Mississippi State, Oklahoma put five-game winning streaks to test
Oklahoma and Mississippi State will put five-game winning streaks on the line in a Southeastern Conference showdown on Wednesday in Starkville, Miss.
Both teams have rallied around the stiff challenge of SEC play.
"Conference play has the rallying cry of a new season," Mississippi State coach Chris Jans said. "The level of play goes up."
Of the Bulldogs' (9-5, 1-0 SEC) five straight wins, the latest was a dramatic 101-98 overtime win at Texas on Saturday. Josh Hubbard nailed the go-head 3-pointer with 39.2 seconds remaining and poured in a career-high-tying 38 points. It was a performance that earned him SEC Player of the Week Honors.
Jayden Epps added 27 points and Achor Achor had a double-double with 10 points and 13 rebounds. Mississippi State shot 44.7% from the field (34 of 76) for the game, but were 5 of 8 from the field and 1 of 3 from 3-point range in overtime.
While Jans said the Bulldogs' decision-making can improve, he doesn't want to tinker with shot selection too much.
"Shot selection is a tricky subject matter," Jans said "I've gone back and forth with it through my whole career. You can't replace confidence. There's no better potion than confidence in yourself, teammates or coach. But when you start messing with shot selection, confidence can become an issue. There's such a fine line when it comes to shot selection."
In the Sooners' fifth straight win, five players scored in double figures in an 86-70 home win over Ole Miss on Saturday.
Xzayvier Brown led Oklahoma (11-3, 1-0) with 23 points as he connected on 4 of 5 3-point attempts. Tae Davis and Nijel Pack each added 15 points.
But it was the energy of Kuol Atak, who chipped in 14 points off the bench and hit 4 of 9 from distance, that Oklahoma coach Porter Moser singled out.
"He gives you that lift," Moser said. "He has a high release. He is getting stronger and better defensively and in rebounding. He showed his athleticism off the dribble, too. He is a complete threat."