# 2019–20 Mississippi State Bulldogs men's basketball team

The 2019–20 Mississippi State Bulldogs basketball team represented Mississippi State University in the 2019–20 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Bulldogs, led by fifth-year head coach Ben Howland, played their home games at Humphrey Coliseum in Starkville, Mississippi as members of the Southeastern Conference. They finished the season 20–11, 11–7 in SEC play to finish in a tie for fourth place. They were set to be the No. 4 seed in the SEC tournament with a bye to the quarterfinals. However, the SEC Tournament and all other postseason tournaments were cancelled amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

## Previous season

The Bulldogs finished the 2018–19 season 23–11, 10–8 in SEC play to finish in a tie for sixth place. They defeated Texas A&M in the second round of the SEC tournament before losing in the quarterfinals to Tennessee. They were received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament where were defeated by Liberty in the first round.

## Offseason
### Departures

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Reason for departure |
| Lamar Peters | 2 | G | 6'0" | 185 | Junior | New Orleans, LA | Play professionally |
| T. J. Gray | 4 | G | 6'0" | 165 | Junior | Columbus, MS | Walk-on; left the team for personal reasons |
| Quinndary Weatherspoon | 11 | G | 6'4" | 205 | Senior | Camden, MS | Graduated |
| Aric Holman | 35 | F | 6'10" | 225 | Senior | Owensboro, KY | Graduated |
| Jethro Tshisumpa | 42 | F | 6'10" | 260 | Junior | Lubumbashi, Congo | Transferred to Texas Southern |

### Incoming transfers

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Previous School |
| Tolu Smith | 35 | F | 6'10" | 240 | Sophomore | Bay St. Louis, MS | Transferred from Western Kentucky. Under NCAA transfer rules, Smith will have to sit out for the 2019–20 season. Will have two years of remaining eligibility. |

### 2019 recruiting class

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Elias King PF | Atlanta, GA | Lincoln Academy | 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) | 195 lb (88 kg) | Oct 28, 2018 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ||||||
| Iverson Molinar SG | Panama City, Panama | Veritas Prep | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | 190 lb (86 kg) | Oct 22, 2018 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ||||||
| Devin Butts SG | Macon, GA | Stratford Academy | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | 148 lb (67 kg) | Oct 10, 2018 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: N/A ||||||
| Quinten Post C | Amsterdam, Netherlands | Cartesius Lyceum | 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) | 244 lb (111 kg) | Jun 7, 2019 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN: N/A ||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: ||||||
| Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "Mississippi State 2019 Basketball Commitments". Rivals.com. Retrieved August 19, 2019. "2019 Mississippi State Basketball Commits". Scout.com. Retrieved August 19, 2019. "ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved August 19, 2019. "Scout.com Team Recruiting Rankings". Scout.com. Retrieved August 19, 2019. "2019 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved August 19, 2019. ||||||

### 2020 Recruiting class

US college sports recruiting information for 2020 recruits :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Bayron Matos-Garcia C | Chattanooga, TN | Hamilton Heights Christian Academy | 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) | 240 lb (110 kg) | Oct 28, 2018 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: |||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: |||||||
| Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "Mississippi State 2020 Basketball Commitments". Rivals.com. Retrieved August 19, 2019. "2020 Mississippi State Basketball Commits". Scout.com. Retrieved August 19, 2019. "ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved August 19, 2019. "Scout.com Team Recruiting Rankings". Scout.com. Retrieved August 19, 2019. "2020 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved August 19, 2019. |||||||

## Preseason
### SEC media poll

The SEC media poll was released on October 15, 2019.
Media poll :
| Predicted finish | Team |
| 1 | Kentucky |
| 2 | Florida |
| 3 | LSU |
| 4 | Auburn |
| 5 | Tennessee |
| 6 | Alabama |
| 7 | Mississippi State |
| 8 | Ole Miss |
| 9 | Georgia |
| 10 | South Carolina |
| 11 | Arkansas |
| 12 | Texas A&M |
| 13 | Missouri |
| 14 | Vanderbilt |

### Preseason All-SEC teams

The Bulldogs had one player selected to the preseason all-SEC teams.

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | High points | High rebounds | High assists | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition |||||||||
| October 27, 2019* 3:00 pm | | South Alabama Mississippi flooding relief | W 78–75 | – | 19 – Carter | 9 – Feazell/Perry | 5 – Carter | Humphrey Coliseum (1,515) Starkville, MS |
| Regular season |||||||||
| November 5, 2019* 7:00 pm, SECN+ | | FIU | W 77–69 | 1–0 | 23 – Carter | 8 – Woodard II | 3 – Carter, Perry | Humphrey Coliseum (6,230) Starkville, MS |
| November 8, 2019* 7:00 pm, SECN+ | | Sam Houston State | W 67–58 | 2–0 | 28 – Carter | 14 – Perry | 6 – Carter | Humphrey Coliseum (6,255) Starkville, MS |
| November 14, 2019* 6:00 pm, SECN | | Louisiana–Monroe | W 62–45 | 3–0 | 14 – Perry | 14 – Perry | 4 – Carter | Humphrey Coliseum (5,582) Starkville, MS |
| November 17, 2019* 2:00 pm, SECN+ | | New Orleans | W 82–59 | 4–0 | 21 – Woodard II | 16 – Woodard II | 5 – Carter | Humphrey Coliseum (6,090) Starkville, MS |
| November 21, 2019* 1:00 pm, ESPNU | | vs. Tulane Myrtle Beach Invitational quarterfinal | W 80–66 | 5–0 | 21 – Molinar | 11 – Carter | 5 – Molinar | HTC Center Conway, SC |
| November 22, 2019* 1:30 pm, ESPN2 | | vs. No. 17 Villanova Myrtle Beach Invitational semifinal | L 76–83 | 5–1 | 22 – Carter | 10 – Perry | 3 – Molinar | HTC Center (2,361) Conway, SC |
| November 24, 2019* 12:00 pm, ESPNews | | at Coastal Carolina Myrtle Beach Invitational | W 81–56 | 6–1 | 19 – Carter | 10 – Woodard II | 10 – Carter | HTC Center (1,934) Conway, SC |
| December 5, 2019* 7:00 pm, SECN+ | | Louisiana Tech | L 67–74 | 6–2 | 20 – Carter | 14 – Perry | 4 – Tied | Humphrey Coliseum (6,375) Starkville, MS |
| December 14, 2019* 10:30 am, ESPNU | | vs. Kansas State Never Forget Tribute Classic | W 67–61 | 7–2 | 14 – Carter | 10 – Woodard II | 4 – Carter | Prudential Center Newark, NJ |
| December 18, 2019* 7:00 pm, SECN+ | | Radford | W 77–68 | 8–2 | 18 – Perry | 12 – Ado | 4 – Carter | Humphrey Coliseum (6,101) Starkville, MS |
| December 22, 2019* 2:00 pm, SECN | | vs. New Mexico State | L 52–58 | 8–3 | 17 – Perry | 10 – Perry | 4 – Stewart Jr. | Mississippi Coliseum (2,761) Jackson, MS |
| December 30, 2019* 7:00 pm, SECN+ | | Kent State | W 96–68 | 9–3 | 26 – Perry | 17 – Perry | 4 – Tied | Humphrey Coliseum (6,515) Starkville, MS |
| January 4, 2020 3:30 pm, SECN | | No. 8 Auburn | L 68–80 | 9–4 (0–1) | 21 – Perry | 12 – Tied | 2 – Tied | Humphrey Coliseum (8,447) Starkville, MS |
| January 8, 2020 6:00 pm, SECN | | at Alabama | L 69–90 | 9–5 (0–2) | 20 – Weatherspoon | 9 – Woodard II | 2 – Tied | Coleman Coliseum (9,938) Tuscaloosa, AL |
| January 11, 2020 7:00 pm, ESPN | | at LSU | L 59–60 | 9–6 (0–3) | 14 – Weatherspoon | 15 – Perry | 5 – Weatherspoon | Pete Maravich Assembly Center (10,364) Baton Rouge, LA |
| January 14, 2020 8:00 pm, SECN | | Missouri | W 72–45 | 10–6 (1–3) | 23 – Perry | 10 – Perry | 7 – Carter | Humphrey Coliseum (5,904) Starkville, MS |
| January 18, 2020 7:30 pm, SECN | | Georgia | W 91–59 | 11–6 (2–3) | 22 – Perry | 12 – Perry | 8 – Weatherspoon | Humphrey Coliseum (6,585) Starkville, MS |
| January 22, 2020 6:00 pm, SECN | | Arkansas | W 77–70 | 12–6 (3–3) | 26 – Perry | 13 – Perry | 6 – Weatherspoon | Humphrey Coliseum (6,337) Starkville, MS |
| January 25, 2020* 1:00 pm, ESPN2 | | vs. Oklahoma Big 12/SEC Challenge | L 62–63 | 12–7 | 15 – Woodard II | 8 – Stewart Jr. | 2 – Weatherspoon | Chesapeake Energy Arena (6,442) Oklahoma City, OK |
| January 28, 2020 6:00 pm, ESPN2 | | at Florida | W 78–71 | 13–7 (4–3) | 27 – Perry | 9 – Ado | 8 – Weatherspoon | O'Connell Center (8,248) Gainesville, FL |
| February 1, 2020 1:00 pm, ESPNU | | Tennessee | W 86–73 | 14–7 (5–3) | 24 – Perry | 12 – Perry | 9 – Weatherspoon | Humphrey Coliseum (8,113) Starkville, MS |
| February 4, 2020 8:00 pm, ESPN | | at No. 15 Kentucky | L 72–80 | 14–8 (5–4) | 15 – Tied | 11 – Ado | 2 – Tied | Rupp Arena (20,115) Lexington, KY |
| February 8, 2020 7:30 pm, SECN | | Vanderbilt | W 80–70 | 15–8 (6–4) | 25 – Perry | 11 – Perry | 6 – Perry | Humphrey Coliseum (7,642) Starkville, MS |
| February 11, 2020 6:00 pm, ESPNU | | at Ole Miss | L 58–83 | 15–9 (6–5) | 24 – Perry | 8 – Perry | 6 – Weatherspoon | The Pavilion at Ole Miss (8,009) Oxford, MS |
| February 15, 2020 12:00 pm, SECN | | at Arkansas | W 78–77 | 16–9 (7–5) | 26 – Carter | 8 – Perry | 3 – Weatherspoon | Bud Walton Arena (19,200) Fayetteville, AR |
| February 19, 2020 8:00 pm, SECN | | South Carolina | W 79–76 | 17–9 (8–5) | 18 – Weatherspoon | 10 – Perry | 6 – Weatherspoon | Humphrey Coliseum (6,281) Starkville, MS |
| February 22, 2020 2:30 pm, SECN | | at Texas A&M | L 75–87 | 17–10 (8–6) | 19 – Carter | 8 – Perry | 5 – Weatherspoon | Reed Arena (8,122) College Station, TX |
| February 25, 2020 8:00 pm, SECN | | Alabama | W 80–73 | 18–10 (9–6) | 21 – Perry | 12 – Perry | 5 – Carter | Humphrey Coliseum (6,685) Starkville, MS |
| February 29, 2020 2:30 pm, SECN | | at Missouri | W 67–63 | 19–10 (10–6) | 15 – Carter | 7 – Ado | 3 – Perry | Mizzou Arena (10,397) Columbia, MO |
| March 3, 2020 5:30 pm, SECN | | at South Carolina | L 71–83 | 19–11 (10–7) | 24 – Carter | 16 – Perry | 3 – Stewart Jr. | Colonial Life Arena (10,889) Columbia, SC |
| March 7, 2020 5:30 pm, SECN | | Ole Miss | W 69–44 | 20–11 (11–7) | 22 – Perry | 14 – Perry | 6 – Weatherspoon | Humphrey Coliseum (8,909) Starkville, MS |
| SEC tournament |||||||||
| March 13, 2020 2:30 pm, ESPN | (4) | vs. Quarterfinals | Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic | Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic | Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic | Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic | Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic | Bridgestone Arena Nashville, TN |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central Time. |||||||||