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Bulldogs' Education Day matchup opens up big weekend in Starkville

3rupauk8_400x400by: Robbie Faulk11/06/25RobbieFaulkOn3
kids
Kids enjoy Education Day at Mississippi State (Photo by Mississippi State Athletics)

Ahead of what’s set to be a wild weekend in Starkville, Mississippi State women’s basketball tips it all off on Friday morning inside Humphrey Coliseum.

Sam Purcell brought Education Day to the Hump beginning three years ago and it’s become an early-season staple for his teams most of his tenure now. When the ball is tipped at 11 a.m., around 6,000 screaming school kids from around the area will be there to cheer on the Bulldogs over Georgia State.

It’s exactly how a man with as much energy as Purcell wants to spend a weekend that could be special for maroon and white fans everywhere.

“Exciting week for the Bulldogs. Shoutout to football who had an unbelievable game with toughness. For us to come in and have a good game, there’s a good vibe,” Purcell said. “Want to give a shoutout to men’s basketball, Chris Jans and the men’s team and a shoutout to women’s soccer in an awesome game against the No. 1 team in the country in Arkansas. Then obviously Friday is going to be awesome with the (baseball) Alumni game.

“This game is one of my favorite games of the year because it’s bigger than basketball. We have the opportunity for that one-time kid who has maybe has a mom and dad who has a hard time getting here. They might leave out of here inspired to pick up (a basketball).”

New-look State team hoping to learn from opening win

The season began on Monday night inside the Hump when the Bulldogs welcomed in a Davidson team that finished with 19 wins a season ago and returned six of their top seven players. It was a battle for State most of the way and the game was knotted up in the fourth quarter.

Ultimately, the new-look State team found a way to win the game 66-57. That was the most important thing that happened on Monday as a new team continues to try and find its identity and its chemistry as a unit.

“Just really happy for us on the defensive end. I see Davidson getting 20 wins this year so when the selection committee looks back on that, that’s going to be a huge opening day win,” Purcell said of the first game. “Obviously, there’s things that we’ve got to grow and get better. The silly fouls were unnecessary. The turnovers we’ll clean up with the chemistry. Let’s learn from that game but most importantly go 1-0 on Friday with the right mindset.”

With game one out of the way, the page turns to the Panthers.

Georgia State is led by one of Purcell’s former coworkers at Georgia Tech in Gene Hill and they opened up the season with a 108-59 victory over Oglethorpe on Monday night. After winning at Georgia a season ago, there will be no intimidation from the Panthers.

“Gene Hill the head coach is a really good friend, but he’s also a great coach. They’ve gotten a lot better every single year,” Purcell said. “They just put up 108 points on opening night so they want to play fast and get after it and they’re not scared because they just took down Georgia at Georgia last year.”

Friday morning’s game will be broadcasted on SEC Network +.

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