SEC Basketball: Preseason power rankings for 2019-20 season

With three of the Bulldogs top five scorers returning to Starkville, Mississippi State has a decent chance at emulating their success from the 2018-19 season. For the first time since 2009, the Dogs made the NCAA Tournament, but unfortunately they went onto lose in the Round of 64.

In addition to getting back three of their top five scorers from last season in Tyson Carter, Reggie Perry and Nick Weatherspoon, the Bulldogs will also be getting freshmen including two four-stars and a three-star from the Class of 2019.

Mississippi State added recruits, Elias King, Iverson Molinar and Devin Butts who will undoubtedly help out the Bulldogs next season.

King is a four-star small forward, out of Snellville, Georgia standing at 6’8″ and 195lbs. Molinar is a shooting guard from Calabasas, California and is also a four-star recruit and the final recruit, Devin Butts is also a shooting guard and is a three-star from Macon, Georgia.

This being said, in addition to the several key players Mississippi State has returning to Starkvegas, they also have several recruits capable of making a significant impact, potentially right away.

The question however then becomes who will start and what will the depth chart look like?

One of Mississippi State’s top returning players, Nick Weatherspoon is also a shooting guard and prior to his indefinite suspension in February, he was the starting shooting guard. With the status of his suspension still being unclear headed into the new season, maybe one of the incoming freshmen will get the start.

That will undoubtedly be something that we won’t know the answer to until the first game rolls around, but it is one of the biggest storylines surrounding State this season.

If Weatherspoon’s suspension has been lifted and he is allowed to play when the season starts, he will likely start and seeing he has been participating in team activities during the offseason, this will likely be the case.

So what does that mean for State, if he is able to play?

If Weatherspoon is able to play this would mean Mississippi State would be getting their best player back for the 2019-20 season. In only 24 games, Weatherspoon was Mississippi State’s fifth best scorer and starting shooting guard.

If he is able to play for the entire 2019-20 season, he would undoubtedly pick up where he left off and I believe he would be the best player on the team as well.

With that being said, what will Mississippi State’s record be for the 2019-20 season?

The Bulldogs have probably the easiest non-conference schedule in the SEC and maybe even of any team in the power-five. That being said, without any true tests, Mississippi State will get through non-conference play with a record of 12-1.

The only games that they might be tested in will be against Villanova, Kansas State and Oklahoma when they take part in the SEC/XII challenge in January. Other than these three games, Mississippi State will not play a single game against a team in a power five conference.

This being said, if they get out of non-conference play with more than two or three losses it will be a huge disappointment. As for SEC play, the Bulldogs will finish with a record of 11-7 for a total of 23 wins and 8 losses.

With a record of 23-8, the Bulldogs will definitely have enough wins to get into the tournament and if they get a win or two in the SEC Tournament, they will likely get a top-four seed which would be huge.