MCBB: Mississippi State enters top 15, Ole Miss moves up one spot in latest AP poll

Mississippi State made its season debut in the top 15 and Ole Miss moved up one spot in the latest rankings from the Associated Press after opening up conference play in the win column.

The Bulldogs (12-1, 1-0 SEC) jumped up to No. 14 after dominating South Carolina 85-50 in front of a raucous crowd in Starkville. Mississippi State’s defense shone in the matchup as Chris Jans’ crew held the Gamecocks to a 29.1% shooting performance. Offensively, Mississippi State shot 56.5% as a team.

Standout sophomore Josh Hubbard led the way for Mississippi State with 21 points. Claudell Harris, Jr. and KeShawn Murphy just missed out on double-doubles, as Harris totaled 17 points and nine rebounds, while Murphy scored 12 with eight boards.

“It feels great to be 1-0. It’s the first time since I’ve arrived that we’ve been 1-0 in SEC play. We’ve lost both of our [conference] openers in the previous two seasons,” Jans said. “That will put a little more bounce in everybody’s step. It’s certainly more fun to get a chalk on the left side of the column.”

Next up for the Bulldogs is a Tuesday night outing at Vanderbilt. Tipoff is scheduled for 8 p.m. CT.

Following an eight-spot drop in last week’s poll, Ole Miss (12-2, 1-0 SEC) came in at No. 23 after defeating Georgia 63-51 at home on Saturday. The Rebels leaned on veterans and stalwart defense in the matchup.

Matthew Murrell and Jaemyn Brakefield shook off a suboptimal outing versus Memphis and scored 15 points apiece to lead the Rebels to a hard-fought victory over the Bulldogs. Defensively, Ole Miss held Georgia, a team converting more than half of its shots this year, to a 29.4% shooting performance. The Bulldogs made just two of 18 shots from behind the arc during Saturday’s early game in the SJB Pavilion.

“That’s the game plan. Just have some discipline and do what we say we’re going to do,” Rebel head coach Chris Beard said after the win. “If we’re going to come out here and have a good week of practice, then on game day, we’re not going to do it, then why practice? I thought tonight we did what we said we were going to do.”

Ole Miss will return to the hardwood on Wednesday in a road contest against Arkansas. The game will begin at 6 p.m. CT.

As always, Ole Miss and Mississippi State basketball games are broadcast on participating SuperTalk Mississippi stations along with various television providers. The full top 25, which features nine SEC teams, can be found below: