Mississippi State thrashing of Memphis prompts Penny Hardaway to give Bulldogs huge compliment

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MEMPHIS, Tenn. — FedExForum was as loud as it had been all afternoon with about five minutes remaining in the first half Saturday.

Memphis basketball’s star guard PJ Haggerty had just drained a 3-pointer after coach Penny Hardaway called a timeout. Mississippi State’s lead was cut from 20 to 12. The Bulldogs pushed the ball up the floor and Claudell Harris Jr. splashed a contested 3-pointer. It hushed the crowd. Memphis never came within 12 points of MSU the rest of the game.

Every time No. 22 Memphis made a small push, No. 25 Mississippi State had an answer. MSU (11-1) won 79-66, leading by as many as 24 points in the second half. Memphis fans began flooding for the exits with 10 minutes remaining.

The Bulldogs are 2-0 against ranked opponents and 3-0 in Quad 1 games. It was the type of performance that brings belief that they could be contenders for the SEC championship.

Take it from Hardaway, whose Tigers (9-3) have played one of the nation’s most difficult schedules against teams like Auburn, UConn, Michigan State, Clemson and Virginia.

“They stack up with anybody because they have scoring, they have length and they have size,” Hardaway said. “They have great chemistry with the guys they’ve added with the guys they had coming back. They’re very dynamic because they can score, and they’re very dynamic because they’re long and they can put you in positions in there with getting deflections and getting turnovers.

“… They’re as good as any team we’ve played so far. That’s Michigan State, that’s UConn, that’s Clemson and Virginia. Any of them. Missouri. They’re just as good or better.”

Mississippi State is more than Josh Hubbard

Last season’s team that lost in the first round of the NCAA Tournament was carried down the stretch offensively by Josh Hubbard’s record-setting freshman season.

Mississippi State has demonstrated multiple times this season that it can win games without Hubbard being a superstar. The Bulldogs did again vs Memphis. And it’s not the…

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Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/mississippi-state-thrashing-memphis-prompts-222923087.html

Author : The Clarion Ledger

Publish date : 2024-12-21 22:29:00

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