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NCAA Basketball Power Rankings: Ole Miss climbs, North Carolina dips

By Lukas Harkins

INDIANAPOLIS, IN - NOVEMBER 16: Head coach Kermit Davis of the Mississippi Rebels is seen during the game against the Butler Bulldogs at Hinkle Fieldhouse on November 16, 2018 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images)
INDIANAPOLIS, IN - NOVEMBER 16: Head coach Kermit Davis of the Mississippi Rebels is seen during the game against the Butler Bulldogs at Hinkle Fieldhouse on November 16, 2018 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images) /
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LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – NOVEMBER 19: Holman #35 of the Mississippi State Bulldogs looks. (Photo by David Becker/Getty Images)
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – NOVEMBER 19: Holman #35 of the Mississippi State Bulldogs looks. (Photo by David Becker/Getty Images) /

23. Mississippi State Bulldogs

Record: 12-3 (0-2 SEC)

Last Week: No. 15

Despite Mississippi State’s admittedly under-the-radar opening two months of the season, I was quite skeptical of these team coming out of non-conference play. I was even extremely reluctant to put the team as high as No. 15 last week despite the fact that they were impressive in victories over several top-100 KenPom teams. And during this past week, the Bulldogs showed their first major signs of weakness in back-to-back losses to South Carolina (away) and Ole Miss (home).

Starting SEC play at 0-2 was probably not the plan for Mississippi State and it definitely resulted in a drop in these national rankings. With that said, though, I think that they are a better team than this ranking might explain. Thanks to veteran leadership and a strong coaching presence in Ben Howland, I think that this team should be able to weather the storm and still finish near the top of the conference.

In order for that to happen, though, it would be beneficial for the team to draw more fouls around the basket. As of right now, the Bulldogs’ free throw attempt rate is ranked just 284th in the nation and that should be significantly higher as they do a fair amount of damage at the rim. Most notably, star forward Aric Holman is averaging less than three free throw attempts per game and he should earn more than that (even though he spends a lot of time on the perimeter).

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