Mississippi State’s basketball team was knocked out by Michigan State during the opening round of March Madness. After 2009, Thursday marked the fourth time Mississippi State Basketball participated in the NCAA Tournament. They’ve made it to the fourth round so many times that it’s becoming a tradition for the Bulldogs to return after the March Madness showdown.
The 8th-seeded Bulldogs (21-14) were eliminated on Thursday from the NCAA Tournament’s first round, losing to the 9th-seeded Michigan State (20-14) with a score of 69-51 at the Spectrum Center.
Mississippi State fell behind from the start in the SEC 12. Although the Bulldogs managed to narrow the deficit to five by the end of the first half, they struggled to keep it within 10 in the second half.
On the other hand, Mississippi State couldn’t quite keep pace with Michigan State, despite making 16 turnovers. The Spartans shot 50% from the field and had three players scoring in double figures.
Tolu Smith of Mississippi State is once again striving hard. The Mississippi State forward Tolu Smith scored 21 points in the defeat against Kentucky on February 27th. Since then, he hasn’t seen any All-SEC honors received – averaging 10.3 points per game in the six games leading to the NCAA Tournament.
Thursday was no different for Smith as he scored only two points in the first half and finished with a total of nine. 3–5 was his distance from the field.
Joshua Hubbard and Tyson Walker deliver early in March Madness. The latest guard sensation, Joshua Hubbard, has consistently delivered big moments for Mississippi State this season. March Madness was no exception for him.
13 of Hubbard’s 15 points came in the first half, making him the Bulldogs’ only reliable scorer. He missed his first two shots from the field but connected on five of his last seven attempts before halftime.
Hubbard’s initial efforts were countered by Tyson Walker, the guard for Michigan State. Ten of the graduate guard’s 19 points came in the first quarter, with six of those points coming within a 10-0 run by the Spartans.
Mississippi State’s Cameron Matthews was initially overshadowed. Michigan State gained a significant advantage in the first half, coming up against Mississippi State forward Cameron Matthews.
Matthews committed aggressive fouls in less than two minutes into the match. Shortly after, he picked up his second and was benched before the first media timeout. When he returned to the court with 10:21 left to play, Michigan State had taken a 15-4 lead.
Matthews, who was minus-2 in the first half, contributed to extending the deficit to seven before halftime.
