Mississippi State basketball is off to a hot start to the 2024-2025 season. The Bulldogs are 2-0 and have lit up the scoreboard in both of their games so far. State scored 95 in their season-opening win over West Georgia, and then they improved upon that output by putting 101 on the board in a blowout of Georgia State.
Watching a team score like that is a ton of fun. And while it's easy to say it's nothing more than a product of the opponents they've played, this type of offensive production isn't something we typically see at Mississippi State. In fact, for the first two games, we've never seen it.
Mississippi State basketball has never scored this much to start the season
According to Communications Graduate Assistant Daniel Black, this is the first time in Mississippi State men's basketball history that the Bulldogs have scored at least 95 points in each of their first two games. The last time they had at least 95 points in consecutive games came back in in '04-'05 season.
Couple of @HailStateMBK notes:
— Daniel Black (@danielcblack) November 9, 2024
- The last time State scored at least 95 points in consecutive games was 2004-05.
- This is the first time in program history State has scored at least 95 points in its first two games.#HailState🐶
The high-level scoring pace the Bulldogs are on isn't a total surprise given the roster that was assembled in the offseason. With one big-time scorer returning in Josh Hubbard, Chris Jans dipped into the portal to load up on shooters to play alongside Hubbard. He landed the likes of Claudell Harris, Riley Kugel, Kanye Clary, and RJ Melendez, all of whom have already shown that they'll be big contributors for State this season.
This is a potent Mississippi State offense, and though it's early, I don't think it's out of the question that they wind up being one of the most productive offenses in school history.
It's not crazy to say the '24-'25 Bulldogs could challenge the Mississippi State scoring record
Could the Bulldogs potentially challenge for the programs all-time scoring record for points per game? While it's far too early to say with a high-level of confidence that it's a possibility (they have, of course, only played two games), the school record isn't necessarily a crazy high-bar to surpass.
The highest points per game average in Mississippi State basketball history is 84.84 by the '56-'57 Maroons. That team, coached by the legendary Babe McCarthy, was led by one of the greatest MSU athletes of all-time, Bailey Howell, who averaged 25.9 points and 19.7 rebounds that season.
Only four State teams have averaged at least 80 points per game, the most recent being the '90-'91 Bulldogs that captured a SEC title. The highest scoring team in recent history was the '18-'19 squad that earned a 5-seed in the NCAA Tournament. They scored 77.29 points per game.
As you can see, big-time offense isn't common in Starkville. That could be viewed as a reason why it won't happen, but as said earlier, it makes it somewhat more likely that a team with the scorers this State team does could challenge the program record. And it also helps that the modern game lends itself to scoring more. Last season, there were 40 teams in Division I basketball to average at least 80 points per game, including four SEC programs.
If there were ever a time for the record to fall, it's now. MSU has a squad capable filling it up in an era conducive to that kind of scoring. Of course the Bulldogs aren't going to stay on a 98 point per game pace, but it's not absurd to say they've got a chance to be the best offense in program history even just two games in.