Postgame Notes: No. 24 State at No. 6 Alabama

TEAM NOTES

No. 24 Mississippi State was handed a 111-73 road defeat by No. 6 Alabama on Tuesday evening.
The Bulldogs fell to 19-9 overall and 7-8 in SEC action.
Alabama has won eight straight and 11 of the last 12 in the series going back to 2020-21. Overall, the Crimson Tide hold a 137-78 series advantage.
Alabama has been ranked in 11 of the 12 meetings since 2020-21 highlighted by an Associated Press Top 10 mark on seven occasions.
Six of State's eight loss have come at the hands of an AP Top 10 squad during SEC play.
Keys to victory for the Crimson Tide were hitting 11 three-pointers in each half and scoring 20 of the game's 23 points off turnovers.
State tallied eight steals to bring its season total to 263 which is the most in program history through 28 games.
The Bulldogs fired in 20 of their 28 field goals on the interior en route to a 40-28 advantage in paint points.
As a team, State connected on 28-of-73 from the field (38.4 percent), recorded a 6-of-30 clip from three point-territory (20.0 percent) and was 11-of-15 on its foul shots (73.3 percent).
The Bulldogs have drained 231 three pointers this season which sits at fourth-best in program history through 28 games.
Conversely, Alabama recorded a 37-for-71 shooting effort (52.1 percent), hit on 22-for-45 three-point clip (48.9 percent) and knocked down 15-18 at the charity stripe (83.3 percent).

PLAYER NOTES

Josh Hubbard

Started his 42nd consecutive game over the last two seasons.
Notched a team-leading 21 points to go along with four assists, two rebounds and a steal.
Eclipsed 500+ points for the second consecutive season and has led the team in scoring during 27 of his 44 career starts.
His 10th game with 20+ points this season and has posted 14 of his 23 outings with 20 or more points versus SEC opponents.
The 21 points brought Hubbard's career total to 1,101 which continues to build on the most points scored by a State player during their freshman and sophomores seasons.
The 1101 points also are the third-most in program history through 63 career games trailing only Bailey Howell (1957-58-59) and Jerry Jenkins (1973-74-75).
Buried at least one trey in 41 straight games dating back to the Georgia game on 02/07/2024. The 41-game run is the longest streak in program history.
Knocked down multiple triples in 25 of 28 games this season and in 54 of 63 career games.
His three treys bring his career total to 197 which enabled him to surpass Lamar Peters (2017-18-19) and is now tied with Timmy Bowers (2001-02-03-04) for 6th place in program history.
Dished out multiple assists in 25 out of 28 games this season and in 43 career outings.

Riley Kugel

Started in four straight games, in nine games total this season and for the 37th time during his career.
Added four points along with three boards and a steal.

RJ Melendez

Made his 22nd start in State's last 23 games and his 49th start in 118 career games.
Provided 11 points, five rebounds, three assists, three blocks and two steals.
Notched double figures in 14 games this season and in 42 career outings.
State is 10-4 this season and teams that Melendez are apart of are 27-15 when he scores 10+ points.
Distributed multiple assists in 6 game this season and in 23 career outings.
Swiped multiple steals in his 9th outing this season and in 27 career games.
Rejected multiple shots for the second time this season in six career outings.

Cameron Matthews

Started in 94 of the team's last 97 games over the last three seasons under Coach Jans.
Competed in his school-record 161st game.
Added six points, five rebounds, three steals and two assists.
Began the scoring with a catch-and-shoot trey from the left wing.
Only the eighth time this season where he hasn't compiled a positive plus/minus mark.
Brought his career total to 263 steals as he continues to build on his school record which he set during the McNeese game on 12/14.
The five rebounds bring his career total to 833 which allowed him to pass Kalpatrick Wells (1980-81-82-83) for 9th place in program history.
Had two or more assists in 25 out of 28 games this season and in 94 career outings.
Grabbed at least five boards in 23 out of 28 games this season and in 90 career games.

Michael Nwoko

Made his 25th straight start and his 27th career start between State and Miami over the last two seasons.
Tucked away six points and grabbed eight rebounds.
Notched 14 of his 19 career games with 5+ rebounds this season in the Maroon and White.

BENCH NOTES

KeShawn Murphy piled up 18 points, grabbed a team-leading 11 rebounds and secured three blocks.
All five of his double-doubles have come during the 2024-25 season.
Three of his five double-doubles are versus SEC competition.
Made it double figures in 10 of his last 12 outings where he has averaged 14.1 points per contest over the 12-game run.
Grabbed at least five rebounds in 23 out of 28 games this season and in 31 career games.
State is 11-6 this season and 16-7 over the last three seasons when he scores double figures.
Claudell Harris Jr. scored two points coupled with two assists and two rebounds.
Recorded his 10th game this season and his 73rd career outing with multiple assists.
Shawn Jones Jr. scored three points followed by Martavious Russell who cashed in two points to round out the scoring for State.

Mississippi State University Athletics