Cam Matthews reacts to his mom going viral after dunk vs. Tennessee

With two and a half minutes left in the first half of Mississippi State’s stunning upset over Tennessee in the SEC Tournament quarterfinals, Cam Matthews added insult to injury. After reeling in a backdoor pass, the 6-foot-7 senior soared over the Volunteers, delivering a thunderous tomahawk dunk.

Matthews’ teammates weren’t the only ones losing their minds. Immediately after Matthews’ dunk, the broadcast cut to Matthews’ mom in the crowd. She turned toward opposing fans, arms open wide, bouncing with excitement.

After the game, Matthews commented on his mom’s electric reaction.

“Same old, same old,” Matthews said with a smile. “She’s very supportive even since I was a baby playing football, tee-ball. She’s been the same person my whole life. Feel like it would be kind of weird if she weren’t right there yelling and screaming. Really appreciate it, love her. But don’t show her this stuff.”

Thank you ESPN for these parent reactions pic.twitter.com/8WGmolgnal

— Grace Ybarra (@gnybarra) March 15, 2024

Cam Matthews gave fans more than one jaw-dropping highlight in Mississippi State’s shocking 73-56 blowout over Tennessee. The veteran forward tallied 18 points, eight rebounds and three assists while shooting a perfect 7-7 from the field.

Following the win, Mississippi State head coach Chris Jans pulled back the curtain on the supportive families surrounding the team.

“It’s been really fun to be here for the last two years and getting to know these guys,” Jans said. “When you walk in, you’re talking about a bunch of guys that have been with us for two years, certainly some additions. They didn’t know me, I didn’t know them. There was some blind faith on their part to stay with us. They had choices not to. Even after the first year, they had choices not to.

“Getting to know their families and how supportive they are, that’s what impressed me the most after our first year, during our first year, is the quality of young people that I inherited. Certainly what we added to the group. It makes it more fun every day knowing you’re going to work, to practice, they’re going to have a good mindset for the most part individually and collectively.”

Mississippi State was unable to carry its momentum into the SEC Tournament semifinals, where they fell 73-66 to Auburn. In the loss, Matthews took a step back, only recording three points, five rebounds and three assists on 1-7 shooting.

Nonetheless, with two wins in the tournament, the Bulldogs have likely cemented their spot in the NCAA Tournament. MSU forward DJ Jeffries believes his team deserves a chance to dance.

“We always knew we can compete with the top teams in the league. We just came up short today,” Jeffries said. “It hurt. But we got all the momentum we need to go in the tournament next week, try to make a run again. We just got to regroup again. This loss hurt because we want to be in the championship. But you got to move on and regroup.”