STARKVILLE, Miss. - Anriel Howard scored 23 points, Teaira McCowan added 22 and top-seeded Mississippi State rolled past No. 16 seed Southern 103-46 on Friday night in the NCAA Tournament.

  

Mississippi State (31-2) didn't have much trouble against the Jaguars, jumping out to a 37-10 lead by the end of the first quarter. Howard and McCowan both finished with double-doubles - McCowan had 16 rebounds and Howard had 12.

  

Bre'Amber Scott added 18 points and Jordan Danberry had 13. Jazzmun Holmes had 10 points and seven rebounds. Mississippi State shot 53 percent from the field.

  

Southern (20-13) briefly took a 3-2 lead early in the first quarter when Rishonti Cowart made a 3-pointer. That was the extent of the good news for the Jaguars, who gave up the next nine points and quickly fell behind.

  

The Jaguars were led by Skylar O'Bear, who scored nine points.

  

Southern won the Southwestern Athletic Conference Tournament to qualify for the NCAA Tournament. The Jaguars also won the SWAC regular-season title.

  

BIG PICTURE

  

Southern: The Jaguars had a good season with the SWAC's regular-season and conference tournament titles, but they were simply overmatched by the Bulldogs. Southern did have a few good moments and actually outscored Mississippi State 19-18 in the second quarter.

  

Mississippi State: As expected, the Bulldogs cruised through the opener. Mississippi State will probably get a much better game from Clemson on Sunday in the second round.