Mississippi State basketball started off SEC play with a bang. The #17 Bulldogs punished South Carolina 85-50, dominating from start to finish. As we saw in their wins over Pitt and Memphis, when State gets up early, there's no letting up. That's exactly what happened against the Gamecocks. Mississippi State is now 13-1 on the season.
Josh Hubbard got back to his usual self for the Bulldogs
Josh Hubbard is one of the best scorers in the country, but over the last few games his shot hasn't quite been there. He looked like his normal self against the Gamecocks. Hubbard scored 21 on 7-13 shooting including going 5-10 from three. It was the exact type of game we've grown to expect from him. But he wasn't alone. Claudell Harris went for 17. KeShawn Murphy and Riley Kugel both put 12 on the board while Cam Matthews had a strong game as well. The Bulldogs' best players all stepped up on Saturday.
Mississippi State shutdown South Carolina's best player
Forward Collin Murray-Boyles is the top player for the Gamecocks, and the last time State saw him he went for 19 points in a dominant showing. Chris Jans wasn't allowing an encore. The Bulldogs held Murray-Boyles to just five points on 2-9 shooting and turned him over six times. But they didn't just shutdown one player. MSU saw a vintage defensive performance, holding the Gamecocks to 29% shooting and just 2-19 on three-point attempts. They forced 14 turnovers and recorded 10 blocks. South Carolina was hapless with the pressure the Bulldogs put on them.
Handling business against South Carolina will be very beneficial for Mississippi State the rest of the way
Securing this win was huge for Mississippi State's tournament resume. At 85 in the NET, South Carolina is the lone SEC team that, when hosting them, is a Quad 3 opponent, and losing a Q3 game is a negative for the resume. State now has nothing but Quad 1 or 2 games the rest of the way (assuming no teams see a drastic fall in the NET), so in theory, they can't take a bad loss. State can only strengthen their resume going forward, making it all the more likely that they'll be playing for tournament seeding rather than simply a tournament bid.