Postgame Notes: State vs. Oklahoma

TEAM NOTES

Mississippi State has won six consecutive games and seven of its last eight outings as the Bulldogs used a strong second-half effort to pull away from Oklahoma, 72-53, on Wednesday evening at Humphrey Coliseum.
The Bulldogs have won three straight under Coach Jans and improved to 57-35 overall in SEC home openers.
The 19-point triumph marked the 5th largest margin of victory over an SEC opponent under Coach Jans.
State snapped a two-game losing streak to the Sooners and improved to 4-2 all-time against Oklahoma. The two teams have protected their home floors during their two SEC meetings.
The Sooners erased an 8-point State advantage over the last 5:33 of the opening half to draw even at 27-27.
Trailing 38-35 at the 15:57 mark of the second half, State ripped off a 14-1 spurt over the next 6:21 to turn the tables.
Shawn Jones Jr. gave State the lead at 39-38 with a dunk courtesy of Achor Achor. Then, Jamarion Davis-Fleming added a putback layup followed by a pair of baskets from Quincy Ballard and Ja'Borri McGhee to make it 49-39 with 9:36 to go.
Oklahoma crept back to within 53-45 before Josh Hubbard took over down the stretch. A three-pointer ignited a 12-point flurry over the closing 6:57 of the contest which enabled State to win a comfortable 19-point margin.
Keys to the State win were doubling up the Sooners in paint points by a 36-18 margin in addition to securing 14 of the game's 21 points off turnovers and 19 of the game's 29 points on second-chance opportunities.
The 7 points off turnovers and 3 bench points by Oklahoma were opponent lows for State on the season.
State is 10-4 this season and 55-20 over the last four seasons under Coach Jans when scoring 70 or more points.
The Maroon and White have won 30 of 32 decisions under Coach Jans when the opponents is held to under 60 points.
State won the battle of the boards by a 46-35 margin which marked the 4th time this season that the Bulldogs have outrebounded an opponent by double digits.
State is 7-1 this season and 55-16 over the last four seasons under Coach Jans when outrebounding its opponent.
The Bulldogs are 8-2 this season and 40-12 under Coach Jans when grabbing 40+ rebounds.
State is 7-1 this season and 39-14 over the last four seasons under Coach Jans at Humphrey Coliseum.
State sank 25-of-59 from the floor (42.4 percent), hit on 2-of-15 from three-point territory (13.3 percent) and connected on 20-of-28 at the free throw line (71.4 percent).
State is 10-3 this season and 66-21 over the last four seasons under Coach Jans when shooting 40.0 percent or higher.
State is 3-0 this season and 12-2 over the last four seasons under Coach Jans when making 20+ free throws.
Conversely, Oklahoma recorded a 17-of-55 shooting effort (30.9 percent), misfired on 17 of its 20 three-pointers (15.0 percent) and tallied a 16-for-25 mark at the charity stripe (64.0 percent).
The Bulldogs are 7-0 this season and 45-5 under Coach Jans when holding their opponent to under a 40 percent shooting clip.
State is 5-2 this season and 44-15 over the last four seasons under Coach Jans when making more free throws than its opponent.

PLAYER NOTES

Josh Hubbard

Started his 65th consecutive game over the past three seasons (01/27/2024-01/07/2026) where he has led State in scoring during 44 of those 65 outings.
Poured in a team-leading 30 points where he shot 11-for-22 from the field, 1-for-7 from three-point territory and hit on 7-for-9 clip from the free throw line.
Secured double figures for the 14th time this season, the 33rd time over his last 34 outings (01/11/2025-01/07/2026) and for the 77th time in 84 career games.
Marked the 2nd consecutive game, 3rd time this season and the 7th time in his career where Hubbard has eclipsed 30+ points.
The last State player to post consecutive games of 30+ points was Hubbard during his freshmen season at LSU (02/24) and against No. 16 Kentucky (02/27) in 2023-24.
Tallied 20 of his 37 career games of 20+ points and 6 of 7 career efforts of 30+ points versus SEC opponents.
The 30 points enabled Hubbard to surpass Jamont Gordon (2006-07-08) to claim 10th place on State's all-time scoring list. His career total is 1,585 points.
The junior guard enters Saturday's matchup with Kentucky 18 points shy from passing Barry Stewart (2007-08-09-10) for 9th place.
Extended his school-record to 62 consecutive games (02/07/2024-01/07/2026) with at least one three-pointer.
The lone trey enabled Hubbard to move past Ravern Johnson (2008-09-10-11) for sole possession of 2nd place on State's all-time list.
Hubbard now sits 20 triples away from Stewart's all-time program record.
Made 10+ field goals for the 4th time this season and 8th time in his career.
Dished out multiple assists for the 14th time this season and the 62nd time in his career.
Swiped multiple steals for the 6th time this season and the 19th time in his career.

Jayden Epps

Made his 72ne start in his 100th career game between State, Illinois and Georgetown.
Provided six points marking just the 2nd time in his last 12 outings (11/15/2025-01/07/2026) without reaching double figures.

Shawn Jones Jr.

Appeared in State's starting five for the 12th time in 15 games this season and for the 25th time of his career.
Chipped in two points points, six rebounds, three steals and two blocks.
Produced a team-leading +26 plus/minus ratio when on the floor.
Grabbed 5+ rebounds for the 9th time this season and the 19th time in his career.
Swiped multiple steals for the 9th time this season and the 28th time in his career.
Rejected multiple shots for the 3rd time this season and the 12th time in his career.

Achor Achor

Started in his 10^th game this season and for the 44^th time at the Division I level between Samford, Kansas State and Mississippi State.
Came away with four points and hauled down a career-high tying 14 rebounds.
Grabbed 10+ rebounds in back-to-back games, for the 3rd time this season and for the 8th time in his career
Paced the Bulldogs in rebounding for a team-leading 6th time this season.

Quincy Ballard

Started 13 of 15 games this season and for the 80th time over his last 82 outings over the last three seasons between Mississippi State and Wichita State.
Collected 10 points, 4 rebounds and a block.
Scored in double figures for the 4th time this season and the 35th time in his career.
Opened up scoring for the Bulldogs with a left-handed jump hook in the lane.
State is 4-0 this season when Ballard scores the team's first points.
Secured a block in 11 of his last 13 games for State and in 65 of his last 82 outings over the last three seasons.

BENCH

State dominated the Sooners by scoring 20 of the game's 23 bench points fueled by Ja'Borri McGhee, Jamarion Davis-Fleming and Brandon Walker.
The Bulldogs have outscored their opponents in bench points during 10 of 15 games and have posted an 8-2 mark when accomplishing the feat this season.
McGhee dialed up a team-leading 10 points where he shot 3-of-5 from the field, sank his lone triple and went 3-of-4 from the charity stripe.
Notched double figures in 6 of his last 10 outings (11/24-01/07) and seven times overall for the Bulldogs.
State and UAB are a combined 20-8 over the last two seasons when McGhee comes away with 10+ points.
Jamarion Davis-Fleming nearly compiled his first career double-double with eight points, a career-high 10 rebounds and two blocks.
Amassed a +20 plus/minus ration when on the floor.
His 7th outing with 5+ rebounds on the season.
Provided 6 of his 10 rebounds on the offensive glass.
Swatted multiple shots for the 5th time this season.
Walker wrapped the bench contributions with two points and two rebounds.

Postgame Notes: State vs. Oklahoma

Players Mentioned

Achor Achor

Quincy Ballard

Jamarion Davis-Fleming

Jayden Epps

Josh Hubbard

Shawn Jones Jr.

Ja’Borri McGhee

Brandon Walker

Mississippi State University Athletics

Postgame Notes: State vs. Oklahoma

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Players Mentioned

Achor Achor

Quincy Ballard

Jamarion Davis-Fleming

Jayden Epps

Josh Hubbard

Shawn Jones Jr.

Ja’Borri McGhee

Brandon Walker

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