All eyes will be on preseason All-Southeastern Conference guard Josh Hubbard on Monday night when his Mississippi State team faces Tennessee Tech in Starkville, Miss.
A rarity in the current era of college basketball, Hubbard will begin his fourth season at the school he started with and shouldn’t need long to become the Bulldogs’ all-time leading scorer.
The Mississippi native enters play against the Golden Eagles fourth on Mississippi State’s career list with 1,947 points — 195 behind leader Jeff Malone (1979-83).
“Obviously Josh has been a staple for us in my tenure going into his fourth year, which is not the norm in the landscape of college basketball,” Mississippi State coach Chris Jans said. “Our relationship continues to grow. My understanding of who he is, how to coach him, where to get him in his spots, has gotten better with each season that I’ve had the opportunity to coach him.”
Hubbard ranked second in the SEC and 10th nationally last season with an average of 22.1 points per game. Jans needs his star to continue to shoulder the load for a team projected to finish 15th in the conference’s preseason poll.
To complement Hubbard’s scoring, the Bulldogs (13-19 last season) dipped into the transfer portal to sign fourth-year guard RJ Johnson from Kennesaw State. He averaged 14.5 points and 4.0 assists while shooting 42.3% from 3-point range last season to earn All-Conference USA honors.
“(RJ) has done a great job at slimming up and tightening his body,” Jans said. “I think he’s lost 27 pounds since we got him. He’s really transformed how he looks. Obviously made him lighter on his feet, quicker. Probably feels better. He’s got a chance to be a big-time player for us.”
Searching for a 17th consecutive home-opening win, Mississippi State welcomes a Tennessee Tech team beginning a new era.
Monday’s game will mark the Golden Eagles’ first game as a member of the Southern Conference after a 77-year stint in the Ohio Valley Conference. The game also will serve as the debut for first-year coach Tobin Anderson, the former Fairleigh Dickinson coach who directed the NCAA Tournament’s second upset by a No. 16 seed of a No. 1 seed when FDU toppled Purdue in 2023.
Anderson hopes for a similar opportunity at his new stop.
“It’s been 63 years since we’ve been in the NCAA Tournament. It’s the second-longest streak in Division I,” Anderson said. “I like things like that. I like the idea of doing something that hasn’t been done in a long time, and we’re going to try to do that.”
The Golden Eagles (13-18 last season) return two players from last season in Ty Owens (6.8 ppg) and Mekhi Turner (4.1). They added three transfers who averaged in double figures in scoring: Stonehill’s Davante Hackett (13.6), Le Moyne’s Trent Mosquera (13.5) and Abilene Christian’s Cbo Newton (10.1).