Mississippi State basketball overcomes slow start, dominates North Texas in Tupelo

TUPELO — There was a chill at Cadence Bank Arena on Sunday, with Mississippi State basketball playing its annual semi-home game on a makeshift court atop a sheet of ice that is in place for the holidays.

Unfortunately for the Bulldogs, the frigid feel lurking from the floor extended to their shooting. They opened the game missing their first seven shots and 11 of their first 15, allowing the reigning NIT champion to build an 11-point lead in the opening half.

However, thanks in large part to forward KeShawn Murphy putting the defense on skates, Mississippi State picked up its third KenPom top-100 win of the season.

Behind a 22-7 run to close the first half, MSU (9-2) secured a 72-54 win against North Texas (5-5). The Bulldogs are now 5-1 away from Humphrey Coliseum. Coach Chris Jans, who is in his second season at the helm, has lost just three nonconference regular-season games with the Bulldogs.

KeShawn Murphy has career day

Fittingly, Murphy closed the first half run for Mississippi State with a resounding dunk. Had it not been for him, the team likely wouldn’t have put together the run it did.

Murphy, who finished with a career-high 18 points, surpassed his best of 11 points before halftime. His first bucket came six minutes into the game when he sank a layup for just the second made field goal by the Bulldogs on 11 attempts.

During the stretch that saw UNT build its largest lead, he accounted for six of MSU’s eight points to keep the deficit from getting worse.

Murphy didn’t play in Mississippi State’s first five games because of an offseason injury. In four games played before the trip to Tupelo, he had just 17 points in 45 minutes.

D.J. Jeffries gets hot in second half

Jans has frequently praised forward D.J. Jeffries, even on nights where he hasn’t had success scoring. That’s because Jeffries often has had the best plus/minus on the team, representing the consistency he gives the Bulldogs in other phases of the game.

But he has started to find his stroke. He scored 12 of his 13 points in the second half to help MSU pull away. In his past four games, Jeffries has scored (47) points.

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What’s next on Mississippi State’s schedule?

Mississippi State has two nonconference games remaining, starting Dec. 23 with a trip to Newark, New Jersey, to face Rutgers (7-3). The Scarlet Knights have won their past two, capped by a win Saturday against LIU.

MSU will face Bethune-Cookman (5-5) at home on Dec. 31 before SEC play begins Jan. 6 at South Carolina.

Stefan Krajisnik is the Mississippi State beat writer for the Clarion Ledger. Contact him at skrajisnik@gannett.com or follow him on the X platform, formerly known as Twitter, @skrajisnik3.

This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: Mississippi State basketball thumps defending NIT champ North Texas