No. 25 Mississippi State gets another chance to build momentum for the postseason when it closes its home schedule against struggling Texas in a key late-season Southeastern Conference game Tuesday in Starkville, Miss.
The Bulldogs (20-9, 8-8 SEC) snapped a two-game losing streak with an 81-69 home win over LSU on Saturday. Josh Hubbard scored 30 points and Riley Kugel added 12 as Mississippi State outscored LSU by 14 points after halftime and bounced back from a 38-point drubbing at then-No. 6 Alabama on Feb. 25.
“It was as big a game as we’ve had all year long,” Mississippi State coach Chris Jans said after the win over LSU. “I put some added pressure on (the team) because I wanted them to feel that way. I wanted them to feel like it was a must-win, because I felt like it was.
“For a number of different reasons, I wanted to see how they’d act in that pressurized situation — hoping that we’re in those types of games here shortly.”
Mississippi State shot 64 percent from the floor in the second half and clinched its third consecutive 20-win season.
Saturday was Hubbard’s 24th 20-point game of his career, in which the sophomore has started 43 straight games.
“Being a complete player is what I worked on in the offseason,” Hubbard said. “Just getting downhill, being aggressive, putting some pressure on the defense.”
The Bulldogs’ final two games are against squads not ranked in the Top 25. Three of Mississippi State’s wins in league play have come versus ranked teams.
The game has added importance for the Longhorns (16-13, 5-11), who likely need to win Tuesday in Starkville and Saturday versus Oklahoma at home in its regular-season finale to be considered for an NCAA Tournament at-large bid.
Texas has put itself in this position by losing six of its last seven contests, including the last three to unranked South Carolina, Arkansas and Georgia. The Longhorns looked completely uninspired Saturday in an 83-67 home setback to Georgia, falling behind by 27 points six minutes into the second half and never making a serious run.
“We didn’t get the kind of start we wanted to get off to, especially from an offensive standpoint,” Texas coach Rodney Terry said. “I feel like we let that dictate a little bit of our defensive effort to start the ballgame.”
Arthur Kaluma led the Longhorns with 15 points while reserve Jayson Kent added 14 and Jordan Pope had 10. Tre Johnson, the SEC’s leading scorer at 20.6 points per game, was limited to 12 points and didn’t attempt a shot from the floor after halftime.
“We can’t be having these first-half lapses and then decide to turn it up in the second half,” Texas forward Devon Pryor said. “We need to just start the game off strong every time.”
Texas has won five of its eight meetings with the Bulldogs, which includes a 69-55 win in their last matchup November 21, 2012, in the Maui Invitational.
–Field Level Media
