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Hubbard, Bulldogs bounce back in second half, take down LSU 81-69

3rupauk8_400x400by:Robbie Faulk•03/01/25•

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Josh Hubbard (Photo by Mississippi State Athletics)

It was more of the same from Mississippi State in the first half against LSU as the No. 24 Bulldogs had sloppy moments.

State fell behind by as much as eight points and were trailing at the half. In the second half, the switch flipped and Josh Hubbard came alive.

Hubbard scored 20 of his 30 points in the second half and the Bulldogs got the lead and kept it in a 81-69 victory over the Tigers.

“We saw a few clips in the film room where we were making our most mistakes,” Hubbard said. “We adjusted to them and executed. Playing Bulldog basketball, getting stops and pushing it.”

Hubbard commands second half to lead State to win

The sophomore guard  finished the game with 30 points for the second time this season as he made 9-of-18 shots from the field. Hubbard was incredibly efficient inside the arc, making seven of his nine shots there but was just 2-of-9 from three. He made 10-of-11 foul shots.

The Bulldogs (20-9, 8-8 SEC) trailed by as much as eight points in the first half and were down 37-35 at halftime before outscoring the Tigers 46-32 in the second half. A 57% shooting effort in the game allow the Bulldogs to get a lead and pull away in the win.

LSU (14-15, 3-13 SEC) had 23 points from former Bulldog Cam Carter as he made 5-of-10 shots from long range. The rest of the Tiger team hit 4 of 26 from three-point range as the misses would mount for the visitors.

Slowing down Carter from his 18-point first half was one of the point of emphasis for Jans and the Bulldogs at halftime.

“We knew that potential was there with him being here and who wouldn’t want to come back to your old stomping grounds and try to get buckets,” coach Chris Jans said. “He was unbelievable in the first 20 minutes. Hats off to him for the way he played. He competed at a high level and had a really nice game.

“They tweaked a couple of their sets with him. We shored that up and a couple of other things in their zoom offense.”

MSU made 7-of-21 from distance with Hubbard finishing 2 of 9. The sophomore guard made 9 of 18 shots and was 10 of 11 from the free throw line. Riley Kugel also scored in double figures for the Bulldogs as he had 12 points on 5 of 6 shooting.

After turning the ball over nine times in the first half, State had just two turnovers in the second half. The Bulldogs also outrebounded the Tigers 36-31 in the game and had a 40-22 advantage in the paint.

The victory was the 20th of the season for the Bulldogs and gave Jans his third 20-win season in as many tries. That marks the fourth time in school history that State has had 20 or more wins in a year for three-straight seasons, but it also gets the Bulldogs back on track after consecutive losses.

Up Next

Now, State looks to grab one more win at home to get closer to clinching a really good seed in the NCAA Tournament. With Texas coming on Tuesday night (7 p.m. SEC Network), the Bulldogs can build momentum.

“It was as big a game as we’ve had all year long,” Jans said of the LSU win. “I probably repeat that a lot, but in this league this year, that’s just how it is. We talked at length about that heading into this game. When you’re playing a team that has a very small percentage of playing in the NCAA Tournament, it can be hard.

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