RALEIGH, N.C. — Josh Hubbard brought his A-game, splashing 3-pointers, blowing past defenders and even tossing a highlight-reel alley-oop to Riley Kugel in the first half.

But when No. 8 seed Mississippi State basketball had a chance to take the lead in the final seconds of Friday’s first round NCAA tournament game versus No. 9 Baylor, it wasn’t Hubbard who took the final shot. Claudell Harris Jr.’s 3-pointer airballed with 1.1 seconds remaining.

The Bulldogs (21-13), who trailed by 11 earlier in the second half, had their comeback fall short, losing 75-72 at Lenovo Center. They’ve now lost six consecutive March Madness games dating back to 2008.

The Bears (20-14) advanced to play either No. 1 Duke or No. 16 Mount St. Mary’s on Sunday.

Mississippi State basketball made a change to the starting lineup

Coach Chris Jans tweaked the Mississippi State starting lineup for the first time in nine games. He inserted Harris at guard for Kugel.

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Harris made an instant impact, drawing an offensive foul on Baylor star VJ Edgecombe on the first possession of the game. A short time later, Harris drained a 3-pointer that gave MSU a 5-2 lead. 

Kugel also made an impact on his first shift, swishing a 3 on his first shot attempt to tie the game at 10-10. 

Josh Hubbard had a big game for Mississippi State

So much of Mississippi State’s success this season has been determined by secondary scoring. Hubbard had a phenomenal game, especially when he scored 14 in the first half. MSU was able to chip away though in the second half when other players started scoring.

Harris and forward KeShawn Murphy both scored 10 points in the second half. Kugel scored 11 points with six in the second half.

Hubbard finished with 26 points on four 3-pointers. It’s the fifth-most points scored in an NCAA tournament game in program history.

Baylor had the advantage on the offensive glass, turnovers

The Bears are one of the best offensive rebounding teams in the Big 12 and used it to their advantage against MSU. 

They had 15 offensive rebounds in the game to Mississippi State’s seven. Nine of the Baylor offensive rebounds and 14 of the second-chance points came in the first half as Baylor took a 37-32 halftime lead. 

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The Bulldogs were also careless with the basketball. They committed eight turnovers in the first half which led to nine Baylor points. The turnovers piled up early in the second half as the Bears extended their lead to 11 points. Hubbard, Matthews and Murphy each had three turnovers.

Sam Sklar is the Mississippi State beat reporter for the Clarion Ledger. Email him at [email protected] and follow him on X @sklarsam_.