No. 23 Mississippi State beats Minnesota, remains undefeated

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Tolu Smith scored 20 points to lead a balanced offense that complemented No. 23 Mississippi State’s smothering defense in a 69-51 victory over Minnesota Sunday night to say undefeated.

Mississippi State (9-0) is one of seven Division I programs still unbeaten. It’s the Bulldogs’ best start to a season since they won their first 13 games in 2003-04.

Mississippi State — allowing 49.7 points per game, second fewest in the country — held the Gophers (4-6) to 28.8% shooting and a season-low in points. Minnesota had 15 turned overs.

The Bulldogs had four double-digit scorers. Shakeel Moore scored 17 points, Cameron Matthews added 11 and D.J. Jeffries scored 10.

Sophomore Dawson Garcia led Minnesota with 20 points. Joshua Ola-Joseph added 9 points.

The game was close for much of the first half as neither team could sustain any consistent offense, but 16 unanswered Mississippi State points between the closing moments of the first half and the start of the second flipped a two-point Gophers lead into a 14-point lead for the Bulldogs. That was enough of a cushion for Mississippi State’s defense to work with as the lead never dipped below nine.

The Gophers have lost five straight.

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