On Thursday morning, Mississippi State faced LSU in the second round of the 2024 Southeastern Conference Tournament, a do-or-die situation for the Bulldogs as they fight for their NCAA Tournament hopes. According to Joe Lunardi, a win over LSU and the Mississippi State Bulldogs would be making a return trip to the NCAA Tournament for a second straight season under current Head Coach Chris Jans.

Coming into the matchup with LSU, Mississippi State knew things would not come easy; those gut feelings were right. The first half between LSU and Mississippi was as ugly as it came. If they tried, Mississippi State could not buy a bucket, giving LSU the momentum and advantage of heading into the break. Low scoring and ugly was the definition of the first half as LSU held on to a 29-22 lead over the Mississippi State Bulldogs. During the break, Mississippi State quickly adjusted to avoid disaster as the Bulldogs shot 29% from the field. Avoiding disaster would be the halftime speech as Chris Jans and his staff tried to figure out how to get Mississippi State better-scoring chances to secure a gritty win over LSU on Thursday.

As the halftime curtains broke free to the second half, the feeling that if Mississippi State could ever regain the lead, the Bulldogs would be victorious over the Tigers on Thursday.

It might have taken a decent amount of time, but the Mississippi State Bulldogs finally retook the lead from LSU around the under-12 media timeout of the second half. From that point on, the Bulldogs played Mississippi State Basketball to earn a gritty, hard-fought win over the LSU Tigers and advance to Friday’s Quarterfinal round, where they will meet the Tennessee Volunteers.

However, as good as it feels to earn a victory in the 2024 Southeastern Conference Tournament to secure a bid to the NCAA Tournament, finding a way to knock down free throws and hit open shots will keep Coach Jans and his staff up tonight as they prepare for the Tennessee Volunteers on Friday morning. Although it ended in a win, Thursday was an embarrassing showing of offense for Mississippi State as they struggled at the charity stripe, making layups, and so much more. Without the contributions from Josh Hubbard, the Bulldogs would have been in deep trouble, likely returning to Starkville with an embarrassing showing in the 2024 Southeastern Conference Tournament and a likely NIT bid.

Despite that, Mississippi State is moving on and surviving to play another day.

Mississippi State will face Tennessee on Friday at noon, and a spot in the SEC Tournament Final Four is on the line. Mississippi State won the first meeting between the two back in January at the Hump in Starkville, Mississippi.