Mississippi
Chris Jans explains Mississippi State’s poor play to end loss vs Missouri in SEC tournament
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Jacob Crews nailed a contested 3-pointer in the face of Mississippi State basketball’s Cameron Matthews. The Missouri forward gave Matthews a quick stare down as he jogged back down the court.
Ten seconds later, Mississippi State’s Josh Hubbard drilled a 3-pointer while drawing a foul on Crews. The four-point play gave the Bulldogs a one-point lead with 4:52 remaining in Thursday’s SEC tournament second-round game at Bridgestone Arena.
But that was the last field goal No. 10 seed MSU made in almost four and a half minutes. There were 17 ties and nine lead changes in the game, but MSU (21-12) never led again after Hubbard’s free throw. Mississippi State’s offense spiraled in the final minutes in the 85-73 loss to No. 7 Missouri (22-10).
“Would definitely like to have those last four minutes back,” MSU third-year coach Chris Jans said. “Obviously, it doesn’t work that way. It was winning time, and we didn’t play well in winning time. That’s the bottom line, is they played better than we did.”
What Chris Jans said went wrong for Mississippi State’s offense
The Bulldogs, who are still expected to make the NCAA tournament, only committed one turnover late in the second half, but they missed seven straight shots after Hubbard’s go-ahead free throw.
The Tigers produced a 14-3 run to jump ahead 81-71 with 31 seconds remaining.
The only MSU points came from RJ Melendez and KeShawn Murphy free throws.
“It’s one of those games where there’s so many pivotal plays,” Jans said. “I’m looking forward, I guess in a weird way, to watch the last five minutes to lock into it a little bit better. I remember we had it at the rim a couple times and weren’t able to finish it. I thought we had at least one or two pretty good looks at 3 when we were up, and could have gotten it to five I think and had some momentum.”
Josh Hubbard said Mississippi State defense could’ve been better too
Missouri scored 18 points in the final 4:52 of the game. It shot 9-of-11 from the free-throw line in that stretch. The three field goals were all layups or dunks.
“It was just a bad stretch for us and a good stretch for them,” Hubbard, who scored 24 points, said. “They just executed good offensively. They got us on the back door one time with Caleb Grill. We just had some defensive errors.”
Sam Sklar is the Mississippi State beat reporter for the Clarion Ledger. Email him at ssklar@gannett.com and follow him on X @sklarsam_.
KEY WEST, Fla. (WLBT) – A Mississippi woman is dead after a snorkeling accident Tuesday, according to the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office in the Florida Keys.
At approximately 1:30 p.m. May 26, 63-year-old Lecia Elizabeth Spriggs of Madison, Mississippi, was snorkeling near Mule Key off Key West with a commercial company when she was found unresponsive in the water.
CPR began immediately and the U.S. Coast Guard brought Spriggs ashore, officials said.
Spriggs was taken to the Lower Keys Medical Center on Stock Island, where she was pronounced deceased.
Officials said autopsy results are pending but foul play is not suspected to be a factor in this incident.
No further information has been released at this time.
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Jim Stewart Allen, also known as Broccoli Guy, is still trying to wrap his head around the last two weeks.
What started as a short trip from his home state of Washington to support Oregon in the Eugene Regional of the NCAA softball Tournament has turned into a trip to the Women’s College World Series as Mississippi State softball’s unofficial mascot.
“I’ve dreamed about going to a softball World Series,” Allen told the Clarion Ledger. “I didn’t know when it was going to happen. And so, to be able to finally go is one thing, but to be able to go with such a meaningful connection with one of the teams, with Mississippi State, it just means the world to me.”
Allen plans to be in Oklahoma City for every step of the Bulldogs’ WCWS journey, beginning with their opening game against No. 11 seed Texas Tech (57-7) on May 28 (11 a.m. CT, ESPN) at Devon Park. It will be the first WCWS game in MSU (43-19) program history.
Broccoli Guy surprised Mississippi State at super regionals
Allen has brought broccoli to games for nearly every Seattle professional sports team. It’s about more than just being a fun way to support the teams. It’s also about maintaining a fun environment and encouraging unity.
After watching Mississippi State use broccoli as a rally prop in its regional final win, Allen knew he had to travel to Oklahoma for super regionals. He surprised the Bulldogs in Norman and saw them hand Oklahoma its first super regional loss since 2015.
“It was very exciting,” Allen said of watching Game 1, which Mississippi State won 11-9. “It was just very clear during that whole game that Mississippi State came to play. They had the energy and they had the hunger.”
All weekend, Allen got to see firsthand how much his presence was appreciated by supporting and opposing fans alike.
“The environment was incredible,” Allen said. “I was nervous about how I would be received by Oklahoma fans. … I didn’t really know what to expect, but I got so much love from Oklahoma fans.”
Anytime they needed a boost, the Bulldogs held broccoli in the dugout for good luck. After losing Game 2, MSU leaned on broccoli to power past the Sooners in Game 3, posting pregame pictures and videos highlighting the vegetable.
Allen didn’t need to see the overflow of broccoli content to know that MSU had what it took.
“I woke up that morning on Sunday thinking, ‘I’m going to have to stay here probably because they’re going to win this game,’” Allen said. “… And then I saw pictures on Instagram of … someone holding a bag of broccoli on the bus and I went, ‘Yeah, I’m staying in Oklahoma.’”
What Mississippi State softball means to Broccoli Guy
As the Bulldogs secured the final out in Game 3, the ESPN broadcast showed Allen in the stands with tears in his eyes.
He joked that this was a result of the exhaustion of dancing in the hot sun and his tired acceptance of a trip to the WCWS. In reality, it was an outpouring of joy for the team he’d come to love.
“That’s just been two weeks of following this team at a pretty intense level, game by game, seeing them work” Allen said. “… I think right after that, the team ran over to me, and we had our own moment, which is so, so humbling.”
For as much as Allen enjoys watching the Bulldogs play, the players enjoy having him in the stands. Infielder Nadia Barbary said seeing him dancing during the games helps them remember to have fun and stay loose in tough moments.
This relaxed style of play is what helped them get past Oklahoma. The Bulldogs even thanked Allen for his contributions by letting him hold their super regional trophy.
“It’s just been great,” pitcher Alyssa Faircloth said. “He’s such a sweet guy, so just the fact that we can bring him along and celebrate him with our broccoli in our dugout and just make him feel a little bit special has been great.”
The wider MSU community has also embraced Allen. Leila Ammon’s dad, Charles, started a GoFundMe to help cover Allen’s WCWS travel expenses. It had received $4,165 in donations as of May 26.
Unsurprisingly, Allen believes the Bulldogs have a good shot to win the title, noting it would be a fantastic finish to his and their journey.
“For them to even get this far is just incredible,” Allen said. “… Mississippi State is representing what it means to be a hungry, energetic softball underdog and they’re doing it so well. … Anything they do, I’m going to be super proud of, and I’m not surprised if they win it all.”
Tia Reid covers Jackson State sports for the Clarion Ledger. Email her at treid@usatodayco.com and follow her on X @tiareid65.
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