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Mississippi State improves to 11-1 with road win over No. 21 Memphis
By Ethan Stone
Published:
Mississippi State continued the SEC’s unbelievable non-conference run on Saturday, downing No. 21 Memphis 79-66. The Bulldogs led by as many as 24 in the second half.
Chris Jans’ Bulldogs are on a roll, having started the season 11-1 with its sole loss coming at the hands of Butler in late November. Saturday’s win is, thus far, Mississippi State’s best of the season.
Mississippi State saw a balanced scoring effort, with 4 players over 11 points and no player dropping more than 20. Riley Kugel, who transferred from Florida, posted his best game of the season by dropping a team-high 19 points with zero turnovers.
And though he wasn’t leading the way in scoring, Bulldogs guard Claudelle Harris was instrumental in the road victory. The Boston College transfer finished with 8 rebounds, 5 steals and 3 assists – finding a way to contribute despite shooting 2-12 from the floor.
Mississippi State will play just one more non-conference game before the start of conference play on January 4 against South Carolina. And with how the SEC is shaking out so far, Mississippi State is going to have to bring it from Day 1.
The SEC is now an unbelievable 159-20 so far this season, and no team has lost more than 3 times. Only one team (South Carolina) has lost more than twice. Finally, every single SEC program is ranked within the top 70 per KenPom entering Christmas.
Ethan Stone is a Tennessee graduate and loves all things college football and college basketball. Firm believer in fouling while up 3.
