Jr.-RJ Melendez-Cameron Matthews and Michael Nwoko combination started its 10th consecutive game, its 11th overall outing of 2024-25 and advanced to 8-3 on the season.
The Bulldogs advanced to 10-0 this season and 48-7 in the last three seasons with Coach Jans at the helm when shooting a higher field goal percentage than their opponent.
State is 14-1 this season and 51-14 over the last three seasons under Coach Jans when shooting 40.0 percent or higher.
The Bulldogs also are 9-0 this season and 34-5 under Jans in the last three seasons when holding their opponent to under a 40 percent shooting clip.
The Maroon and White fired in 14 of their 23 field goals on the interior en route to a 28-22 advantage in paint points.
State tallied 10 steals to bring its season total to 192 which sits at fourth place in program history through 20 games.
The Bulldogs are averaging 80.7 points per game, which is good enough for fifth in program history through 20 games.
As a team, State connected on 23-of-55 from the field (41.8 percent), recorded a 6-26 clip from three point-territory (23.1 percent) and sank 13-of-18 at the foul line (72.2 percent).
The Bulldogs have now drained 171 three pointers this season which sits at third best in program history through 20 games.
Conversely, South Carolina recorded a 17-for-58 shooting effort (29.3 percent), misfired on 16 of their 20three-point attempts (20.0 percent) and knocked down 22-29 at the charity stripe (75.9 percent).

PLAYER NOTES

Josh Hubbard

Started his 34th consecutive game over the last two seasons.
Began the scoring on an up-and-under triple.
Recorded 12 points and five assists.
State is 15-4 in 2024-25 and 33-16 over the last two seasons when he notches 10+ points.
Notched double figures for the 19 times this season and in 28 of his last 29 games.
Compiled 923 points for his career, which is seventh-most in program history through 55 career games at State.
Moved to within 77 points of becoming the 45th player in program history with 1,000.
State is 6-0 this season and 6-1 over the last two seasons when Hubbard has 5+ assists.
Distributed multiple assists in 18 of 20 games this season.
Knocked down multiple triples in 17 of 20 games this season and in 46 of 55 career games.
His two treys bring his career total to 167 which sits 9th in program history. He passed Fred Thomas (2013-14-15-16) and Tony Watts (1989-90-91-92) during today's contest.
Buried at least one trey in 33 straight games dating back to the Georgia game on 02/07/2024. The 33-game run is the 2nd longest streak in program history.

Claudell Harris Jr.

Made his 10th consecutive start, his 13th start this season and the 77th start of his career.
63 of his 77 starts have come over his last three seasons.
Added 11 points, two rebounds, two assists and two steals.
Notched his 12th game this season and his 83rd career outing in double figures.
State improved to 10-2 when Harris Jr. scores 10+ points.
Dished out multiple assists for the 9th time this season and in his 72nd career outing.
Swiped multiple steals in 6 games this season and for the 30th time in his career.

RJ Melendez

Made his 14th start in State's last 15 games and his 41st start in 110 career games.
Provided three points to go along with tying a team-high seven boards.
Grabbed at least five rebounds for the 31st time in his career.
Impacted the game with a team-leading +9 plus/minus ratio.

Cameron Matthews

Started in 86 of the team's last 89 games over the last three seasons under Coach Jans.
Competed in his school-record 153rd game.
Added five assists, equaled a season's best with three blocks along and tacked on two steals.
State is 7-0 this season and 15-4 over his five-year career when Matthews has 5+ assists.
Brought his career total to 244 steals as he continues to build on his school record which he set during the McNeese game on 12/14.
Collected multiple steals for the 16th time this season and in 70 career games.

Michael Nwoko

Made his 17th straight start and his 19th career start between State and Miami over the last two seasons.
Recorded a SEC career-high 11 points in addition to four rebounds and a steal.
The 11 points are Nwoko's highest scoring output against a conference opponent and match his third-highest career scoring performance.
All six of his career games in double figures have come in Maroon and White this season.
State is 4-2 when Nwoko compiles 10 or more points.

BENCH NOTES

Riley Kugel and KeShawn Murphy did the heavy lifting off State's bench and scored all 28 of the team's bench points during today's game.
Kugel provided a team-leading 15 points coupled with two rebounds and two steals.
Garnered double-digit points in six of his last eight appearances where he has amassed 13.6 points per game over those eight outings.
Marked his 10th performance of the season with 10+ points, and his 39th career game in double figures.
State advanced to 8-2 this season when Kugel scores in double figures.
Knocked down multiple treys in 30 career games.
Multiple steals for the 4th time this season and 16th occasion of his career.
Cashed in all four of his free throws, all coming inside the final minute of overtime.
Murphy tucked away 13 points, two rebounds, two steals and two blocks.
State is 9-1 this season and 14-2 over the last three seasons when he scores 10+ points.
Seven of his 10 career outings with multiple rejections have come this season.
Five of his seven efforts with 2+ steals have come this season.
Shawn Jones Jr. impacted the game with a career-high and team-best tying seven rebounds.

Mississippi State University Athletics

Postgame Notes: No. 14 State at Carolina

Players Mentioned

Cameron Matthews

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