Postgame Notes: No. 21 State vs. No. 7 Texas A&M

TEAM NOTES

No. 21 Mississippi State dialed up back-to-back Associated Press Top 25 during consecutive SEC games for the first time since 1994-95 as the Bulldogs dialed up a convincing 70-54 triumph over No. 7 Texas A&M on Tuesday evening at Humphrey Coliseum.
The Bulldogs advanced to 19-7 overall and 7-6 in SEC action.
Coach Jans amassed his 10th win against an AP Top 25 opponent which builds on his program record for a State coach during their first three seasons. He's now tied with Missouri's Dennis Gates for the most ranked wins for active SEC coaches during their first three seasons at their respective schools.
State collected its 11th win over NCAA NET Quad 1 and Quad 2 opponents in addition to its 13th victory versus KenPom Top 100 opponents this season.
Tonight's win tied the overall series with the Aggies at 10-10. It also marked the first ranked versus ranked matchup during the all-time series.
Leading 35-34 with 17:15 left in the second half, State ripped off a 9-0 flurry to take a 44-34 advantage with 12:13 remaining. The run was fueled by a trey from Josh Hubbard along with jumpers courtesy of R.J. Melendez and KeShawn Murphy.
Texas A&M would trim the deficit down to four points on multiple occasions, the latest at 46-42 at the 9:04 mark. Claudell Harris Jr. canned multiple treys, and Michael Nwoko would add a fastbreak layup to get the lead back to double figures.
The Bulldogs piled up 17 steals which is a program record against a SEC opponent. The 17 steals also are a single-game record for a team led by Chris Jans.
For the season, State has ripped away 248 steals which is the most in program history through 26 games.
State buried seven of its nine treys during the second half. Five of the seven triples were from Harris Jr. and Hubbard.
The Bulldogs are 11-0 this season and 36-5 over the last three seasons under Coach Jans when holding their opponent to under a 40.0 percent shooting clip.
State advanced to 13-1 on the season and 51-8 over the last three seasons with Coach Jans at the helm when shooting a higher field goal percentage than its opponent.
The Maroon and White is 15-3 this season and 52-16 over the last three seasons under Coach Jans when shooting at least 40.0 percent.
State advanced to 6-0 on the season and 28-2 over the last three seasons under Coach Jans when holding its opponent to under 60 points.
The Bulldogs allowed an SEC season-low 23 points in the second half and outscored the Aggies by an SEC season's best 17-point margin.
State forced 19 turnovers and cashed in 22 of the game's 31 points off mistakes.
The Maroon and White has committed just 277 turnovers this season which shatters the program's lowest total through 26 games.
The Bulldogs fired in 11 of their 22 field goals on the interior en route to a 22-18 advantage in paint points.
State was able to get out in transition and cash in 14 of the game's 26 fastbreak points.
As a team, State connected on 22-of-51 from the field (43.1 percent), recorded a 9-of-25 clip from three point-territory (36.0 percent) and was 17-of-20 on its foul shots (85.0 percent).
The Bulldogs have now drained 215 three pointers this season which sits at third best in program history through 26 games.
The Maroon and White advanced to 10-2 this season and 33-8 over the past three seasons with Coach Jans at the helm when sinking at least 15 free throws.
Conversely, Texas A&M recorded a 19-for-53 shooting effort (35.8 percent), hit on an 8-for-23 three-point clip (34.8 percent) and knocked down 8-13 at the charity stripe (61.5 percent).

PLAYER NOTES

Josh Hubbard

Started his 40th consecutive game over the last two seasons.
Began the scoring with an up-and-under floater in the lane.
Notched a team-leading 25 points on 6-of-10 from the field, 3-of-6 from downtown and hit on 10-of-11 from the charity stripe.
The 25 points marks his 9th game this season of 20-plus points and his 22nd career outing eclipsing the 20-point barrier.
Collected double figures for a team-leading 25th time this season and for the 34th time during his last 35 outings.
With tonight's 25-point performance, Hubbard leaped past Greg Lockhart (1986-87-88-89), Lawrence Roberts (2004-05), Fred Thomas (2013-14-15-16) and Lamar Peters (2017-18-19) to take 38th place on the program's all-time scoring list.
His 1061 points also are the third-most in program history through 61 career games and builds on his record for a State player during their freshmen and sophomore seasons.
Chipped in a career-high four steals coupled with four assists and two rebounds.
Knocked down multiple triples in 23 of 26 games this season and in 52 of 61 career games.
His three treys bring his career total to 190 which allowed him to surpass Quinndary Weatherspoon (2016-17-18-19) for 8th place.
Buried at least one trey in 39 straight games dating back to the Georgia game on 02/07/2024.
The 39-game run ties him with Darryl Wilson in 1994-95 and 1995-96 for the longest streak in program history

Riley Kugel

Made his seventh start of the season and the 35th of his career.
Added two points along with two boards, an assist and a steal.

RJ Melendez

Made his 20th start in State's last 21 games and his 47th start in 116 career games.
Provided 10 points along with five rebounds and a steal.
Notched double figures for the 13th time this season and the 41st outing of his career.
State is 10-3 this season and teams that Melendez are apart of are 27-14 when he scores 10+ points.
Grabbed at least five boards for the 11th time this season and the 33rd time in his career

Cameron Matthews

Started in 92 of the team's last 95 games over the last three seasons under Coach Jans.
Competed in his school-record 159th game.
Has a cumulative +/- total of +679 over his last three seasons under Coach Jans. He was +18 tonight, which marks the 36th career game with at least a +10 plus-minus rating.
Added five points, matched a season-high six steals, grabbed six rebounds and dished out two dimes.
Brought his career total to 260 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 23 out of 26 games this season and in 92 career outings.
Grabbed at least five boards in 21 out of 26 games this season and in 88 career games.
State is 8-1 over the last three seasons when Matthews has 5+ steals.

Michael Nwoko

Made his 23rd straight start and his 25th career start between State and Miami over the last two seasons.
Tucked away two points, three rebounds, matched a career-high two steals and an assist.
Impacted the team with a game-high +19 plus-minus rating.

BENCH NOTES

State outscored Texas A&M in bench points by a 26-23 margin.
The Bulldogs have won the battle of the bench points in 18 of 26 games this season.
Claudell Harris Jr. scored 15 points on 5-of-10 shooting and 4-of-8 from three-point territory.
The 15 points are Harris Jr.'s second-most against a SEC opponent this season.
State is 12-2 when Harris Jr. scores 10+ points this season.
Drained a three-pointer in 19 consecutive games, sank multiple three's in 17 of 26 games this season and hit multiple triples in 76 career outings.
Also provided four rebounds, two steals and an assist.
Notched multiple steals in eight games this season and for the 32nd time in his career.
KeShawn Murphy scored eight points and grabbed team-high eight rebounds.
State is 10-5 this season and 11-5 over the last three seasons when Murphy leads in rebounding.
Shawn Jones Jr. added three points and three assists.
Recorded his fourth outing this season and his 15th career game with multiple assists.

Mississippi State University Athletics

Postgame Notes: No. 21 State vs. No. 7 Texas A&M

Players Mentioned

Cameron Matthews

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