No. 25 Mississippi State controls backboards and routs UNLV, 80-58, in Arizona Tipoff
Mississippi State controlled the glass and had a balanced offensive attack Thursday night to roll past UNLV, 80-58, in the opening round of the Arizona Tipoff in Tempe, Ariz.
With the win, the Bulldogs (6-0) advance to face Butler on Friday night with an 8:30 p.m. tip time in the Arizona Tipoff championship game.
“It was a big emphasis of ours going into the game,” Mississippi State head coach Chris Jans said about rebounding. “(UNLV) had given up 21 offensive rebounds in their last outing so we tried to get our guys excited about crashing with authority and realizing we can get some second-chance opportunities. We’ve been emphasizing rebounding for more than just going into this game. We struggled in the first couple of games but we’ve been better and that’s nice to see.”
KeShawn Murphy led State with 14 points and 13 rebounds for his second double-double of the young season. Josh Hubbard added 11 points while Kanye Clary finished with nine points. Murphy also had four assists, one blocked shot and one steal in his 22 minutes of game action.
“He’s working,” noted Jans of Murphy. “He’s after it and he wants more. He’s so awesome to coach right now, not that he wasn’t before. But he’s healthy, mentally and physically. He feels really good about the dividends he’s receiving and guys are happy for him..”
Leading by 13 at halftime, State used a 15-1 run early in the second half to put the game out of reach. The win also marked State’s first-ever win over UNLV in the all-time series after dropping the first two meetings with UNLV.
For the game, State shot 43% from the floor and made 12 of 32 from 3 point territory. The Bulldogs were 10 of 18 at the charity stripe and had 10 turnovers. State dominated the boards, 46-29, and also had a season-high 19 offensive boards. State also had a huge advantage in bench points and outscored UNLV 48-13 in that aspect.
“It was awesome,” added Jans of the ball movement on offense. “We were moving it and what we talked about going into the game. Shot selection, we’ve been struggling in the first half and digging ourselves a hole and taking shot-clock shots when it wasn’t time for shot-clock shots. You got to do it together and it was great to see the ball moving and the players were moving.”
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UNLV shot 44% from the field and made 8 of 20 beyond the 3 point arc. The Runnin’ Rebels were 8 of 15 at the foul line and had 15 turnovers for the game. Jailen Bedford led UNLV (5-2) with 13 points while Jalen Hill and Dedan Thomas finished with 11 and 10 points, respectively.
UNLV scored the first five points of the game only to see State dominate the rest of the first half. The Bulldogs took an 11-10 lead after back to back 3 pointers from Hubbard and Claudell Harris. Later in the half, the Bulldogs went on a 10-2 run to stretch the lead to 39-21 following an RJ Melendez 3 pointer with 5:30 remaining in the half. UNLV scored the last six points of the half as State led 45-32 at halftime.
In the opening half, State shot 52% from the field and made 7 of 14 from 3 point range. The Bulldogs were 4 of 5 at the line and had five first-half turnovers. State also dominated the boards in the opening half, 21-10, including nine offensive rebounds.
UNLV shot 56% in the first half and made 3 of 6 beyond the 3 point arc. The Runnin’ Rebels were just 1 of 5 from the foul line and had six turnovers in the half.
Up Next
Mississippi State vs. Butler in Arizona Tip-Off championship game on Friday with an 8:30 p.m. tip-off. Butler is 5-1 overall after beating Northwestern 71-69 in the opening round of the Arizona Tip-Off. Butler’s lone loss of the season was to Austin Peay and both State and Butler own a win over SMU this year.
