SEC Basketball: Preseason rankings for 2018-19

By Brian Rauf | Jun 26, 2018

ATLANTA, GA - MARCH 22: Head coach John Calipari of the Kentucky Wildcats speaks to PJ Washington #25 in the first half against the Kansas State Wildcats during the 2018 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament South Regional at Philips Arena on March 22, 2018 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images) /

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ST LOUIS, MO – MARCH 09: Quinndary Weatherspoon #11 of the Mississippi Bulldogs shoots the ball against the Tennessee Volunteers during the quarterfinals round of the 2018 SEC Basketball Tournament at Scottrade Center on March 9, 2018 in St Louis, Missouri. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images) /

5. Mississippi State Bulldogs

One of the three SEC teams (along with Vandy and LSU, who we’ll touch on in a second) widely expected to have breakout seasons in 2018-19, Mississippi State is primed for their best season since they won the SEC Tournament in 2009.

The Bulldogs return all of their major pieces from last year’s 25-12 team that made it to the NIT semifinals. They also welcome in a top-20 recruiting class led by top-75 forwards Reggie Perry and Robert Woodard. Mississippi State will be extremely deep because of that, but they’ll only go as far as brothers Quinndary and Nick Weatherspoon take them.

Both players, along with fellow star Lamar Peters, all tested the NBA Draft waters this offseason before returning to Starkville and all three have the potential to be All-SEC performers. Quinndary Weatherspoon (14.4 ppg, 6.0 rpg, 3.3 apg) is the kind of all-around wing player that thrives in college basketball today and is one of the handful of favorites to win SEC Player of the Year.

Many of the SEC’s projected top teams are counting on incoming freshmen to boost their standing in the conference, but not Mississippi State. They have talent, sure, but they’re also going to hold a major experience factor over many other teams in the conference – and Howland is hoping that leads the Bulldogs to new heights.

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