Mississippi State rises inside top 15 in basketball polls after SEC-opener rout
In just a few short weeks, the nation has been put on notice about Mississippi State basketball.
The Bulldogs went unranked for several weeks to start the season but have now cemented themselves as a top 15 team. After entering the top 20 in the last couple of weeks, State is now up inside the top 15 in both the USA Today Coaches Poll at No. 13 and moved up to No. 14 in the Associated Press Poll.
The rankings saw State rise three spots in both polls from last week as the Bulldogs made a statement in their 85-50 blowout win over South Carolina. It’s the highest State has been since being ranked No. 14 on January 7, 2019 when Ben Howland had the team off to a 12-1 start.
“It feels great to be 1-0. It’s the first time since I’ve arrived that we’ve been 1-0 in SEC play. That will put a little more bounce in everyone’s step. As we know, there’s a lot of basketball to be played.
“They’ve got a connection. We noticed it this summer. There was a nice current of how they interacted with each other. This team roots for one another, but at the same time we have really good leadership.”
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State has top 15 status for just the second time in Jans’ career as he notched No. 15 in his opening year after a 11-0 start. If the Bulldogs can equal the No. 13 ranking of the Coaches poll this year, it will be the highest in the AP for the Bulldogs in 20 years when Rick Stansbury had State at No. 12 in week one of the 2004-05 season. State also garnered recognition as the No. 10 team in On3’s rankings earlier on Monday.
The Bulldogs (13-1, 1-0 SEC) are building an impressive NCAA Tournament resume as well with a No. 14 ranking in the NET and wins over Pittsburgh (No. 15 NET), Memphis (No. 34) and SMU (No. 41) for Quad I victories.
Next up for State will be another Quad I chance as the Bulldogs have a chance to start 4-0 in such games with a matchup at No. 31 Vanderbilt on Tuesday night. The Commodores are also 13-1 and just knocked off LSU 80-72 on the road on Saturday night. State has another huge game on Saturday as the Bulldogs come back to Humphrey Coliseum for a 7:30 p.m. tipoff against No. 6 Kentucky.
