Postgame Notes: No. 22 State at Georgia

TEAM NOTES

No. 22 Mississippi State battled its way back into the win column with a 76-75 triumph over Georgia on Saturday evening at Stegeman Coliseum.
The Bulldogs improved to 17-6 overall and 5-5 in SEC play.
State has emerged with wins during seven of the last eight meetings over Georgia going back to the 2017-18 season.
Overall, the Maroon and White takes a 60-59 series edge over Georgia. The last time State held the series advantage was at 53-52 back in 2012-13.
The victory enabled the Bulldogs to claim their fifth true road win of the season.
State advanced to 9-6 versus NCAA NET Quad 1 and 2 opponents on the season.
The Bulldogs are 13-0 this season and 47-5 over the last three seasons under Coach Jans when leading at halftime.
State had four players score in double figures for the 13th time this season and is 10-3 on the season. The Bulldogs are also 23-7 over the last three seasons under Coach Jans when accomplishing the feat.
The Bulldogs are 11-1 this season and 49-8 over the last three seasons when shooting a higher field goal percentage than its opponent.
State also 7-1 in 2024-25 and 18-5 with Coach Jans at the helm when shooting at least 50.0 percent from the field.
The Bulldogs are averaging 79.7 points per game which is good for 6th most in school history through 23 games.
The Josh Hubbard-Claudell Harris Jr.-RJ Melendez-Cameron Matthews and Michael Nwoko combination started its 13th consecutive game, its 14th overall outing of 2024-25 and advanced to 9-5 on the season.
The Bulldogs are 15-3 in 2024-25 and 41-10 over the last three seasons under Coach Jans when scoring 70 or more points.
State got out in transition and cashed in 10 of the game's 19 fastbreak points.
The Bulldogs fired in 23 of their 32 field goals on the interior en route to a 46-28 advantage in paint points.
State improved to 9-1 this season and to 22-7 under Coach Jans when scoring at least 40 points in the paint.
The Bulldogs committed nine turnovers during tonight's game which gives State 10 outings with single-digit turnovers. The Maroon and White is 7-3 this season and 15-5 under Coach Jans when accomplishing the feat.
For the season, State has committed just 238 turnovers which shatters the program's lowest total through 23 games.
The Bulldogs tallied nine steals to bring its season total to 218 which sits at fourth place in program history through 23 games.
As a team, State connected on 32-of-58 from the field (55.2 percent), recorded a 6-of-20 clip from three point-territory (30.0 percent) and was 6-of-18 on its foul shots (33.3 percent).
The Bulldogs have now drained 192 three pointers this season which sits at third best in program history through 23 games.
Conversely, Georgia recorded a 25-for-54 shooting effort (46.3 percent), hit on an 8-for-21 three-point clip (38.1 percent) and knocked down 17-22 at the charity stripe (77.3 percent).

PLAYER NOTES

Josh Hubbard

Started his 37th consecutive game over the last two seasons.
Notched a team-high 16 points, tied a season's best with six assists, added three rebounds and a steal.
Collected double figures for the 22nd time this season and for the 31st time during his last 32 outings.
Hubbard eclipsed 1,000 career points with a transition layup at the 5:14 mark of the second half to put State ahead 71-66.
He is the 43rd player in program history and the seventh player to accomplish the feat going back to the 2017-18 season.
He is the third fastest player to accomplish the feat in program history trailing only Bailey Howell (1957-58-59) and Jerry Jenkins (1973-74-75).
State is 7-0 this season and 7-1 over the last three seasons when Hubbard has 5+ assists.
Knocked down multiple triples in 20 of 23 games this season and in 49 of 58 career games.
His two treys bring his career total to 181 which sits 9th in program history.
Buried at least one trey in 36 straight games dating back to the Georgia game on 02/07/2024. The 36-game run is the 2nd longest streak in program history. He is three games away from tying Darryl Wilson's (1995-96) State record.

Claudell Harris Jr.

Made his 13th consecutive start, his 16th start this season and the 80th start of his career.
66 of his 80 starts have come over his last three seasons.
Added seven points, two rebounds and two steals.
Recorded his 7th outing this season and his 31st career game with multiple takeaways.

RJ Melendez

Made his 17th start in State's last 18 games and his 44th start in 113 career games.
Provided three points to go along with two rebounds and a block against his former team. .

Cameron Matthews

Started in 89 of the team's last 92 games over the last three seasons under Coach Jans.
Competed in his school-record 156th game.
Added six points, six assists, four rebounds, two steals and two blocks.
Brought his career total to 251 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 19th time this season and in 73 career games.
Dished out at least five assists for the 21st time in his career.
The Bulldogs are 8-1 this season and 16-5 over the last three seasons when Matthews has 5+ dimes.
Swatted multiple shots away for the 7th time in 2024-25 and for the 21st time in his career.

Michael Nwoko

Made his 20th straight start and his 22nd career start between State and Miami over the last two seasons.·
Began the game's scoring on a jump hook and recorded the team's first nine points.
Recorded 11 points coupled with three rebounds, an assist and a block.
The 11 points ties a SEC season's best and his third highest career scoring mark.
State is 5-2 on the season when Nwoko dials up 10+ points.
All seven of his games in double figures have come this year in the Maroon and White.

BENCH NOTES

State routed Georgia in bench points by a 32-5 margin.
The Bulldogs have won the battle of the bench points in 15 of 23 games this season.
KeShawn Murphy scored 10 of his 14 points during the first half
Also collected a team-high eight rebounds and tacked on an assist.
Garnered double-digit points in six of the last seven games, 13 outings this season and in 19 career games.
State is 10-3 this season and 15-4 over the last three seasons when Murphy reaches double figures.
Grabbed at least five boards in 18 out of 23 games this season.
Riley Kugel added 10 points, three rebounds, two steals and an assist.
Notched his 11th game this season and his 40th career outing in double figures.
State is 9-2 this season when Kugel scores 10+ points.
Knocked down multiple triples on nine occasions this season and 31 times in his career.
Shawn Jones Jr. added six points, all in the second half, to go along with two boards, two steals and an assist.
His fourth outing this season and his 13th career game with multiple takeaways.
Gai Chol completed the scoring with two points and two rebounds.

Mississippi State University Athletics

Postgame Notes: No. 22 State at Georgia

Players Mentioned

Cameron Matthews

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