KeShawn Murphy leads Mississippi State to upset of No. 18 Pitt

KeShawn Murphy came off the bench to score 20 points Wednesday night, leading five Mississippi State players in double figures during a 90-57 blasting of No. 18 Pittsburgh in Starkville, Miss.

Michael Nwoko added 18 points and 11 rebounds for the Bulldogs (7-1), which led by as many as 35 points in dominating the Panthers (7-2). They carved out a 49-27 rebounding advantage and canned 57.8 percent of their field-goal tries.

Josh Hubbard contributed 12 points, while Claudell Harris Jr. and RJ Melendez each chipped in 10. Mississippi State controlled the lane all night, outscoring Pittsburgh by a whopping 52-14, and had more offensive rebounds (16) than the Panthers had defensive boards (13).

Jaland Lowe scored 19 points to pace Pittsburgh but experienced a miserable shooting performance, making 7 of 21 from the field. Brandin Cummings added 12 off the bench but the Panthers hit a measly 31.3 percent of their field-goal tries.

Murphy dunked with 16:36 left in the game to give the Bulldogs their first 30-point lead at 56-26. They led by double figures for the final 29:15.

Pittsburgh came into this one as a ranked team for the first time in nearly 11 calendar years but it was clear early that it was in for a long night. Cameron Matthews set an instant tone in the first minute with a putback, a steal and an assist on Riley Kugel's bucket.

The Bulldogs never trailed and led by 10 points less than nine minutes into the game on Murphy's short jumper that made it 18-8. They upped the margin to 21 when Harris drained a 3-pointer at the 6:26 mark to finish a 14-0 run and put the Panthers behind 32-11.

The first half ended in fitting fashion as Matthews and Murphy stuck back the other's missed shots in the final minute for a 47-25 lead at the break. Mississippi State ended the half with major advantages of 17-2 in second-chance points and 27-14 in rebounding.

--Field Level Media