Numbers never lie - Mississippi State basketball has two of the nation's best players

Mississippi State basketball is off to a 3-0 start to the 2024-2025 season. The Bulldogs have a deep roster top to bottom, but they've got two players who stand out above the rest. And those two happen to stand out above the overwhelming majority of players in the country.

Bulldogs Cameron Matthews and Josh Hubbard are Top-10 players nationally according to Evan Miyakawa

Mississippi State fans came into the season knowing that had quite the dynamic duo on their roster between guard Josh Hubbard and forward Cameron Matthews. There are numbers, of the advanced analytics variety, to back that up.

According to EvanMya College Basketball Analytics, founded by analyst Evan Myakawa, both Matthews and Hubbard rank as Top-10 players in the country by their Bayesian Performance Rating (BPR) metric.

BPR grades players based on their individual statistics and overall impact to their team on both ends of the floor. BPR has Cameron Matthews as the #9 player with a 7.11 rating and Josh Hubbard as #10 with a 7.10 rating. Last season, Matthews finished #54 while Hubbard was #123.

With Hubbard, his impact always shows up on the stat sheet with his remarkable shooting, and this season he's improved his defense too. But for Matthews, using advanced analytics like BPR is the best way to grade his impact, as he does so many things that won't be found in the box score. And having those two in the same lineup makes Mississippi State a scary good team.

Mississippi State's ceiling is very high if Matthews and Hubbard continue performing as Top-10 players

Just three games in, it's impossible to know if Cameron Matthews and Josh Hubbard will remain in the Top-10 for the entire season. But if they do, Mississippi State could be in for a special season. Hubbard is one of the very best scorers in the country, and he's capable of leading State to wins on his own. Combining him with a defender, rebounder, and distributor the caliber of Matthews is more than a lot of teams can deal with.

Even if they don't grade out as Top-10 players all year, they're undoubtedly a stellar pair that will keep this team playing at a high level. Factor in the talent around them, and you've got a very good team in Starkville.