STARKVILLE, Mississippi – There was no talk of moral victories for the Northwestern State men's basketball team after its season-opening loss at Baylor.
 
Despite the result, however, the Demons will carry momentum into Thursday's 6:30 p.m. matchup with Mississippi State inside Humphrey Coliseum. The game will air on SEC Network Plus, the streaming-only arm of the SEC Network.
 
"We did a lot of good things," fourth-year head coach Rick Cabrera said. "We have some things we've got to fix offensively. Against teams like (Baylor), your margin for error is very slim. They're very good – a team that can be playing in April. When you go on the road in a hostile atmosphere, you feel like you have to play mistake-free basketball. At times, we did that, but they took over with their size."
 
In making their first trip to Starkville in a decade, the Demons (0-1) again will face a power-conference team that will have a size advantage.
 
Eight Bulldogs are listed at 6-foot-7 or taller. Despite its inherent size advantage, Mississippi State (1-0) will be driven as usual by 6-foot senior guard Joshua Hubbard, who led the Bulldogs to a 106-88 win against Tennessee Tech on Monday with 25 points and nine assists.
 
"Josh Hubbard is on pace to be, arguably, the greatest Mississippi State basketball player ever in their great history," Cabrera said. "They've had a lot of great players come through there. He's been an All-SEC guard, but beyond him they have other great players and Chris Jans is a heck of a coach."
 
While Mississippi State opened its season with a victory in a track meet, Jans' teams typically are defensive-minded.
 
"They defend," Cabrera said. "They get out in transition. They play free a little bit. Our guys are excited for the next opportunity. You always want to play on the big stage against the best, and these type of games help us in conference, but we're going into these games trying to win them."
 
Northwestern opened its season by seeing 11 newcomers combine to score all 65 points in Monday's loss at Baylor. That same group grabbed all but one of the Demons' 35 rebounds as only one returner – senior forward Kordrick Turner – played against the Bears.
 
That group also recovered from a tough start defensively to hold Baylor to 37.1-percent shooting in the second half, down from a 60-percent mark in the first half.
 
Northwestern also forced 16 turnovers and converted them into 18 points, matching its most points off turnovers against a power-conference team in the Cabrera era. The last time the Demons hit that number was against California on Dec. 14, 2024.
 
Turning defense into offense is a staple Cabrera said he hopes the Demons can maintain.
 
Said Cabrera: "I tell our guys, 'I don't want you thinking too much offensively. I want you to play unselfishly, try to get a paint touch, try to get a spray-out 3, try to get layups.' If we get stops, we'll have success (offensively). If the ball's constantly coming out of the net, then we're going to have to run plays and plays and plays. We don't want to do that."