The Mississippi State University men’s basketball team went on the road this weekend and defeated Louisiana State University, 87-67, in Baton Rouge Saturday night inside the Pete Maravich Assembly Center.
After going back and forth with LSU in the first half, the Bulldogs took the lead with 4:21 remaining after a layup from guard Josh Hubbard and never trailed afterwards, going into halftime with a 40-33 lead over the Tigers.
In the second half, MSU’s offense clicked together and the Tigers’ defense had barely any answer. The Bulldogs are now 15-1 this season when leading at halftime, and Bulldogs head coach Chris Jans is so far undefeated versus the Tigers during his tenure in Starkville.
It was a big night for the freshman standout Hubbard, who put up a career-high 32 points while making six three pointers against the Tigers on Saturday night. For his efforts against the Tigers, he was named SEC Freshman of the Week, his fifth such honor this season, surpassing Jason Gordon for the most in program history by a Bulldog.
“He knows what he is doing out there,” coach Jans said of the freshman sensation. “He actually didn’t get off to a good start but nobody believes in Josh more than Josh does. I think his teammates would say the same and they believe in him, too. He is one of those guys that can go on a run and change the complexion of the game real quick.”
Meanwhile, two other Bulldogs players finished with double digits in the weekend contest. Forward Tolu Smith scored 19 points and nine rebounds while KeShawn Murphy followed with 11 points.
With Saturday’s win, the Bulldogs are now sitting at a 19-8 overall record for the season, including 8-6 in SEC play. They are also come out of Baton Rouge with a five-game winning streak, which is currently the longest active winning streak in the SEC.
The Bulldogs have four games left in the regular season, and while the Bulldogs are currently projected by many pundits and analysts to be a tournament team, there is still some work to be done before March Madness, which is just around the corner.
“It’s a fun time of the year,” Jans said. “I’m glad our program is part of it. There’s certainly a lot of basketball yet to be played, but they’re meaningful games.”
The Bulldogs’ schedule doesn’t get any easier from here. Next, they host no. 16 Kentucky in Humphrey Coliseum on Wednesday night, followed by a road trip to play at Auburn this Saturday.
