Mississippi State looks to return to NCAA Tournament form after slipping a season ago

It’s a “prove it” year in Starkville for coach Chris Jans. He became the head coach ahead of the 2022-23 season and the Bulldogs incrementally improved from there, reaching the First Four that season and the Round of 64 the next two. However, State took a step backward last season, missing March Madness entirely and finishing the year with a losing record. Josh Hubbard has established himself as one of the better shooters in America and one of the better players in the SEC, but the challenge for MSU is finding the cast to support their top producer.

Hubbard, a senior from Madison, Mississippi, was named by the SEC as a preseason all-conference player. His 22.1 points per game not only led the maroon and white, but were also the second most in the SEC. He did so while averaging three 3-pointers a game last season. His 311 career 3-pointers are already a program record — tied for the ninth most in conference history.

Mississippi State’s next five average scorers after Hubbard last season — Jayden Epps, Ja’Borri McGhee, Quincy Ballard, Achor Achor and Shawn Jones — all have graduated or left. Jans and the coaching staff are hoping that King Grace, who averaged 5.1 points off the bench, can take a step forward. Guard R.J. Johnson comes in from Kennesaw State, where he was first-team all-Conference USA, the all-conference tournament team and the conference tournament MVP. Kendyl Sanders, a sophomore transfer from Utah, hopes to factor in as a power forward. Center duties will mainly be handled by N.D. Okafor, a transfer from Washington State and a native of Ireland.

Mississippi State has some challenging non-conference matchups on its early season slate. The first is a neutral-site tilt with Xavier (Nov. 13), which will be played in West Virginia. Next comes a three-game stretch against Tulsa (Nov. 20), Wake Forest (Nov. 25) and Georgia Tech (Dec. 2), the latter of which will be part of the SEC/ACC Challenge. The Bulldogs then travel to face Marquette (Dec. 12) and then VCU (Dec. 19) in Huntsville, Alabama. Conference play starts with a pair of tough matchups; at home against No. 20 Alabama (Jan. 2) and at No. 24 Vanderbilt (Jan. 6).

Mississippi State has not won an NCAA Tournament game since 2008, when it beat Oregon 76-69 in the first round. ... Since Jans took over, the Bulldogs are 7-25 against ranked SEC opponents, including 0-5 last season. ... Hubbard has led the team with an average of at least 17 points a game since the 2023-24 season. In those years, only three other Bulldogs have averaged 10 or more points: Tolu Smith in 2023-24 (15), KeShawn Murphy in 2025-26 (11.7) and Epps in 2025-26 (13.7).

Sign up for Top 25 poll alerts here , visit the Top 25 here and see AP’s full men’s basketball coverage here