Instant Reaction: Turnovers, Droughts Sink Mississippi State Against Arkansas

Mississippi State struggled with turnovers and scoring droughts Saturday, falling at home to No. 21 Arkansas as its postseason outlook dimmed.

Arkansas Razorbacks forward Trevon Brazile (7) drives to the basket between Mississippi State Bulldogs center Quincy Ballard (15) and guard Shawn Jones Jr. (5) during the first half at Humphrey Coliseum. | Petre Thomas-Imagn Images

Mississippi State’s time for a turnaround is now, but Saturday’s loss to No. 21 Arkansas 88-68 was exactly the opposite of what was needed.

The Bulldogs took an early 8-4 lead in the opening minutes and that would be the only time the lead would be within reach.

Where Mississippi State goes from here isn’t certain, but its chance to for a fourth-straight trip to the NCAA tournament is dangerously close to slipping away.

Here’s how Saturday’s game at Humphrey Coliseum in Starkville went down.

First Half Reaction

Fans in maroon and white can’t be feeling too good right now with the Bulldogs trailing by 13 points at halftime.

Arkansas forced nine turnovers in the first 20 minutes and scored 15 points off of them. That includes freshman Darius Acuff Jr.’s last-second three-pointer after Josh Hubbard got trapped near the halfcourt line and committed his third turnover.

The Razorbacks ended the half on a 6-0 run and Mississippi State on a 2:35 scoring drought.

Unfortunately, that wasn’t the longest scoring drought of the half for the Bulldogs. They had scoring drought in the middle portion of the first half that lasted nearly five minutes. In that time, Arkansas went on a 13-0 run and scored seven points off turnovers.

Mississippi State began to work its way back into the game with a 7-0 run after that scoring drought. But when a run like is sandwiched between long scoring droughts, it doesn’t help much.

The Razorbacks aren’t just forcing turnovers. Mississippi State has seen a few errant passes go in the stands, a few unlucky bounces and a shot clock violation led to turnovers.

The Arkansas defense also isn’t giving up many good looks.

The Bulldogs shot 41% from the field and were just 1-of-4 on three-point attempts. The only place the Bulldogs are winning on the stat sheet is at the boards where they have 21 rebounds and Arkansas has 18.

Everything else sees Arkansas ahead of Mississippi State.

Hubbard leads the Bulldogs with 10 points and Achor Achor has nine, plus the lone three-pointer. Jayden Epps is scoreless (0-for-3) coming off the bench for the fifth-straight game and Jamarion Davis-Fleming has four points.

Achor from distance 🎯 pic.twitter.com/pmSbnfVyT5

— Mississippi State Men's Basketball (@HailStateMBK) February 7, 2026

A lot of things will need to change in the second if Mississippi State wants to avoid losing its second consecutive game.

Second Half Reaction

Mississippi State did a better job in the second half of not turning the ball over with just two and had a better field goal percentage (50% to 41%), but that was about it.

The first half deficit proved to be too much to overcome as No. 21 Arkansas kept shooting at or above 50% from the field and outrebounded the Bulldogs 20-12.

Acuff continued to be nearly unstoppable and finished the game with 24 points, five rebounds and eight assists. Trevon Brazile played at a similar level with 19 points, eight rebounds and four blocks. As a team, the Razorbacks finished with 19 points off turnovers.

Mississippi State Top Performers

• Points: Josh Hubbard, 16
• Rebounds: Achor Achor, 8
• Assists: Josh Hubbard, 5
• Steals: Achor Achor, 2
• Blocks: Quincy Ballard/Jamarion Davis-Fleming, 2

Next Up

Mississippi State will get a couple days to rest and try to fix the issues that have led to back-to-back losses. The Bulldogs will be back in action at 8 p.m. Wednesday against Tennessee. The game will air on ESPN2.