Deep on the Bayou, Head Coach Chris Jans ventured with his Mississippi State Bulldogs on Saturday night for a fight against the LSU Tigers. Mississippi State opened the game with rocks in hand, challenging the Bayou Bengals to get into a junkyard heavyweight battle. However, it was the Mississippi State Bulldogs once again coming away from a Southeastern Conference Saturday night with a massive win, setting the stage for a monster Tuesday night tilt with the Kentucky Wildcats at the Hump in Starkville, Mississippi.

In what seems to be the perfect time for Mississippi State Basketball, the Bulldogs have found their groove peaking with two weeks remaining in the Southeastern Conference season before heading to Nashville, Tennessee, for the 2024 Southeastern Conference Tournament. With the win over LSU on Saturday night, the Bulldogs have now won five straight games, setting up a magical run to finish the last two weeks of the regular season. When all hope seemed to be leaving Starkville a few weeks ago, Head Coach Chris Jans rallied his Mississippi State Bulldogs and now have one the hottest in the Southeastern Conference and the country.

Few teams in the Southeastern Conference are playing at the level that Mississippi State is playing with, with just four games remaining. During this streak, Mississippi State has gone 2-0 in road Southeastern Conference games while holding a 3-0 record at the Hump. It could have been better, but Mississippi State has found its identity in playing intense defense, creating scoring chances on the offensive side of the court. Winning ugly is what Mississippi State does best.

As far as the matchup on Saturday night goes, Mississippi State busted LSU in the mouth with stifling defense, creating the scoring chances for Tolu Smith and Josh Hubbard on the other side of the court.

During the first half, Mississippi State shot 36.8% from the field, racing to a 40-33 lead at the break over the hometown LSU Tigers. Mississippi State also crashed the glass better in the first half, holding a slight 22-19 advantage over the Tigers. Josh Hubbard finished the first half with 13 points, while Tolu Smith had eight.

As the second half got underway, Mississippi State continued the barrage on LSU, never letting the game get too close, earning a massive win for the Bulldogs over the Tigers. From a scoring perspective, the one-two punch of Tolu Smith and Josh Hubbard gave Mississippi State the needed spark to cross the finish line of victory over LSU. As impressive as Tolu Smith was with 19 points on Saturday night, the win over LSU was all about the Josh Hubbard show, as Hubbard finished the night with 32 points.

Josh Hubbard was unreal on Saturday night, making shots from Ruston and beyond.

With the win over LSU on Saturday night, Mississippi State improves to 8-6 in Southeastern Conference play with an overall record of 19-8. With four games remaining in the Southeastern Conference schedule, Mississippi State is within striking distance of earning a double-bye during the 2024 Southeastern Conference Tournament in Nashville. Mississippi State will need to beat Kentucky on Tuesday night and continue taking care of business for that to happen, but everything is right there for Mississippi State.

Mississippi State and Kentucky will have the early tip-off on Tuesday night with a national broadcast on ESPN. Tuesday night will be the annual Mississippi State Basketball White Out.