GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Now that guard Josh Hubbard is 19 games old, Mississippi State basketball coach Chris Jans doesn’t consider him a freshman anymore.
He posted 25 points in a top-five win against Tennessee. He scored 29 in a crucial neutral court win against Northwestern. On Wednesday, he collected 26 points in a 79-70 loss at Florida — his career-best mark in a road game.
Inexperience is no longer an issue for the all-time leading scorer in Mississippi high school boys basketball history. The problem now is getting help around him that isn’t dependent solely on forward Tolu Smith.
On a night like Wednesday, when Hubbard is feeling it off the bench but Smith has just 10 points on 5-for-12 shooting, Mississippi State (13-6, 2-4 SEC) needed someone — likely a veteran — to step up on the road. That didn’t happen, made evident by Hubbard’s 25 shot attempts.
“We were in a position where him taking a contested 3, maybe, is our best option at times,” Jans said postgame at O’Connell Center. “It’s no fault of his that he was put in a position where you’re trying to get him to get shots and try to give us a chance to get back in the game.”
Foul trouble was a factor with Smith and senior Cameron Matthews fouling out after combining for just 19 points. Fellow senior forward D.J. Jeffries was in a similar spot, picking up two fouls in the first half before finishing with four while scoring six points and missing all five of his 3-point attempts.
With guard Shakeel Moore adding just five points — though he was battling an illness and earned Jans’ praise — and fellow starting guard Dashawn Davis going scoreless for the third time in four games, MSU got little production from its starting lineup.
When Hubbard has 26 points but the five veteran starters ahead of him combine for 30, it becomes evident why Mississippi State is now 0-4 in true road games.
“It’s hard to win on the road,” Jans said. “We’ve just got to play better.”
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MSU’s starters combined to make just one of their five free throws. In SEC play, the Bulldogs are the conference’s worst free-throw shooting team. Florida (13-6, 3-3), a team in the bottom half as well, made 17 of its 20 free throws — including 10 straight to close the game.
Add in the 11-6 run Florida had to take momentum into halftime before opening the second half on a 5-0 run, Mississippi State put together a master class in ways to let a Quadrant 1 road opportunity slip.
Suddenly, the Bulldogs — despite having one of the nation’s top freshmen coming off the bench and an All-SEC forward — are falling from a surefire NCAA Tournament team to one again staring at the bubble.
The SEC presents chances to quickly strengthen the résumé, starting Saturday with a home game against Auburn. But for Mississippi State to reach its goals, a third scoring threat needs to surface.
“We definitely need some guys who have been there, done that, to play better,” Jans said.
Stefan Krajisnik is the Mississippi State beat writer for the Clarion Ledger. Contact him at skrajisnik@gannett.com or follow him on the X platform, formerly known as Twitter, @skrajisnik3.
