Postgame Notes: No. 22 State at No. 19 Ole Miss

TEAM NOTES

No. 22 Mississippi State dialed up a regular season sweep for the second time over the last three seasons under Coach Jans and battled its way to an 81-71 triumph at No. 19 Ole Miss at the Sandy and John Black Pavilion at Ole Miss.
The Bulldogs advanced to 18-7 overall and 6-6 in SEC action.
The Maroon and White have won both ranked versus ranked opponents versus Ole Miss.
State has won five of the six meetings under Coach Jans, eight of the last 10 meetings overall and possesses a 152-120 series advantage over the Rebels.
Four of State's six SEC wins have come on the road. The four SEC road wins are a program best dating back to the 2020-21 season.
The Maroon and White have posted an 18-2 record on the season against teams outside the Associated Press Top 10 this season.
Coach Jans amassed his 9th win against an AP Top 25 opponent which is the most for a State coach during his first three seasons. He is tied for second with Florida's Todd Golden and trails only Missouri's Dennis Gates for ranked wins for SEC coaches during their first three seasons at their respective schools.
State collected its 10th win over NCAA NET Quad 1 and Quad 2 opponents in addition to its 12th victory versus KenPom Top 100 opponents this season.
Trailing 31-27 with 3:33 left in the first half, State flipped the script with a 13-2 flurry to close the half en route to a 40-33 halftime advantage. The run was fueled by two treys from Claudell Harris Jr. and one courtesy of Riley Kugel.
The Bulldogs led the entire the second half and stretched its lead to as many as 19 points, 67-48, with 8:55 to go on a Shawn Jones Jr. fastbreak dunk.
State closed out the 10-point victory by hitting on 5-of-6 at the line inside the last 2:15.
The Bulldogs advanced to 14-1 this season and 48-6 over the last three seasons under Coach Jans when leading at halftime.
State is 8-1 in 2024-25 and 16-4 during the three seasons under Chris Jans when totaling at least 80 points.
The Bulldogs won the rebounding battle by a 48-36 margin and advanced to 12-2 this season and 46-14 under Coach Jans over the last three seasons when outrebounding its opponent.
In the two matchups with Ole Miss this season, State has outboarded the Rebels by a +34 margin.
The Bulldogs are 10-0 this season and 35-5 over the last three seasons under Coach Jans when holding their opponent to under a 40.0 percent shooting clip.
State advanced to 12-1 on the season and 50-8 over the last three seasons with Coach Jans at the helm when shooting a higher field goal percentage than its opponent.
The Bulldogs are 14-3 this season and 51-16 over the last three seasons under Coach Jans when shooting at least 40.0 percent.
State forced 11 turnovers and cashed in 15 of the game's 29 points off mistakes.
The Maroon and White has committed just 266 turnovers this season which shatters the program's lowest total through 25 games.
The Bulldogs fired in 19 of their 28 field goals on the interior en route to a 38-34 advantage in paint points.
State grabbed 14 offensive rebounds which led to 16 of the game's 28 points on second chance opportunities.
The Bulldogs had five players score in double figures and advanced to 7-1 on the season when accomplishing the feat. Coach Jans is also 21-1 over his nine seasons as a NCAA Division I coach when his teams accomplish the feat.
As a team, State connected on 28-of-65 from the field (43.1 percent), recorded a 7-of-27 clip from three point-territory (25.9 percent) and was 18-of-27 on its foul shots (66.7 percent).
The Bulldogs have now drained 206 three pointers this season which sits at third best in program history through 25 games.
The Maroon and White advanced to 9-2 this season and 32-8 over the past three seasons with Coach Jans at the helm when sinking at least 15 free throws.
Conversely, Ole Miss recorded a 23-for-60 shooting effort (38.3 percent), hit on a 6-for-24 three-point clip (25.0 percent) and knocked down 19-26 at the charity stripe (73.1 percent).

PLAYER NOTES

Josh Hubbard

Started his 39th consecutive game over the last two seasons.
Began the scoring with a three pointer from the wing.
Notched 14 points, five rebounds, four dimes and a block.
Collected double figures for a team-leading 24th time this season and for the 33rd time during his last 34 outings.
Recorded 1034 points for his career, which continues to build on the most points scored by a State player during their freshman and sophomore seasons in program history.
The 1034 points also are the fourth-most in program history through 60 career games.
Hubbard sits at 43rd place in program history for career scoring. He is two points away from passing Aric Holman (2016-17-18-19) for 42nd place.
Knocked down multiple triples in 22 of 25 games this season and in 51 of 60 career games.
His two treys bring his career total to 187, which ties him with Quinndary Weatherspoon (2016-17-18-19) for 8th place.
Buried at least one trey in 38 straight games dating back to the Georgia game on 02/07/2024.
The 38-game run is the 2nd longest streak in program history. He is two games away from breaking the program's record held by Darryl Wilson in 1994-95 and 1995-96.
Sank all six of his foul shots.

Riley Kugel

Made his sixth start of the season and his first since the McNeese game on 12/14.
Added 11 points along with a season-high four steals, three assists and three boards.
State is 10-2 this season when Kugel reaches double figures.
Swiped multiple steals for the seventh time this season and the 19th in his career.
Dished out multiple assists for the 8th time this season and his 31st career outing.

RJ Melendez

Made his 19th start in State's last 20 games and his 46th start in 115 career games.
Provided a team-leading 17 points to go along with five rebounds and a steal.
The 17 points are his third-highest scoring output in a State uniform.
Notched double figures for the 12th time this season the 40th outing of his career.
State is 9-3 this season and Melendez's teams are 26-14 when he scores 10+ points.
Grabbed at least five boards for the 10th time this season and the 32nd time in his career.

Cameron Matthews

Started in 91 of the team's last 94 games over the last three seasons under Coach Jans.
Competed in his school-record 158th game.
Added six points, tied a team-high eight rebounds, four dimes, two steals and a block.
The eight rebounds enabled him to bring his career total to 814 which propels him past Abdul Ado (2018-19-20-21) for 10th all time.
Registered a +9 plus/minus rating to bring his season total to +191 and his three-year total to +661 under Coach Jans.
Tallied a positive rating in 19 of 25 games this season and 70 of 94 games under Coach Jans.
Brought his career total to 254 steals as he continues to build on his school record which he set during the McNeese game on 12/14.
Had two or more assists in 22 out of 25 games this season and in 91 career outings.
Grabbed at least five boards in 20 out of 25 games this season and in 87 career games.
Swiped multiple steals in 20 out of 25 outings this season and in 74 career games.

Michael Nwoko

Made his 22nd straight start and his 24th career start between State and Miami over the last two seasons.
Came away with seven points coupled with three boards, a steal and a block in the effort.

BENCH NOTES

State outscored Ole Miss in bench points by a 24-23 margin.
The Bulldogs have won the battle of the bench points in 17 of 25 games this season.
Claudell Harris Jr. scored all 10 of his points in the first half while going 2-2 from three.
State is 11-2 when Harris Jr. scores 10+ points this season.
Drained a three-pointer in 18 consecutive games.
Knocked down multiple treys in 16 out of 25 games this season and in 75 career outings.
KeShawn Murphy scored 10 points and tied a team high with eight rebounds. He also tacked on two assists and two blocks.
Garnered double-digit points in eight of the last nine games, 15 outings this season and in 21 career games.
State is 11-4 this season and 16-5 over the last three seasons when Murphy reaches double figures.
Chipped in 13 of his 21 outings with multiple assists and nine of his 12 performances with multiple blocks this season.
Shawn Jones Jr. added four points, four rebounds, two rejections and a steal.
Impacted the game with a +22 plus/minus rating.
Recorded his 3rd outing this season and his 7th career game with multiple blocks.
Dellquan Warren added two rebounds and an assist in the effort.

Mississippi State University Athletics

Postgame Notes: No. 22 State at No. 19 Ole Miss

Players Mentioned

Cameron Matthews

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