Postgame Notes: State vs. Tennessee Tech

TEAM NOTES

Mississippi State began the 2026-27 season with a 106-88 victory against Tennessee Tech during Monday's season opener at Humphrey Coliseum.
The 106 points tied the most scored by the Bulldogs under Coach Jans in a single game and were the most points scored by State during a season opener since an identical 106-88 win over Eastern Washington in 2015-16.
All square at 31-31 with 5:26 remining, State closed the half on a 22-6 spurt to take a 53-37 advantage into halftime. King Grace led the way with 16 points off the bench.
The Bulldogs would lead by as many as 22 points at 88-66 after a traditional three-point play courtesy of Tajuan Simpkins at the 7:01 mark of the second half.
Josh Hubbard (25 points) and King Grace (23 points) produced the top two scoring efforts by SEC players on opening night.
State have won 13 of their last 14 season openers since 2013-14 highlighted by all five debuts under Coach Jans.
The five wins with Coach Jans at the helm have come by an average of 22.6 points per game.
Coach Jans moved to 11-0 in his season openers as a NCAA Division I head coach. He has captured 10 of his 11 victories by double figures.
State has won all five meetings with Tennessee Tech, and the Bulldogs improved their combined record to 45-14 mark against current SoCon schools.
The Bulldogs have compiled a 43-8 mark versus non-SEC opponents during the regular season under Coach Jans fueled by wins in 25 of 27 non-conference home outings at Humphrey Coliseum.
State is 60-11 over the last five seasons under Coach Jans when leading at the half.
The Bulldogs are 20-9 over the last five seasons under Coach Jans when knocking down at least 10 or more three-pointers in a game.
State is 23-6 over the last five seasons under Coach Jans during the month of November.
The Bulldogs are 27-8 over the last five seasons under Coach Jans when shooting 50 percent or higher.
State dished out 23 assists on 35 buckets with four players handing out multiple dimes.
The Bulldogs outrebounded Tennessee Tech, 39-26, on the glass.
State is 58-21 over the last five seasons under Coach Jans when winning the battle of the boards.
State recorded five blocks, each coming from a different player.
State sank 35-of-60 from the floor (58.3 percent), hit on 12-of-24 from three-point territory (50.0 percent) and connected on a 24-of-32 clip at the free throw line (75.0 percent).
The Bulldogs are 14-2 over the last five seasons under Coach Jans when knocking down 20+ free throws.
Conversely, Tennessee Tech recorded a 32-of-66 shooting effort (48.5 percent), made 9-of-32 of its three-pointers (28.1 percent) and tallied a 15-for-20 mark at the charity stripe (75.0 percent).

PLAYER NOTES

Josh Hubbard

Started his 83rd consecutive game over the past four seasons (01/27/2024-11/02/2026) where he has led the team in scoring in 56 of those 83 outings.
His team-leading 25 points came on 7-of-11 from the field and 3-of-4 from three-point territory and 8-of-10 from the charity stripe.
Dished out a career-high 9 assists and added 2 steals.
His 6th career outing with 25+ points and 5+ assists where State has compiled a 5-1 record.
The 47th time that Hubbard has posted 20+ points during his career.
The senior guard now has 1972 career points which allowed him to remain in 4th place on State's all-time scoring list. He sits 41 points shy of passing Quinndary Weatherspoon (2016-17-18-19) for 3rd place.
The 25 points enabled Hubbard to pass Alabama's Mark Sears (2023-24-25), Tennessee's Bernard King (1975-76-77) and LSU's Bob Petit (1952-53-54) to move up to 31st place on the SEC's all-time scoring list.
Hubbard will enter the Northwestern State game 28 points away from becoming the 4th player at State and 29th player in SEC history to reach 2,000 career points.
Notched double figures for the 94th time over his 102 career games.
The 94 games of 10+ points are tied for 3rd place with Rickey Brown (1977-78-78-80) on State's all-time list.
Drained multiple three's for the 10th straight game (02/11/2026-11/02/2026) and the 84th time in his career.
Hubbard now has 314 career triples which allowed him to pass Alabama's John Petty (2018-19-20-21) to claim 9th place on the SEC list.
Dished out 5+ assists for the 20th time in his career.
Collected multiple steals for the 26th time in his career. His is four steals away from surpassing 100 for his career.

RJ Johnson

Has made 23 of 26 career starts over the last two seasons between Mississippi State and Kennesaw State
Came away with 12 points, 3 assists and a team-leading +22 ratio when he was on the floor.
Scored double figures in 15 of his last 16 games (01/28/2026-11/02/2026) stemming back to last season at Kennesaw State.
Posted his 34th career outing with double figures. His teams are 22-12 when Johnson provides 10+ points.
His 16th career game with multiple three-pointers
Handed out multiple assists in 42 of 65 career games.

Kimani Hamilton

Made his 119th career appearance and his 107th consecutive start over the last four seasons between High Point, UNLV and State.
Tallied 5 points, 6 rebounds and a +20 mark when he was on the floor.
Collected 5+ rebounds for the 70th time in his career.
Sits at 22 points away with reaching 1,500 for his career.

Thomas Bassong

Started for the 18th time in 34 career games over the last two seasons between Mississippi State and Florida State.
Provided a career-high tying 14 points on 5-of-7 shooting to go along with 6 rebounds and 1 block.
Marked the 6th time in his career with 10+ points.
Grabbed 5+ rebounds for the 10th time in his career.

ND Okafor

Made his 104th career appearance with 33 of his 35 career starts over the last two seasons between Mississippi State and Washington State.
Picked up 2 points, 4 rebounds and 1 block.
Secured 112 career blocks with at least one rejection in 49 of his last 65 games going back to the 2024-25 season.

BENCH

State outscored Tennessee Tech by a 48-22 margin off the bench.
King Grace and Tajuan Simpkins did the heavy lifting as the duo combined for 38 of the team's 48 points off the bench.
Grace ushered in new career highs of 23 points, 8 rebounds and 4 assists over his 23 minutes of court time.
Went 8-for-12 shooting, hit on 3-of-4 from three-point territory and 3-of-4 at the free throw line.
Scored 16 of his 23 points during the opening half.
His 3rd career performance of 10+ points and the 1st time he broke the 20+ point barrier.
Notched multiple treys for the 5th time in his career.
Distributed multiple assists for the 3rd time in his career.
Simpkins stuffed the stats sheet with 15 points, 5 assists, 5 rebounds and 2 steals.
His 1st career outing with 15+ points and 5+ assists.
The 43rd time that Simpkins has scored double figures. His teams are 29-14 when Simpkins scores 10+ points.
Secured 5+ rebounds for the 13th time in his career.
Kendyl Sanders tucked away 5 points and 3 rebounds.
Jalyn Collingwood (3 points), Tristan Reed (2 points) and Willie Burnett III (0 points) all made their collegiate debuts in the Maroon and White.

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Players Mentioned

Thomas Bassong

Willie Burnett III

Jalyn Collingwood

King Grace

Josh Hubbard

RJ Johnson

ND Okafor

Tristan Reed

Kendyl Sanders

Tajuan Simpkins

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