The college basketball offseason is here, and we decided to have some fun over the next few months, ranking ALL 364 teams in D1. Number 102 is Mississippi State basketball.
Before you say we’re crazy – or that all of this is up for debate, let’s go over the very intricate process of how we came to this conclusion. We took a very statistical approach – with the help of Chat GPT – taking into consideration everything from March Madness wins and finishes, to AP Poll appearances, to conference players of the year. And then, a good friend of ours, Scott Blanchard, took our approach to the MAX.
Click here to visit the FIRST article, which explains how the formula works!
Here’s the breakdown of Mississippi State basketball!
NCAA Tournament Success
- Championships: 0
- Finals appearances: 0
- Final Fours: 1
- Elite Eights: 2
- Sweet 16s: 3
- NCAA wins: 11
- Bids: 14
Consistency Over Time
- Wins per season: 13.7
- Bids per season: 0.12
- AP Polls: 172
Player Quality & Talent
- All-Americans: 3
- NBA players drafted & played: 15
- Conference Players of the Year: 3
Conference & Other Success
- Conference regular season titles: 6
- Conference tournament titles: 5
- NIT titles: 0
- Other tournament titles: 0
Overall scoop on Mississippi State basketball
Often overshadowed by most of the teams in the SEC, Mississippi State basketball can at least rest in knowing they’re the best in the state!
The Bulldogs have outperformed Ole Miss across the board, with four more NCAA Tournament bids, four more wins in March Madness, and one Final Four compared to zero. Mississippi State has also produced better players, with more NBA talent and college Consensus All-Americans. Plus, they’ve fared well in the SEC better, with a few seasons where they were at the top of the Power 5 league.
Their first great run was in the late 1950s and early 1960s, winning the SEC regular season title in 1959, 1961, 1962, and 1963. Head coach Babe McCarthy developed a strong winning culture, going 169-85 in his tenure and coaching 2x Consensus AA Bailey Howell, who averaged 27.1 points and 17.0 rebounds per game in his three collegiate seasons. But it was in 1963, when Mississippi State made headlines for reaching the Sweet 16, also their first time playing in March Madness.
The Bulldogs would struggle for a while after McCarthy, finally going on a good stretch under head coaches Richard Williams and Rick Stansbury. They remain the program’s two most winning head coaches of all-time, both right above McCarthy. In 26 combined years, they led Mississippi State to the NCAA Tournament nine times, each also winning one SEC regular season championship.
Williams’ teams had some great runs in March, reaching the Sweet 16 in 1995 and going all the way to the Final Four in 1996. Big man Erick Dampier, forward Dontae’ Jones, and guards Darryl Wilson and Marcus Bullard formed a fantastic four that knocked off 1-seed UConn and 2-seed Cincinnati, before losing to 4-seed Syracuse in the national semifinals.
While Stansbury’s teams never made it out of the first weekend, they did go dancing six times from 2002 to 2009, reaching the round of 32 in four of those seasons. He would only coach one losing season in 14 tries, bringing some unheard-of consistency to the Bulldogs’ program. His 2003-04 team was ranked as high as fourth in the country and had a Consensus AA in Lawrence Roberts. However, they were upset by 7-seed Xavier in the second round, which was probably the biggest disappointment in program history.
The program would have some iffy years under Rick Ray, but Ben Howland would help to bring them back to relevance, taking them to the tourney in 2019 and finishing his tenure with five straight winning seasons. Currently, Chris Jans has somewhat upped the level of success. His first three seasons all had 20+ wins and ended in March Madness bids. However, he hasn’t won a game in March and had a 13-19 campaign last season.
Historically, Mississippi State has never been an SEC powerhouse, but they’ve had its moments since the 1990s, as they have definitely become a better overall program. While they do have the Final Four run, they’ve largely had some rough March Madness losses that came earlier than expected. But they still run the state and the Egg Bowl!