The Mississippi State Bulldogs men's basketball program represents

Mississippi State University Mississippi State University for Agriculture and Applied Science, commonly known as Mississippi State University (MSU), is a Public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Mississippi State, Mississippi, Un ...

Starkville, Mississippi Starkville is a city in and the county seat of Oktibbeha County, Mississippi, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, Starkville's population is 24,360, making it the 16th-most populated city in Mississippi. Starkville is the largest ...

, in men's

NCAA Division I NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest division of intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major collegiate athlet ...

basketball. The Bulldogs play in the

Southeastern Conference The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central United States, South Central and Southeastern United States. Its 16 members in ...

. Mississippi State has qualified for the NCAA tournament 13 times and most recently in

2024 The year saw the list of ongoing armed conflicts, continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Myanmar civil war (2021–present), Myanmar civil war, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudane ...

. The Bulldogs best finish in the NCAA tournament came in

1996 1996 was designated as: * International Year for the Eradication of Poverty Events January * January 8 – A Zairean cargo plane crashes into a crowded market in the center of the capital city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo ...

when they advanced to the Final Four. On March 20, 2022, Mississippi State named former

New Mexico State New Mexico State University (NMSU or NM State) is a Public university system, public, Land-grant university, land-grant, research university in Las Cruces, New Mexico, United States. Founded in 1888, it is the state's oldest public institution ...

head coach Chris Jans as its 21st head basketball coach.

History

The Bulldogs have been to the NCAA Tournament eleven times, the first time in 1963 and the most recent being 2024. Mississippi State chose not to accept previous bids because state officials viewed African-Americans as inferior and would not allow Ole Miss or Mississippi State to play against teams with African-American players. The 1963 team, however, famously snuck out of the state in the dead of night to play in what has since been dubbed the " Game of Change". Six of the ten NCAA appearances have been earned in the past 10 seasons under former MSU Head Basketball Coach,

Rick Stansbury Richard Lee Stansbury (born December 23, 1959), is an American college basketball coach who most recently was an assistant coach at the Memphis Tigers men's basketball, University of Memphis. He was the head coach at Western Kentucky Hilltoppers ...

. They have won 8 conference championships, two under coach Earl C. Hayes as a member of the now-dissolved

Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association The Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association (SIAA) was one of the first collegiate athletic conferences in the United States. Twenty-seven of the current Division I FBS (formerly Division I-A) football programs were members of this conferen ...

in 1913 and 1914 in addition to six SEC titles in 1959, 1961, 1962, 1963, 1991, and 2004. The Bulldogs have won four conference tournament championships, one as a member of the

Southern Conference The Southern Conference (SoCon) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I. Southern Conference College football, football teams c ...

in 1923 and three SEC tournament titles in 1996, 2002, and 2009. Mississippi State has several notable alumni including

Erick Dampier Erick Travez Dampier (born July 14, 1975) is an American former professional basketball player. He played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for the Indiana Pacers, Golden State Warriors, Dallas Mavericks, Miami Heat and Atlanta Hawks. ...

, Bailey Howell, and Jarvis Varnado.

Rivals

As in all sports, Mississippi State's rival is Ole Miss. Mississippi State leads the series over Ole Miss 142–112. Former MSU Head Coach Rick Stansbury is 21–8 vs the Rebels. Former head coach Ben Howland, was 6–9 against the Rebels. Mississippi State and

Alabama Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...

are considered rivals on the court, with only 90 miles separating the two programs. The Crimson Tide lead the all-time series 120–74.

Former players

All-Americans

Notable basketball players who attended and played at Mississippi State University. * Arnett Moultrie, 1st round, 2012 NBA draft. * Jarvis Varnado, 2nd round, 2010 NBA draft. NCAA career record holder with 564 blocked shots. One of only two college players to have at least 1000 points, 1000 rebounds, and 500 blocked shots, the other being David Robinson. * Lawrence Roberts, 2nd round, 2005 NBA draft. * Timmy Bowers, 2006 Israeli Basketball Premier League MVP * Malik Newman (born 1997), basketball player in the

Israeli Basketball Premier League Ligat HaAl (, lit., ''Supreme League or Premier League''), or the Israeli Basketball Premier League, is a professional basketball league in Israel and the highest level of basketball in the country. The league's name is abbreviated as either BSL ...

* Derrick Zimmerman, 2nd round, 2003 NBA draft. * Tyrone Washington, 2nd round, 1999 NBA draft. * Dontae' Jones, 1st round, 1996 NBA draft. *

, 1st round, 1996 NBA draft. * Jeff Malone, 1st round, 1983 NBA draft. Two time NBA All-Star. * Rickey Brown, 1st round, 1980 NBA draft. * Wiley Peck, 1st round, 1979 NBA draft. * Bailey Howell, 1st round, 1959 NBA draft. Six time NBA All-Star. Elected to the

Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame is an American history museum and hall of fame, located at 1000 Hall of Fame Avenue in Springfield, Massachusetts. It serves as basketball's most complete library, in addition to promoting and pre ...

in 1997.

SEC West Division titles

The years the Bulldogs won were as follows: 1995, 1996, 2003, 2004, 2007, 2008, 2010

Postseason

NCAA tournament results

The Bulldogs have appeared in the NCAA tournament 14 times. Their combined record is 11–14. The Bulldogs qualified for the 1959 tournament but university president Benjamin F. Hilbun would not permit the team to participate in the tournament where they would face African-American players. The 1963 team

NIT results

The Bulldogs have appeared in the

National Invitation Tournament The National Invitation Tournament (NIT) is an annual men's college basketball tournament operated by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). Since 2023, all rounds of the tournament are played at various sites across the country whi ...

(NIT) 11 times. Their combined record is 13–11.

Awards

NCAA Defensive Player of the Year

SEC Coach of the Year

SEC Player of the Year

SEC Defensive Player of the Year

Howell Trophy Award winners

Retired numbers

Mississippi State has retired one jersey number for Bailey Howell, doing so on February 7, 2009 at the Coliseum. Mississippi State has also honored two others with honorary banners.

Honored jerseys

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mississippi State Bulldogs Men's Basketball 1908 establishments in Mississippi