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Mississippi State dominates 2nd half for top-10 win over Texas A&M
By Andrew Olson
Published:
Mississippi State (19-7, 7-6 SEC) was already a projected NCAA Tournament team, but it never hurts to give the March Madness resume a boost. The No. 21 Bulldogs did that on Tuesday night, taking down No. 7 Texas A&M (20-6, 9-4) 70-54 at the Humphrey Coliseum in Starkville.
While it’s an upset by rankings, MSU was the betting favorite. The Bulldogs closed as a 2.5-point favorite on ESPN Bet before tipoff.
It was not a great night for shooting for either team. Texas A&M shot 36% from the field (19-of-53), while Mississippi State was 22-of-51 (43%).
The Aggies took a 31-30 lead into the locker room at halftime. The 2nd half, however, belonged to Mississippi State.
Josh Hubbard and Claudell Harris Jr. carried MSU to victory. Hubbard hit a 3-pointer to give Mississippi State a 33-31 advantage at the 19:06 mark. The Bulldogs never looked back.
Hubbard had 18 points in the 2nd half on 4-of-6 shooting from the field, with 3 3-pointers, and 7-of-8 at the line. He finished with 25 points as the game’s leading scorer.
Harris put up 12 points in the 2nd half, also going 4-of-6 from the field with 3 triples. He finished with 15 points. Hubbard and Harris were joined in double-figure scoring by RJ Melendez, who had 10 in the game.
Texas A&M won the rebounding battle (38-31), but committed more turnovers (19-11). MSU dominated points off turnovers 22-9.
Mississippi State will try to make it a 3-game winning streak on Saturday at Oklahoma. Texas A&M will look to bounce back at home against No. 6 Tennessee.
Andrew writes about sports to fund his love of live music and collection of concert posters. He strongly endorses the Hall of Fame campaigns of Fred Taylor and Andruw Jones.
