Postgame Notes: No. 14 State vs. No. 4 Alabama

TEAM NOTES

No. 14 Mississippi State was handed an 88-84 defeat by No. 4 Alabama in a back-and-forth affair that featured seven ties and 11 lead changes on Wednesday night.
The Bulldogs are now 16-5 overall and 4-4 in SEC action. State's 16-5 mark through 21 games is the program's best start since 2011-12.
Four of State's five losses have come against Associated Press Top 10 opponents.
Alabama has won the last seven and 10 of the last 11 in the series going back to 2020-21 and holds an all-time series edge of 136-78.
The Crimson Tide have been ranked in all but one of those meetings highlighted by a top 10 mark on six occasions.
After being down 59-50 at the 14:17 mark of the second half, the Bulldogs ripped off 15 of the next 20 points to grab a 65-64 edge with 10:14 remaining.
At the under 4-minute media timeout, the score was knotted at 80-80. The Crimson Tide went ahead for good on a Grant Nelson corner three-pointer.
State pulled within one point on multiple occasions down the stretch and was unable to regain the lead as the Bulldogs misfired on three of their last four shot attempts.
The Bulldogs fell to 9-5 versus NCAA NET Quad 1 and Quad 2 opponents on the season.
The Josh Hubbard-Claudell Harris Jr.-RJ Melendez-Cameron Matthews and Michael Nwoko combination started its 11th consecutive game, its 12th overall outing of 2024-25 and fell to 8-4 on the season.
The Bulldogs fell to 10-1 this season and 48-8 in the last three seasons with Coach Jans at the helm when shooting a higher field goal percentage than their opponent.
State is 6-1 this season and 17-5 over the last three seasons under Coach Jans when shooting 50.0 percent or higher.
State fired in 20 of its 33 buckets on the interior en route to a 40-24 edge in paint points. The Bulldogs are 8-1 this season and 21-7 under Coach Jans when scoring 40+ in the paint.
The Bulldogs got out in transition and converted 13 of the game's 19 fastbreak points.
State tallied 11 steals to bring its season total to 203 which sits at third place in program history through 21 games.
The Bulldogs are averaging 80.8 points per game, which is good enough for fifth in program history through 21 games.
State has committed 218 turnovers which shatters the program's lowest total through 21 games. The Bulldogs have had nine games with single digit turnovers this season and fell to 14-5 under Coach Jans over the last three seasons when accomplishing the feat.
As a team, State connected on 33-of-66 from the field (50.0 percent), recorded an 8-25 clip from three point-territory (32.0 percent) and sank 10-of-16 at the foul line (62.5 percent).
The Bulldogs have now drained 178 three pointers this season which sits at third best in program history through 21 games.
Conversely, Alabama recorded a 31-for-63 shooting effort (49.2 percent), recorded a 15-for-31 three-point clip (48.4 percent) and knocked down 11-20 at the charity stripe (55.0 percent).

PLAYER NOTES

Josh Hubbard

Started his 35th consecutive game over the last two seasons.
Exploded for 25 of his career-high 38 points during the second half. The 25 points are the most by a State player during a half this season.
The 38 points are the most for a State player during the 2000s and the most dating back to Jeff Malone's 39-point effort against Alabama on 01/31/1983.
Drained 14-of-28 from the field and equaled his season's best with six three-pointers.
State is 5-2 this season when Hubbard notches 20+ points.
Notched double figures for the 20th time this season and for the 29th time during his last 30 outings.
Compiled 961 points for his career, which is fifth-most in program history through 56 career games.
Moved to within 39 points of becoming the 45th player in program history with 1,000.
Distributed multiple assists in 19 of 21 games this season.
Buried five-plus treys for the fourth time this season and the 12th occasion of his career.
Knocked down multiple triples in 18 of 21 games this season and in 47 of 56 career games.
His six treys bring his career total to 173 which sits 9th in program history.
Buried at least one trey in 34 straight games dating back to the Georgia game on 02/07/2024. The 34-game run is the 2nd longest streak in program history.

Claudell Harris Jr.

Made his 11th consecutive start, his 14th start this season and the 78th start of his career.
64 of his 78 starts have come over his last three seasons.
Added eight points, four rebounds, a steal and a block.
Notched his 15th game this season and 74th career game with multiple triples.

RJ Melendez

Made his 15th start in State's last 16 games and his 42nd start in 111 career games.
Provided three points to go along with four boards, a dime and a steal.

Cameron Matthews

Started in 87 of the team's last 90 games over the last three seasons under Coach Jans.
Competed in his school-record 154th game.
Added four points, six rebounds, four dimes, three steals and two rejections.
Brought his career total to 247 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 17th time this season and in 71 career games.
Had two or more assists in 18 out of 21 games this season and in 87 career games.
Swatted multiple shots in his 20th career outing.

Michael Nwoko

Made his 18th straight start and his 20th career start between State and Miami over the last two seasons.
Began the scoring on a putback dunk.
Recorded seven points coupled with six rebounds, two assists and a steal.
Grabbed at least five rebounds for the 16th time in his career.

BENCH NOTES

KeShawn Murphy scored 18 of the 24 bench points for State.
Also added six rebounds, three assists, a takeaway and a block.
The 18 points matched his second-highest scoring effort and his most points during a SEC game when he tallied against No. 21 Ole Miss on 01/18.
Garnered double-digit points in 11 outings this season and in 17 career games.
State is 9-2 this season and 14-3 over the last three seasons when Murphy reaches double figures.
Grabbed at least five boards in 16 out of 21 games this season.
Riley Kugel added two points to go along with three rebounds, three assists, three steals and two blocks.
Dished out multiple assists for the 29th time in his career.
Recorded multiple steals for the 5th time this season and 17th occasion of his career.
Rejected multiple shots for the second time in his career.
Shawn Jones Jr. tacked on four points along with two rebounds and an assist.
Dellquan Warren chipped in two assists, a block and a steal.

Mississippi State University Athletics

Postgame Notes: No. 14 State vs. No. 4 Alabama

Players Mentioned

Cameron Matthews

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