Mississippi State made the two-and-a-half-hour drive from Starkville to North Mississippi as they welcomed the Utes of Utah to the Landers Center in Southaven for a Sunday afternoon of NCAA Tournament-caliber basketball. Coming into the matchup with Utah, many felt this was a good early test for the Bulldogs to prepare for the grueling road to the NCAA Tournament against an opponent with the talent to play spoiler in the best basketball conference in the country.

Underestimating Utah was possible as the game tipped off inside the Landers Center on Sunday afternoon. For the first few minutes, Mississippi State hung around, but as the first half played out, the Utes pulled away for a 39-28 halftime lead over the Bulldogs.

As the curtains of the first half broke free to the second half, it was an incredible start for the Mississippi State Bulldogs. They shaved the 11-point deficit at the half to one point at the under-16 media timeout of the second half. During the under-16 media timeout, the energy inside the Landers Center shifted in favor of the Bulldogs as a tipping point in the game, with Cameron Matthews stepping to the charity stripe for two shots. With both free throws, the Bulldogs retook the lead over Utah by a point of their own. At the under-12 media timeout, Mississippi State extended the lead to 50-46 over Utah with 11:54 remaining in the game. At the under-8 media timeout, Mississippi State and Utah remained deadlocked at 60 a piece with 6:49 remaining in the game.

With a tied game with 6:49 remaining, things turned towards feeling like a first-weekend NCAA Tournament game between two programs fighting to stay alive. Despite going the last 4:31 of the game without a basket, Mississippi State would leave the Landers Center with a massive early season NCAA Tournament-caliber win over Utah.

Despite a slow start in the first half, Josh Hubbard led the way for the Bulldogs in scoring on Sunday afternoon with 23 points. Cameron Matthews had himself a game as well, finishing with twelve points, four rebounds, two steals, and a block.

Overall, Sunday’s 78-73 win over Utah was about as good as they come for the Bulldogs. Having to overcome adversity with an 11-point deficit at the half to put together a complete half of basketball to remain perfect, Sunday was a preview of what’s to come for the 2024-2025 Mississippi State Basketball team. Sunday’s win over Utah felt more like an NCAA Tournament first-round game than it did an early November matchup.

Mississippi State will return to action on Friday night with a road trip to Dallas to take on SMU.

Photo Credits- Mississippi State Basketball on X