Five Things To Know: State vs. North Alabama

Wednesday, November 5

Starkville

8 p.m.

Mississippi State

North Alabama

Tickets From $11 - $17

Five Things To Know: State vs. North Alabama

November 04, 2025 | Men's Basketball

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by Matt Dunaway, Director/Communications

STARKVILLE – Mississippi State men's basketball returns to the hardwood for its 2025-26 season opener versus North Alabama on Wednesday evening at Humphrey Coliseum.

State secured its third straight NCAA Tournament bid for the third time in program history during the 2024-25 season. The last time the Bulldogs accomplished the feat was in 2002-03, 2003-04 and 2004-05.

This season, State is looking to connect four consecutive NCAA Tournament trips for the 2nd time in program history. The previous 4-year run went from 2001-02 to 2004-05 under Rick Stansbury.

State's victories over No. 18 Pitt, at No. 21 Memphis, versus No. 21 Ole Miss, at No. 19 Ole Miss and against No. 7 Texas A&M gave the Bulldogs five wins over AP Top 25 foes for the first time in program history during the 2024-25 regular season.

Humphrey Coliseum has been one of the nation's most electric atmospheres during the Chris Jans era where the Bulldogs posted top six program average attendance marks in back-to-back seasons. The Hump will celebrate the 50th anniversary of opening its doors in 26 days on December 1.

Fans can purchase single game tickets for the program's remaining non-conference home games through Mississippi State's Athletic Ticket Office at www.HailState.com/tickets or by calling (662) 325-2600 / (888) 463-2947 (GO DAWGS).

SERIES HISTORY & SEASON OPENERS
Wednesday's opener will mark the sixth meeting between the two schools on the hardwood. The Lions were 24-11 and the Atlantic Sun Conference regular season champions. North Alabama was invited to the NIT after falling to Lipscomb in the ASUN Tournament final.

The Bulldogs have posted a combined 22-1 mark against Austin Peay, Central Arkansas, Eastern Kentucky, Florida Gulf Coast, Jacksonville, North Florida, Stetson and West Georgia who also are members of the A-Sun.

The Maroon and White has won 11 of its last 12 seasons openers since 2013-14 highlighted by all three season debuts under Coach Jans by a combined 69 points. Coach Jans has won all nine of his season openers as an NCAA Division I head coach. Eight of the nine wins have come by 10-plus points.

The Matchup: Mississippi State (0-0, 0-0 SEC) vs. North Alabama (0-0, 0-0 Atlantic Sun)
Where: Starkville, Mississippi – Humphrey Coliseum
When: Wednesday, November 5, 8:00 p.m. CT
Live Stats: StatBroadcast (https://hailst.at/MBKLiveStats)
TV SEC Network
Stream: ESPN App, www.ESPN.com/watch (Subscription Required)
Direct Link: https://hailst.at/3WZTv37
Talent: Dave Neal, Rodney Terry

Radio: Mississippi State Sports Network – Powered by Learfield
Talent: Neil Price, Richard Williams
Affiliates: WZLA-FM 96.1 Starkville/West Point
Free Online Audio: Hail State and The Varsity Network Apps
Direct Link: https://hailst.at/4hGeb9T

FIVE THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT STATE
1. Chris Jans, one of the nation's premier bench bosses, leads the State program. He is assisted by George Brooks, David Anwar, Patrice Days, Scott Padgett and Dillon Elder.

Jans, a three-time WAC Coach of the Year during his tenure at New Mexico State, owns an impressive .710 winning percentage (206-84) in his 9th season as a NCAA Division I head coach. He earned his 200th career victory against Ole Miss (01/18).

Jans is sixth among NCAA active coaches with the aforementioned .710 winning percentage which sits behind only Mark Few (Gonzaga), Bill Self (Kansas), John Calipari (Arkansas), Randy Bennett (Saint Mary's) and Rick Pitino (St. John's) among coaches with at least nine seasons of NCAA Division I experience.

In his three seasons at State, Jans has amassed 63 victories, which is most for a State coach and trails only Florida's Todd Golden among the six, SEC third-year coaches. He is the only active SEC coach at his respective school to post a trio of 20-plus win seasons during his first three seasons inside the league.

Jans remains in the elite company of Calipari (Kentucky – 2009-10, 2010-11, 2011-12), Bruce Pearl (Tennessee – 2005-06, 2006-07, 2007-08) and Tubby Smith (Kentucky – 1997-98, 1998-99, 1999-2000) as the only four coaches in SEC history to take their squads to three straight NCAA Tournaments with at least 21 wins in their first three seasons inside the league.

Nationally, Jans is joined by Jon Scheyer (Duke) as the only fourth-year coaches in the nation to take their squads to the 2023, 2024 and 2025 NCAA Tournaments, respectively.

As a junior college head coach, Jans won the 1997-98 NJCAA Division II National Championship at Kirkwood Community College in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

Jans played a vital role as an assistant coach at Wichita State which was headed by a 2013 NCAA Final Four run, five NCAA Tournament trips and four Missouri Valley Conference regular season crowns before he won the 2015 Joe B. Hall National Coach of the Year during his first season as a NCAA Division I head coach at Bowling Green.

Jans ushered in an unprecedented run of success over a five-year span at New Mexico State where he guided the Aggies to a 122-32 record sparked by three NCAA Tournament trips. The program was in-line for a 4th NCAA Tournament appearance before the 2019-20 postseason was canceled.

2. State's returning group is fueled by Josh Hubbard, Shawn Jones Jr. and Dellquan Warren.

Hubbard, a two-time All-SEC Second-Team selection, joined Erick Dampier as the only State players to notch All-SEC status during their freshman and sophomore seasons. He is a consensus All-SEC Preseason First-Team pick this season in addition to being on the Bob Cousy, Naismith Trophy and Oscar Robertson Preseason Watch Lists.

Hubbard's 1240 career points are the most among SEC freshmen and sophomore players during the 2000s. He also ranks fourth overall among SEC freshmen and sophomore players which includes the illustrious company of Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf (LSU – 1854 PTS), Allan Houston (Tennessee – 1415 PTS) and Bernard King (Tennessee – 1290 PTS).

Hubbard is joined by Bailey Howell (1957-58-59) and Jamont Gordon (2006-07-08) as the lone State players to rip off back-to-back seasons of 550+ points. His 1240 career points also is third highest in State history through 69 games behind Howell and Jerry Jenkins (1973-74-75).

Hubbard ranks among the SEC's top 15 in six categories: points per game (18.88– 2nd), assist-turnover ratio (2.49 – 2nd), three-point field goals made (3.18 – 2nd), free throw percentage (87.8 – 4th), three-point field goal percentage (34.5 – 7th) and assists per game (3.15 – 15th) last season.

Hubbard has racked up double figures in 63 of 69 outings fueled by 17 of his 27 efforts of 20+ points versus SEC foes. He has sunk multiple triples in 59 of 69 career games and has hit at least one three-pointer in 47 consecutive games which set a program record breaking Darryl Wilson's mark of over 30 years during the Oklahoma game (02/22). The Madison native has already buried 216 treys which is already tied for 5th on the program's all-time list.

Hubbard exploded for a career-best 38 points against No. 4 Alabama (01/29/2025). The 38 points are the most for a State player during the 2000s, and the most points in program history versus a ranked opponent.

Over his last 14 outings, Hubbard has dialed up 22.6 points per game sparked by 49 triples. He has led the team in scoring during 34 of his 50 career starts since the Auburn game (01/28/2024).

Hubbard, a two-time Howell Trophy winner awarded to the state's top collegiate player and ESPN top 100 recruit for the Class of 2023, capped his high school career as the state of Mississippi's all-time leading scorer with 4,367 career points. He broke a state record that stood for 37 years previously held by Mississippi State's Robert Woodard.

Jones Jr. has made 80 of his 93 appearances off the bench over his three seasons with the Bulldogs. He posted a career-high tying 11 points versus Prairie View A&M (12/08), while his SEC career-best is 11 points against South Carolina (02/28/2023). Jones Jr. posted 6.3 points per game in March.

Warren has seen action in 26 games off the bench. He chipped in multiple assists in nine outings last season in addition to multiple steals on three occasions. The freshmen came away with a season's best five points versus LSU (03/12) at the SEC Tournament.

Announced at SEC Media Days by Coach Jans, Gai Chol will miss the 2025-26 season due to injury.

3. State's transfer class includes Achor Achor (Samford • Kansas State), Amier Ali (Arizona State), Quincy Ballard (Florida State • Wichita State), Jayden Epps (Georgetown • Illinois), Sergej Macura (KK Mega Bemax • Serbia) (Ja'Borri McGhee (UAB) Brandon Walker (Texas-Arlington • Montana State).

Achor has collected 1015 over his two junior college seasons and three seasons at the NCAA Division I level. His best season was when he was a 2023-24 Lou Henson Award finalist which is awarded to the nation's top mid-major player while at Samford. Achor was a 2023-24 All-Southern Conference First-Team honoree averaging 16.1 points per game and nearly fueled Samford to a 2024 NCAA Tournament upset of Kansas.

Ali came on strong towards the end of freshmen campaign at Arizona State where he poured in five of his 7 outings in double figures against Big 12 foes. He boosted his average to 8.6 points and 5.4 rebounds per game sparked by a 42.8 three-point percentage over ASU's last 11 games.

Ballard started in all 67 games for Wichita State over the last two seasons. He's had massive jumps in his scoring and rebounding averages during all three seasons at Wichita State (2.1 PPG, 2.1 RPG • 2022-23), (7.4 PPG, 6.0 RPG • 2023-24) and (10.0 PPG, 9.2 PPG • 2024-25). On the defensive end, Ballard has racked up 152 career blocks fueled by 45 performances with multiple blocks and six efforts of five-plus rejections.

Epps has piled up 1177 career points over 87 appearances sparked by 62 outings in double figures
18 performances of 20-plus points and seven efforts of 30 or more points. He has drained 154 career three-pointers highlighted by 42 games with multiple treys. Epps is complete combo guard with 23 games with multiple steals and 15 performances with five-plus assists. He was teammates with former State player RJ Melendez in 2022-23 at Illinois when both played for Brad Underwood.

Macura has a pair of KK Mega Bemax teammates, Andrija Jelavic (Kentucky) and Filip Jovic (Auburn) also are playing at SEC schools. He represented his native Slovenia at multiple FIBA events. He provided 11.3 points, 4.5 rebounds and 1.5 assists per game as Slovenia won the silver medal at the 2024 U20 EuroBasket Championships in Poland.

McGhee played at UAB last season where the Blazers were 24-13 and made the 2025 NIT Elite 8 under Andy Kennedy. UAB won 15 of 21 games where McGhee scored 10 or more points, while four of his five efforts of 20-plus points were against American Conference foes last season. Overall, he has amassed 1,419 career points which also includes his two junior college seasons.

Walker, a two-time All-Big Sky Honorable Mention pick, has dialed up 49 of his 57 career outings over the last two seasons at Montana State. He was ranked among the Big Sky's top 10 in field goal percentage and points last season. Overall, he has produced 1,094 points. Montana State made the 2024 NCAA Tournament First Four.

4. State's freshmen class features King Grace, Tee Barlett, Jamarion Davis-Fleming and Cameren Paul were ranked No. 12 nationally and fifth-best among SEC schools by ESPN's Classes of 2025.

Grace is consensus four-star prospect who played his final high school season at Oak Cliff Faith Family Academy based in Dallas, Texas. He ranked No. 75 in ESPN's Top 100 for the Class of 2025 and posted 24.3 points per game as a senior where he helped his team capture the EIBC Championship.

Bartlett is a unanimous four-star prospect who played his high school season for Overtime Elite based in Atlanta, Georgia. He ranked No. 94 in ESPN's Top 100 for the Class of 2025 and averaged 9.3 points and 5.1 rebounds per game as a senior. Overtime Elite players can play a max of 20 minutes per contest.

Davis-Fleming is another consensus four-star prospect as the state of Mississippi's top prospect while playing at Canton High School. He was rated No. 97 in ESPN's Top 100 for the Class of 2025. The 2024-25 Mississippi Gatorade Player of the Year posted 24.3 points, 11.8 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 4.0 blocks per game as the 2024-25 Gatorade Player of the Year for the state of Mississippi. His brother, Javian Davis, played basketball at State in 2020-21 and 2021-22 under Ben Howland.

Paul is rated as high as a four-star prospect who played his last high school season at South Grand Prairie High School based in Grand Prairie, Texas. He averaged 15.2 points per game as a senior.

5. As a program, State has earned seven straight postseason appearances when postseason tournament has been played (4 NCAA • 3 NIT) and 17 postseason appearances (10 NCAA • 7 NIT) during the 2000s.

The Bulldogs have compiled a 35-3 mark versus non-SEC opponents during the regular season and have held 22 of those 38 opponents (57.9 percent) to 60 points or less under Coach Jans.

State has posted an 11-2 regular season record against fellow major conference squads (ACC • BIG EAST • Big Ten • Big 12 • former Pac-12) under Coach Jans.

Nine of the 11 wins have come on road/neutral floors with the Bulldogs posting an average 8.9 margin-of-victory in those nine contests.

Visit www.HailState.com for the latest news and information on the men's basketball program. Fans also can follow the program on its official social media accounts by searching 'HailStateMBK' on Facebook, X and Instagram.