Mississippi State Bulldogs at Akron Zips
· NCAA Men's Basketball
Mississippi State beats Akron 73-54 in Philadelphia
Smith was 11 of 13 from the field and 4 of 6 at the stripe, nearly missing his career high of 27 points. Shakeel Moore had six points, six rebounds and four steals for Mississippi State (2-0), which was participating in the Barstool Invitational.
Mississippi State led 35-27 at halftime. Akron took a 39-38 lead after opening the second half on a 12-3 run, but the Bulldogs scored 21 of the next 26 points to go ahead by double-digits for good at 59-44.
Xavier Castaneda had 20 points and six assists for Akron (1-1). Enrique Freeman, the reigning MAC defensive play of the year, added nine points.
On Monday, Mississippi State overcame an early 12-point deficit en route to a 63-44 season-opening rout of Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, a NCAA Tournament team from a season ago. The Bulldogs face Arkansas-Pine Bluff for a Sunday
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Recent Plays
| 2nd 0:00 | End of Game | 73 - 54 |
| 2nd 0:00 | End of 2nd half | 73 - 54 |
| 2nd 0:19 | Shawn Jones Jr. Steal. | 73 - 54 |
| 2nd 0:19 | Amani Lyles Turnover. | 73 - 54 |
| 2nd 0:25 | Kobe Mitchell Steal. | 73 - 54 |
Statistics
 MSST |
 AKR |
|
|---|---|---|
| 29-55 | FG | 16-49 |
| 53 | Field Goal % | 33 |
| 7-14 | 3PT | 6-27 |
| 50 | Three Point % | 22 |
| 8-13 | FT | 16-24 |
| 62 | Free Throw % | 67 |
| 43 | Rebounds | 25 |
| 11 | Offensive Rebounds | 6 |
| 32 | Defensive Rebounds | 19 |
| 17 | Assists | 13 |
| 9 | Steals | 8 |
| 0 | Blocks | 1 |
| 14 | Turnovers | 9 |
| 0 | Team Turnovers | 0 |
| 14 | Total Turnovers | 9 |
| 0 | Technical Fouls | 0 |
| 0 | Total Technical Fouls | 0 |
| 0 | Flagrant Fouls | 0 |
| 13 | Points Off Turnovers | 6 |
| 5 | Fast Break Points | 7 |
| 40 | Points in Paint | 20 |
| 21 | Fouls | 15 |
| 20 | Largest Lead | 1 |
Game Information
Location: Philadelphia, PA
Attendance: 5,213 | Capacity:
2025-26 Southeastern Conference Standings
| TEAM | CONF | GB | OVER |
|---|---|---|---|
| Florida | 16-2 | - | 27-8 |
| Arkansas | 13-5 | 3 | 28-8 |
| Alabama | 13-5 | 3 | 25-9 |
| Vanderbilt | 11-7 | 5 | 27-9 |
| Tennessee | 11-7 | 5 | 24-11 |
| Texas A&M | 11-7 | 5 | 22-12 |
| Georgia | 10-8 | 6 | 22-11 |
| Kentucky | 10-8 | 6 | 22-14 |
| Missouri | 10-8 | 6 | 20-13 |
| Texas | 9-9 | 7 | 21-14 |
| Oklahoma | 7-11 | 9 | 19-15 |
| Auburn | 7-11 | 9 | 19-16 |
| Mississippi State | 5-13 | 11 | 13-19 |
| Ole Miss | 4-14 | 12 | 15-20 |
| South Carolina | 4-14 | 12 | 13-19 |
| LSU | 3-15 | 13 | 15-17 |
2025-26 Mid-American Conference Standings
| TEAM | CONF | GB | OVER |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miami (OH) | 18-0 | - | 32-2 |
| Akron | 17-1 | 1 | 29-6 |
| Kent State | 14-4 | 4 | 24-10 |
| Toledo | 11-7 | 7 | 19-15 |
| Bowling Green | 9-9 | 9 | 18-14 |
| Ohio | 9-9 | 9 | 15-17 |
| Buffalo | 7-11 | 11 | 17-15 |
| Massachusetts | 7-11 | 11 | 17-16 |
| Ball State | 7-11 | 11 | 12-19 |
| Central Michigan | 6-12 | 12 | 10-21 |
| Western Michigan | 4-14 | 14 | 10-21 |
| Eastern Michigan | 4-14 | 14 | 10-21 |
| Northern Illinois | 4-14 | 14 | 9-21 |