19. Mississippi State (11-1)
What exactly can we expect from Mississippi State this season? That’s a fair question based on how they’ve performed in nonconference play and how the rest of a very talented SEC has looked this year. The Bulldogs blew out Pittsburgh and have a nice win at SMU but that loss is by double-digits against Butler and they’ve had some defensive lapses at times this year.
Moving forward, the Bulldogs got another solid win on Tuesday, winning 83-59 against Central Michigan in Jackson as part of Magnolia Madness. Claudell Harris Jr. had 19 points while Michael Nwoko added 18 in the victory. Saturday’s performance showed us that maybe these Bulldogs will have a say in what happens in the SEC, as they won 79-66 on the road against a ranked Memphis squad. A balanced team effort was led by Riley Kugel with 19 points off the bench, as they made this a tough afternoon for the Tigers.
Mississippi State doesn’t have a player that screams superstar but they do have a great system in place under Chris Jans. There’s a lot to like about what this team can accomplish this season when they’re firing on all cylinders, and these wins away from home have really shown that in recent weeks. SEC play obviously poses a much bigger threat and will tell us a lot, though that doesn’t start for two weeks and the Bulldogs can rest through Christmas.