Mississippi State responds in major way and dominates No. 18 Pittsburgh, 90-57

Entering Wednesday’s SEC/ACC Challenge game against No. 18 Pittsburgh, Mississippi State head coach Chris Jans wondered how his team would respond from last weekend’s disappointing loss to Butler.

The Bulldogs had an emphatic answer for their head coach and showed no signs of the team that Jans called “an awful” defensive performance against Butler. KeShawn Murphy had a season-high 20 points and Mississippi State led from start to finish Wednesday with a 90-57 thumping of No. 18 Pittsburgh. The 33-point win was the largest margin of victory for State against a ranked team in school history.

“I didn’t know,” said Jans. “That’s the response we all wanted but i didn’t know what it was going to look like. Obviously a little down returning from Phoenix (Arizona) and not winning our final game. Like I said to y’all and the team, we can handle getting beat by someone that betters us if we played and competed and did the things that we normally do.

“But that wasn’t the feeling that we had (in the loss to Butler). I think they realized it when they watched the tape when we got back and got re-organized. I didn’t know what the response would be but I’m certainly glad the way it unfolded tonight.”

The Bulldogs (7-1) led by as many as 35 points in the second half and were never threatened. Michael Nwoko had his first double-double of the season for Mississippi State with a career-high 18 points and 11 rebounds. Josh Hubbard added 12 for Mississippi State while Claudell Harris and RJ Melendez each had 10.

Jaland Lowe led Pittsburgh (7-2) with 19 points and Brandin Cummings added 12 for the Panthers, who shot just 31.3% for the game and were out-rebounded 49-27. For the game, Pitt shot a season-low 31% from the field and made 8 of 26 from 3 point range. The Panthers were 9 of 13 at the foul line and had 11 turnovers.

Wednesday’s performance marked the second time this season Murphy has set a career high in points scored. He was 8 of 10 from the field, 4 of 4 at the foul line and had seven rebounds. And his emergence this season continues to be one of the team’s top storylines in non-conference play.

“Nothing new,” Murphy noted. “I come in here and work every day every time I get a chance to work with these guys. I’m blessed to be able to do that with this team.”

And of course, Jans is also glad to see Murphy’s turnaround this season along with the improving play of Nwoko in the post.

“We’ve talked about Murph a lot,” added Jans. “He’s had some nice games against Power 4 or Power 5 competition. Mike has been getting better and better since he arrived. We knew our young bigs were going to be a work in progress and their mantra was to get better every day. Mike’s obviously been getting the lion’s share of minutes between those three young guys and tonight he showed what he’s capable of.”

Meanwhile, State shot 58% from the floor and made 7 of 21 beyond the 3 point arc. State was also 9 of 13 at the charity stripe with a season-high 14 turnovers. The Bulldogs dominated the glass, 49-27, and were led by Cameron Matthews‘ game-high 13 rebounds.

“We had some rough days but we all knew what we had to do,” said Matthews, who also had nine points, four assists and four steals. “We had to bounce back and not let that loss spiral. So we just got in the lab and got after it.”

Mississippi State jumped on Pittsburgh right off the bat and built a 25-11 lead after a Hubbard 3 point. The Bulldogs would lead by as many as 23 in the first half and led 47-25 at halftime.

Pitt shot just 31% in the first half and made 3 of 11 from 3 point range. The Panthers were 2 of 2 at the foul line in the first half and had eight turnovers. State shot 54% in the opening half and made 4 of 13 beyond the 3 point arc. The Bulldogs had seven turnovers in the half but outscored the Panthers 11-0 in points off turnovers. State also controlled the glass, 27-14, including 10 offensive boards.

Up next
Mississippi State vs. Prairie View A&M on Sunday at Humphrey Coliseum with a 3 p.m. tipoff. Prairie View A&M is 1-6 on the season and the Panthers have dropped six straight games.