In front of a raucous crowd, Mississippi State met Memphis at the FedEx Forum to renew a regional rivalry. Despite the hype, Mississippi State jumped out early on the Tigers and never looked back.

Mississippi State played the best half of basketball in the first half of the season as the Bulldogs took a 48-32 lead over the Tigers to the locker room. Riley Kugel scored for the Bulldogs in the first half with 15 points, while Shawn Jones nearly went perfect from the charity stripe to five for six.

For Memphis in the first half, it was the PJ Haggerty show as he scored for Coach Penny Hardaway and the Tigers with 16 points.

As the second half rolled around, Memphis knew what they had to overcome to make an epic comeback and defend home court. At the under-16 media timeout, Mississippi State held a 52-37 lead over the Tigers. It was slightly better for Coach Hardaway but still not great, as the Bulldogs had the momentum heading into the next stretch of the game plan. At the under-12 media timeout, Mississippi State extended the lead to 58-37 with 12:23 to play.

Mississippi State was just too good for the Tigers. Both teams are NCAA Tournament caliber teams, and the Tigers still have a lot to show, but the difference comes down to the wiring of each team, the roster makeup, and the coaching. Coach Jans of Mississippi State had the perfect game plan for Memphis today, and the Bulldogs had another statement win for the rest of the college basketball world to take them seriously as legitimate contenders in the Southeastern Conference and to reach the Final Four.

For Memphis, Saturday was another embarrassing loss on their home court in December. Coach Penny Hardaway has a good basketball team with the talent to compete with anyone in the country; evidence of that was the second-place finish in Maui, where Memphis beat UConn and Michigan State, plus road wins over Virginia and Clemson. It’s not a matter of if, but when the Tigers figure it out, they have the potential to hang around the NCAA Tournament as a sleeper to play into the second weekend. As it was with Arkansas State, Saturday’s blowout loss was another frustrating and embarrassing loss for Coach Hardaway and the Tigers.

Memphis will return to action next Saturday afternoon. They will welcome the Ole Miss Rebels to the FedEx Forum for another opportunity against a high-caliber team from the Southeastern Conference.

Mississippi State returns to the Hump next Monday night as they welcome Bethune- Cookman to Starkville, Mississippi, before opening Southeastern Conference against South Carolina.

( Photo credits- Mississippi State Basketball on X)