The Mississippi State Bulldogs (22-10) are moving on in the NCAA Tournament after upsetting Creighton (22-9) in the Round of 64 Friday night.
The 11-seed Bulldogs jumped out to a commanding 25-16 first-quarter lead and never let go, taking down the 6-seed Bluejays 81-66 in South Bend, Ind.
Down goes Creighton, the Cinderella of last year’s NCAA tournament who made it to the Elite Eight
Mississippi State — who has a first-year head coach in Sam Purcell — is one win over Notre Dame away from advancing to the Sweet 16. First First Four team to advance to 2nd round
— Alexa Philippou (@alexaphilippou) March 18, 2023
Mississippi State tied a season high in made three-pointers with 11 while holding Creighton to its lowest field goal percentage (37%) in nearly two months. The Bulldogs also held the Bluejays to just 26% shooting from beyond the arc, their sixth-lowest percentage of the season.
Leading the way for Mississippi State was JerKaila Jordan with 20 points, four rebounds, and four steals. Jessika Cater added 14 points and 10 rebounds for her 10th double-double of the season.
The Bulldogs, who are in year one under head coach Sam Purcell, will take on 3-seed Notre Dame (26-5) on Sunday at 2:30 p.m. CT. The Irish will be without second-team All-American Olivia Miles as the standout point guard was announced Thursday as out for the rest of the season with an injury.
