Trey Fort fuels Mississippi State basketball in season-opening win vs Arizona State

CHICAGO — Mississippi State basketball, behind Wednesday’s season-opening 71-56 win against Arizona State at Wintrust Arena in Chicago, has left little debate. Coach Chris Jans’ squad is the greatest team in Barstool Sports Invitational history.

After defeating Akron in the inaugural field that was in Philadelphia last season, MSU made its return to open Jans’ second season by becoming the first team to win twice in the event.

While it was a sluggish start — Mississippi State’s first seven attempts were all 3-pointers, and only two went in — that resembled MSU’s defeat in the First Four of the NCAA Tournament in March, the Bulldogs quickly found their groove to leave little doubt before halftime. Thanks in large part to holding ASU to 32% shooting, MSU picked up what could be an important win later this season.

The win marked the Bulldogs’ first in three attempts against the Sun Devils.

Trey Fort lives up to name early for Bulldogs

Making his debut after signing with Mississippi State out of Howard College, guard Trey Fort quickly became a fan favorite. He opened the game with a 3-pointer on MSU’s first possession, the start of his 21-point night.

Fort missed three straight from deep after that, but he didn’t shy away from taking them. He hit four of his eight 3-point attempts in the first half. His three conversions late in the first half helped Mississippi State pull away.

The Bulldogs missed 11 of their first 14 attempts from the field. However, behind 12 makes on the next 18 attempts, they closed the half on a 30-8 run.

Chris Jans tests depth early

MSU was without three key players in guard Shakeel Moore and forwards KeShawn Murphy and Tolu Smith, so Jans tested his bench early. Within seven minutes, he had 10 players enter the game.

Fort cracked the starting rotation in Moore’s spot, but Jans quickly tried out guards Andrew Taylor and Josh Hubbard. Freshman center Gai Chol, who wasn’t expected to play much this season behind Smith and Jimmy Bell Jr., entered before the first media timeout.

Eight Bulldogs scored in the opening half, including starting guard Dashawn Davis, who hit a buzzer beater to give MSU a 39-18 edge going into halftime.

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What’s next?

Mississippi State returns to Starkville for its home opener on Saturday (4 p.m., SEC Network+) against UT Martin.

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.