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This story originally appeared in the Jackson Free Press. It was added to the Mississippi Free Press website in 2025.
Note that any opinions expressed in legacy Jackson Free Press stories do not reflect a position of the Mississippi Free Press or necessarily of its staff and board members.

Mississippi State coach Rick Stansbury and the Bulldogs celebrate after winning the SEC Tournament and a trip to the NCAA Tournament. Credit: Mississippi State

Mississippi State wins its way into the NCAA Tournament. … JSU and UM will be spending the postseason at home. … Millsaps’ streak snapped. … Like we said before, JPS rules in hoops.

Men’s college basketball: SEC Tournament, Mississippi State 64, Tennessee 61. The Bulldogs burst a bunch of bubbles by winning a trip to the NCAA Tournament. Next stop, Portland, Ore., where the Bulldogs will face Washington on Thursday.

Men’s college basketball: It’s all over for Ole Miss and Jackson State.

College baseball: Trinity 3, Millsaps 2. The loss ends the Majors’ 13-game winning streak.

College baseball: Mississippi State and Ole Miss both split doubleheaders en route to winning their first SEC series of the season.

High school basketball: The Murrah girls and Callaway boys win MHSAA Grand Slam championships.

Mississippi native Donna Ladd and partner Todd Stauffer founded the Jackson Free Press in 2002 in the capital city. The heavily awarded local newspaper did many investigations heralded across the state and nation and served as a paper of record due to its diversity, inclusion, in-depth reporting and deep connection to readers and dedication to narrative change in and about Mississippi. In 2022, the nonprofit Mississippi Free Press, founded by Ladd and JFP Associate Publisher Kimberly Griffin in 2020, purchased the journalism assets and archives of the Jackson Free Press. A Google grant through AAN Publishers enabled Newspack's integration of the JFP archives into the Mississippi Free Press website to become part of a more searchable archive of recent Mississippi history and essential journalism.