Ill Ja'Borri McGhee powers Bulldogs through slow start in win over Utah

Ja’Borri McGhee scored 29 points while battling illness as Mississippi State rallied to defeat Utah on the road.

Mississippi State Bulldogs guard Ja'Borri McGhee (2) has a shot blocked by Utah Utes forward Keanu Dawes (8) during the first half at Delta Center. | Rob Gray-Imagn Images

Mark Twain was really on to something when he said that history doesn’t repeat, but rhymes instead.

Playing on the same court Michael Jordan had his famous “flu game” in the 1997 NBA Finals, Mississippi State’s Ja’Borri McGhee had his version of a flu game.

Mississippi State coach Chris Jans said during his post-game radio interview that McGhee had been ill this week leading up to Saturday night’s game against Utah.

“He'd been sick for a couple of days, some body soreness, and he wasn't participating full possessions in practice and even in shootaround,” Jans said. “He was coughing all day long and we're trying to get as much fluids in him as we could.”

McGhee didn’t match Jordan’s 38 points, but did lead the Bulldogs with 29 points on 11-of-16 shooting, including 5-of-7 from beyond the arch.

“He went out there and guys were messing with him talking about the ‘flu game’ Jordan had in this arena,” Jans said. “Certainly he played a big part.”

The Bulldogs needed a big performance from someone with Josh Hubbard clearly not 100 percent.

Hubbard, Mississippi State’s leading scorer, suffered an injury in last week’s loss to San Francisco and was questionable to face Utah. He did end up playing 30 minutes and was one of three Bulldogs to score 10 or more points. But he was 6-of-18 from the field and 1-for-6 on three-pointers.

Reason for slow start

Coaches and players usually don’t make excuses for poor performances, or at least don’t make them public.

Jans and the Bulldogs won’t hide from what was a very bad start against the Utes, who led by 17 points at halftime.

“We just weren't playing very well. That was some fired-up huddles from me to them,” Jans said. “We had great energy in practice yesterday and in shootaround like, wow. That isn't a predictor very often, then we came out and I thought we were flat. I really thought we were flat.”

Mississippi State was making just 41.2 percent of its field goals in the first half and was 4-for-11 in three-point attempts. Meanwhile, Utah shooting 56 percent from the field and 60 percent from beyond the arch.

So, one reason for the slow start was Utah started off hot. Another reason might be the long travel and having the game tipoff at 9 p.m.

“I was kicking myself that we didn't come earlier,” Jans said. “It's so much longer a flight than I anticipated. But I don't know why, if I knew why I'd fix it, but I don't.

“I would imagine it was a combination of things. The altitude, the travel, the wait around all day long and play in an NBA arena. I don't know. But fortunately for us Bulldogs, they turned the tide."

The second half saw, basically, a reversal of roles between the Bulldogs and Utes.

Mississippi State shot 61.3 percent from the field and Utah only 35.7 percent.

“We threw the kitchen sink at them defensively there in the last 12-14 minutes and we probably played more zone than I've ever played in that timespan,” Jans said. “But they did a pretty good job in it.”

Next up

The Bulldogs won’t have to worry about any traveling for its next game.

Long Island will travel to Starkville for a game Tuesday. Tipoff is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. on SECN+.