Hubbard continues to move up State record books after big night in Nashville
NASHVILLE – It’s only year two, but Mississippi State fans are witnessing something special with Josh Hubbard.
As the sophomore continued to rise up and knock down shot after shot from long range on Wednesday, he knocked down another record. Hubbard finished with 26 points on 9-of-19 shooting with 6-of-12 makes from three-point range as he helped the Bulldogs to a 91-62 win over LSU.
“It all started with our defensive intensity. Getting to the ball, getting deflections and getting steals,” Hubbard said. “When we do things like that, that’s Bulldog basketball.
“Being more consistent on defense, that’s when we’re at our best. When we maximize our defense, our offense gets scary,” Hubbard said. “Once we really lock in and have that defensive mindset, we’re a scary team to play.”
The victory handed State a win in its first game of the tournament for the third year in a row, but it also hit another milestone for Hubbard. With the six threes, Hubbard hit the century mark from distance this season.
The significance of that is historic, as he notched 108 makes a year ago. That makes him the first player in the storied tradition of the Bulldog program to make 100 shots from three in a season and he’s done it twice.
Some great shooters have come and gone and haven’t been able to stand at the top quite like Hubbard. Darryl Wilson was the only player to make 90+ and he did it twice 30 years ago. Ravern Johnson, had three seasons of 80 or more makes, Barry Stewart and Timmy Bowers were never over 80.
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In just two years, Hubbard has racked up 209 made threes which has already placed him sixth in school history. This year, he’s passed Winsome Frazier, Quinndary Weatherspoon and Timmy Bowers among others. Next year, an average year will make him the first to ever hit 300 career makes with Stewart’s 280 very much in jeopardy.
What’s even more impressive is only one player in front of him played less than four years with Wilson making 258 shots in three seasons and 93 games. Hubbard has already scored 1,190 points in his career; a mark that State says is the most by an SEC freshman since 2000.
Hubbard and his team now has a team full of shooters heading their way in Nashville on Thursday night. The Bulldogs (21-11) will play seven-seeded Missouri (21-10) in a rematch of a 88-61 loss earlier this season at Humphrey Coliseum. It’s a game that Hubbard said caught the team by surprise, but they’re ready for round two.
“First of all, don’t underestimate them,” Hubbard said of the key to the game. “I thought we did that the first time. We can’t let that happen again so we’ve got to do what we did tonight and fix our mistakes. We have to give them the respect. We can’t give them easy looks.”
