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Bulldogs dominate LSU, 80-66, to snap five-game losing streak

Paul Jones Mississippi State Bulldogsby: Paul Jones01/29/26PaulJonesOn3

Mississippi State led from start to finish on Wednesday and dominated LSU, 80-66, on the road to bluntly halt a five-game losing streak. The Bulldogs nailed ten 3 pointers on the night and had a balanced offensive attack with four Bulldogs in double digits.

With the win, Mississippi State improved to 11-10 overall and 3-5 in the SEC. LSU fell to 13-8 overall and 1-7 in the league.

“We kept it real simple,” head coach Chris Jans said afterwards. “After the Saturday game (against Vanderbilt), obviously, that wasn’t a great point for us and it was a tough day. We just really kept it pretty simple in terms of what was important. We switched up some ball-screen coverages and generated some more off our defense.”

Josh Hubbard led State with 15 points while Quincy Ballard had 13 points and nine rebounds. Ja’Borri McGhee finished with 11 points and four assists, and Sergej Macura had his first career double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds.

Hubbard has now made at least one 3 pointer in 76 consecutive games, which is an SEC record.

Max Mackinnion led the Tigers with 15 points while Dedan Thomas and Rashad King both had 14 points. Pablo Tamba also finished in double digits for LSU with 10 points.

“This feels amazing,” Macura remarked. “Getting back on the winning track is a great feeling. I know the locker room is happy and energetic. I am just glad we are going home with a win.

“As we saw, our starting five went out and kicked some behind. I’ve been close to getting a double-double and as Coach said before the game, just play harder. We were physical under the basket and that is a big part of our game.”

Mississippi State opened the game hot from the perimeter and stayed hot for the entire first half. The Bulldogs sprinted to a 15-5 lead and would lead by as many as 27 points in the first half. State eventually settled in for a 44-21 halftime advantage, highlighted by a 7 of 14 showing beyond the 3 point arc.

For the game, State shot 51% from the field and made 10 of 21 from 3 point range. The Bulldogs committed 15 turnovers and made 14 of 20 at the foul line. State also dominated the glass, 43-24, and had 13 offensive board along with 14 assists.

LSU shot 43% from the floor and made just 4 of 20 from 3 point territory. The Tigers were 12 of 23 at the foul line and had seven turnovers.

“The biggest thing we talked about the last 72 hours was just compete harder. We had two goals today: compete harder and win. I said if we accomplish the first goal, I am pretty confident we will accomplish the second goal. We came out of the gate and got off to a pretty good start.

“For me, it is just something that is ingrained in me. It was how I was coached and we’ve had some tough outings where it felt like we were not competing hard enough and that is unacceptable. We had a lot of serious conversations about that.”

Up Next

Mississippi State closes out the two-game road swing on Saturday with a 2:30 p.m. tipoff at Missouri and the game will be televised by the SEC Network. The Tigers are 14-7 overall and 4-4 in the SEC after Tuesday’s loss at Alabama.

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