State Champion: 5 Key Takeaways from Mississippi State’s Dominant Win Over Ole Miss

Beating Ole Miss was so nice Mississippi State did it twice. 5 Key Takeaways from the second win this year over its rival.

Feb 15, 2025; Oxford, Mississippi, USA; Mississippi State Bulldogs forward KeShawn Murphy (3) drives to the basket as Mississippi Rebels forward Jaemyn Brakefield (4) defends during the first half at The Sandy and John Black Pavilion at Ole Miss. Mandatory Credit: Petre Thomas-Imagn Images | Petre Thomas-Imagn Images

Mississippi State 81, Ole Miss 71

5. Ole Miss is the right team for Mississippi State

What are we learning about Mississippi State even this late in the season? It’s far stronger against the slower-paced grinding teams.

Tennessee was the exception a few weeks ago, but the high-powered offense just isn’t there in key situations. The Bulldogs are now 2-6 when allowing more than 80 points, and it took overtime for Ole Miss to get there in the first meeting.

Mississippi State is 16-1 when allowing fewer than 80, and that one was in that loss to Tennessee. So …

4. CONTROL THE TEMPO

Sometimes the best teams make you play their style. Auburn and Alabama certainly did that to the Bulldogs, and the Missouri and Florida games got out of hand fast. But when the defense is clamping down hard like it did against the Rebels, and when the team wins the rebounding battle, good things happen.

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17-4 run for State 🔥#HailState🐶 | 📺 ESPN pic.twitter.com/f2nrDDn2Hz

— Mississippi State Men's Basketball (@HailStateMBK) February 16, 2025

3. It almost seems like the road game did Mississippi State some good

It’s not like it was a cross-country trek to change the mindset a bit, but after a rough run of home games that was supposed to change the season for the positive, Mississippi State needed to just get out there and play. It was almost like the South Carolina win - the team played at a different level away from The Hump.

If there was a more dead crowd in the SEC on Saturday, good luck finding it after the Bulldogs started to take control.

This was about as loose and relaxed as the Bulldogs have plays in several weeks. There were plenty of mistakes, but takeaways changed that, the offense was balanced, and …

2. The ball movement was terrific

Again, that’s what Mississippi State is supposed to look like. The defense played with an extra bounce - and again, that’s partly because Ole Miss doesn’t have the hair-on-fire chops of other SEC teams.

The offense didn’t force too much with most of the misses coming on just plain not hitting the shot.

The Rebel defense is good, but the Bulldog depth mattered here with five players in double figures. Josh Hubbard didn’t have to do everything, and the rest of the team picked him up with a bit of an off day, and now …

OUR 𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐓𝐄 🧹#HailState🐶 pic.twitter.com/njD2sK0oVs

— Mississippi State Men's Basketball (@HailStateMBK) February 16, 2025

1. Exhale. Mississippi State showed that it really is fine

The SEC might not be quite as amazing as everyone is making it out to be - just wait until a month from now to see just how overloved this conference is - but of course every game in this league is a battle. The NCAA Tournament bid should be set now with several winnable games to close, and now it’s time to go on a run.

Texas A&M, at Oklahoma, at Alabama. That’s a lot of nasty, but win two of those three, and with LSU, Texas, and at Arkansas to close there’s a lot to like.

To keep ramming this at home in game after game, this is all preseason. Mississippi State is getting ready for the SEC Tournament, and then all that really matters is what happens in the middle of March. So exhale - this is a grind of a regular season, but as this dominant win over Ole Miss showed, look out when this team plays up to its capabilities.