The Madness has begun, and our Spartans got off to a strong start today in dispatching the Mississippi State Bulldogs today in a mostly convincing fashion. MSU opened the scoring with a Jaden Akins triple, and the game never even was tied after that. It was not a complete runaway, though it did end up as one. On two separate occasions in the first half, MSU stretched out the lead to double digits, but both times the team with the same initials rallied back to make it a five-point game. A Malik Hall drive at the buzzer beater game the Spartans a seven-point lead at the half, 31-24.