Setting The Standard
January 04, 2025 | Men's Basketball
STARKVILLE – Mississippi State's dominance had been on display at times during the non-conference portion of the schedule.
Chris Jans' squad shined in a 90-57 victory over then No. 18 Pitt in early December and dazzled again a few weeks later by downing Memphis, who was ranked 21st at the time, by 13 points on the road.
But the way the now 17th-ranked Bulldogs opened Southeastern Conference play on Saturday may have been their best performance to date. MSU obliterated South Carolina 85-50 with the 35-point win serving as the program's second-largest margin of victory in SEC action ever.
"We came out hot and set a standard for Mississippi State basketball," said forward KeShawn Murphy.
That standard was established essentially from the start. State spurted out to a 15-2 lead in the first 7:25 and kept the Gamecocks from scoring double figures until just over five minutes remaining in the first half.
By then, the Bulldogs already held an 18-point advantage.
"We were focused on stopping them and getting consecutive stops," said guard Claudell Harris Jr. "We were making sure they were only getting one attempt at the rim, turning them over and rebounding. We just stayed consistent with that."
However instead of resting on its laurels, Mississippi State stayed on the offensive and closed out the opening half on a 10-0 run. An exuberant bunch of Bulldogs headed to the locker room with a 43-18 lead and were still hungry for more.
"After the first half was over, we did our best to try and scrap the first half and start 0-0," Harris said. "We came out with the same intentions and the same dominance, and we were able to do that."
The 33-point lead at the half was the largest in an SEC game in almost 22 years and the 18 points allowed was the stingiest in a conference game during Jans' tenure.
Perhaps the most impressive aspect of the opening half is that MSU built its lofty lead with its leading scorer, Josh Hubbard, on the bench for the final eight minutes after picking up his second foul.
Despite the early foul trouble, Hubbard still found a way to lead the Bulldogs with 21 points by the end of the game followed by Harris' 17 points and a dozen each off the bench from Murphy and Riley Kugel.
Saturday might have been the most complete game Murphy has played in his collegiate career. The 6-foot-10, 230-pound redshirt junior also grabbed eight rebounds, added a career-high four blocks, dished out three assists and provided a steal in 25 minutes all while shooting 6 of 8 from the floor.
"I still feel like I've got more in the tank to give on defense and offense," Murphy said. "I do feel like this was an all-around game for me, but I was just out there having fun."
There was plenty of fun to be had by Murphy, his teammates, coaches and more than 8,000 Maroon and White clad fans inside Humphrey Coliseum on Saturday as State improved to 13-1 on the year.
And although the Bulldogs held South Carolina to just 2 of 19 from 3-point range and 29.1 percent shooting overall, their best basketball could be still in front of them.
"The crazy thing is, I still feel like we've got more in the tank," Hubbard said. "I still feel like we haven't played our best defense yet."