# 2018–19 Mississippi State Bulldogs men's basketball team

The 2018–19 Mississippi State Bulldogs basketball team represented Mississippi State University in the 2018–19 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Bulldogs, led by fourth-year head coach Ben Howland, played their home games at the Humphrey Coliseum in Starkville, Mississippi as members of the Southeastern Conference. They finished the season 23-11, to finish a tie for 6th place. In the SEC Tournament, They defeated Texas A&M in the second round before losing to Tennessee in the quarterfinals. They received a at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament where they were upset by 12th seed Liberty in the first round.

## Previous season

The Bulldogs finished the 2017–18 season 25–12, 9–9 in SEC play to finish in a tie for seventh place. They defeated LSU in the second round of the SEC tournament before losing in the quarterfinals to Tennessee. They were received an at-large bid to the National Invitation Tournament where they defeated Nebraska, Baylor, and Louisville to advance to the semifinals where they lost to Penn State.

## Offseason
### Departures

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Reason for departure |
| Xavian Stapleton | 3 | G | 6'6" | 210 | RS Junior | Flora, MS | Transferred to Florida Atlantic |
| Drew Davis | 12 | G | 5'10" | 165 | Senior | Atlanta, GA | Graduated |
| Nick Singleton | 13 | G | 6'5" | 195 | Junior | Decatur, GA | Left team |
| Eli Wright | 32 | G | 6'4" | 190 | Sophomore | Owesnboro, KY | Transferred to St. John's |
| Schnider Herard | 34 | C | 6'10" | 260 | Sophomore | Plano, TX | Transferred to Maryland |

### Incoming transfers

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Previous School |
| Prince Oduro | 15 | F | 6'8" | 253 | Sophomore | Toronto, ON | Siena |
| Jethro Tshisumpa | 42 | F | 6'10" | 260 | Junior | Lubumbashi, Congo | San Jacinto College |

### 2018 recruiting class

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Reggie Perry #8 PF | Thomasville, Georgia | Thomasville High School | 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) | 239 lb (108 kg) | Jul 17, 2017 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ||||||
| Robert Woodard II #10 SF | Columbus, Mississippi | Columbus High School | 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) | 222 lb (101 kg) | Nov 14, 2017 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ||||||
| D. J. Stewart Jr. SF | Grace, Mississippi | Riverside High School | 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) | 190 lb (86 kg) | Jul 24, 2017 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: 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 2018 Basketball Commitments". Rivals.com. Retrieved September 17, 2018. "2018 Mississippi State Basketball Commits". Scout.com. Retrieved September 17, 2018. "ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved September 17, 2018. "Scout.com Team Recruiting Rankings". Scout.com. Retrieved September 17, 2018. "2018 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved September 17, 2018. ||||||

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | High points | High rebounds | High assists | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition |||||||||
| November 4, 2018* 2:00 pm, SECN+ | No. 18 | Georgia Southwestern State | W 88–57 | | 17 – Peters | 12 – Perry | 5 – Peters | Humphrey Coliseum (2,621) Starkville, MS |
| Non-conference regular season |||||||||
| November 9, 2018* 6:30 pm, SECN+ | No. 18 | Austin Peay | W 95–67 | 1–0 | 21 – Q. Weatherspoon | 10 – Holman | 7 – Peters | Humphrey Coliseum (5,977) Starkville, MS |
| November 11, 2018* 4:00 pm, SECN | No. 18 | Hartford MGM Resorts Main Event campus-site game | W 77–59 | 2–0 | 22 – Q. Weatherspoon | 10 – Ado | 4 – Peters | Humphrey Coliseum (5,953) Starkville, MS |
| November 16, 2018* 8:00 pm, SECN | No. 17 | Long Beach State MGM Resorts Main Event campus-site game | W 79–51 | 3–0 | 21 – Q. Weatherspoon | 14 – Perry | 4 – Tied | Humphrey Coliseum (8,106) Starkville, MS |
| November 19, 2018* 10:00 pm, ESPNU | No. 15 | vs. Arizona State MGM Resorts Main Event Heavyweight semifinals | L 67–72 | 3–1 | 22 – Holman | 10 – Holman | 6 – Peters | T-Mobile Arena (2,507) Paradise, NV |
| November 20, 2018* 7:30 pm | No. 15 | vs. Saint Mary's MGM Resorts Main Event Heavyweight | W 61–57 | 4–1 | 12 – Tied | 11 – Holman | 5 – Peters | T-Mobile Arena (3,157) Paradise, NV |
| November 26, 2018* 7:00 pm, SECN+ | No. 25 | Alcorn State | W 88–65 | 5–1 | 17 – Tied | 11 – Perry | 7 – Peters | Humphrey Coliseum (6,537) Starkville, MS |
| November 30, 2018* 6:00 pm, CBSSN | No. 25 | at Dayton | W 65–58 | 6–1 | 21 – Q. Weatherspoon | 12 – Q. Weatherspoon | 8 – Peters | UD Arena (13,455) Dayton, OH |
| December 4, 2018* 7:00 pm, SECN+ | No. 22 | McNeese State | W 90–77 | 7–1 | 27 – Peters | 11 – Holman | 5 – Peters | Humphrey Coliseum (6,437) Starkville, MS |
| December 8, 2018* 3:00 pm, ESPN2 | No. 22 | vs. Clemson Never Forget Tribute Classic | W 82–71 | 8–1 | 28 – Peters | 7 – Q. Weatherspoon | 6 – N. Weatherspoon | Prudential Center (7,142) Newark, NJ |
| December 15, 2018* 7:30 pm, SECN | No. 18 | Cincinnati | W 70–59 | 9–1 | 14 – Tied | 10 – Holman | 9 – Peters | Humphrey Coliseum (9,120) Starkville, MS |
| December 19, 2018* 7:00 pm, SECN+ | No. 17 | Wofford | W 98–87 | 10–1 | 19 – Tied | 8 – Holman | 8 – Peters | Humphrey Coliseum (6,443) Starkville, MS |
| December 22, 2018* 6:00 pm, SECN | No. 17 | vs. Wright State Jackson Showcase | W 67–63 | 11–1 | 14 – Q. Weatherspoon | 9 – Holman | 6 – Peters | Mississippi Coliseum (3,021) Jackson, MS |
| December 29, 2018* 11:00 am, ESPNU | No. 19 | BYU | W 103–81 | 12–1 | 28 – Holman | 8 – Tied | 6 – Peters | Humphrey Coliseum (10,202) Starkville, MS |
| SEC regular season |||||||||
| January 8, 2019 8:00 pm, ESPNU | No. 14 | at South Carolina | L 82–87 $^{OT}$ | 12–2 (0–1) | 20 – Holman | 10 – Holman | 7 – Peters | Colonial Life Arena (8,776) Columbia, SC |
| January 12, 2019 12:00 pm, CBS | No. 14 | Ole Miss | L 77–81 | 12–3 (0–2) | 18 – Q. Weatherspoon | 11 – Ado | 4 – Peters | Humphrey Coliseum (10,021) Starkville, MS |
| January 15, 2019 6:00 pm, SECN | No. 24 | Florida | W 71–68 | 13–3 (1–2) | 16 – Peters | 5 – Tied | 6 – Peters | Humphrey Coliseum (7,501) Starkville, MS |
| January 19, 2019 7:30 pm, SECN | No. 24 | at Vanderbilt | W 71–55 | 14–3 (2–2) | 17 – Q. Weatherspoon | 9 – Holman | 4 – Q. Weatherspoon | Memorial Gymnasium (9,570) Nashville, TN |
| January 22, 2019 6:00 pm, ESPN | No. 22 | at No. 8 Kentucky | L 55–76 | 14–4 (2–3) | 19 – Q. Weatherspoon | 13 – Woodard II | 3 – Peters | Rupp Arena (21,449) Lexington, KY |
| January 26, 2019 7:00 pm, SECN | No. 22 | No. 16 Auburn | W 92–84 | 15–4 (3–3) | 27 – Q. Weatherspoon | 11 – Perry | 10 – Peters | Humphrey Coliseum (10,063) Starkville, MS |
| January 29, 2019 7:30 pm, SECN | No. 22 | at Alabama | L 79–83 | 15–5 (3–4) | 18 – Perry | 8 – Holman | 4 – Peters | Coleman Coliseum (11,632) Tuscaloosa, AL |
| February 2, 2019 2:30 pm, SECN | No. 22 | at Ole Miss | W 81–75 | 16–5 (4–4) | 27 – Q. Weatherspoon | 11 – Perry | 6 – Peters | The Pavilion at Ole Miss (9,500) Oxford, MS |
| February 6, 2019 8:00 pm, ESPN2 | | No. 21 LSU | L 88–92 $^{OT}$ | 16–6 (4–5) | 27 – Q. Weatherspoon | 10 – Perry | 6 – Peters | Humphrey Coliseum (7,456) Starkville, MS |
| February 9, 2019 12:00 pm, CBS | | No. 5 Kentucky | L 67–71 | 16–7 (4–6) | 16 – Peters | 5 – Woodard II | 3 – Q. Weatherspoon | Humphrey Coliseum (9,019) Starkville, MS |
| February 12, 2019 8:00 pm, SECN | | Alabama | W 81–62 | 17–7 (5–6) | 22 – Peters | 10 – Perry | 6 – Q. Weatherspoon | Humphrey Coliseum (8,022) Starkville, MS |
| February 16, 2019 7:30 pm, SECN | | at Arkansas | W 77–67 | 18–7 (6–6) | 22 – Q. Weatherspoon | 10 – Perry | 4 – Carter | Bud Walton Arena (17,022) Fayetteville, AR |
| February 20, 2019 5:30 pm, SECN | | at Georgia | W 68–67 | 19–7 (7–6) | 31 – Q. Weatherspoon | 6 – Tied | 4 – Carter | Stegeman Coliseum (7,153) Athens, GA |
| February 23, 2019 5:00 pm, SECN | | South Carolina | W 76–61 | 20–7 (8–6) | 21 – Perry | 6 – Perry | 9 – Peters | Humphrey Coliseum (8,655) Starkville, MS |
| February 26, 2019 6:00 pm, SECN | | Missouri | W 68–49 | 21–7 (9–6) | 24 – Carter | 9 – Perry | 5 – Peters | Humphrey Coliseum (7,058) Starkville, MS |
| March 2, 2019 3:00 pm, ESPNU | | at Auburn | L 75–80 | 21–8 (9–7) | 25 – Q. Weatherspoon | 14 – Perry | 6 – Q. Weatherspoon | Auburn Arena (9,121) Auburn, AL |
| March 5, 2019 8:00 pm, SECN | | at No. 5 Tennessee | L 54–71 | 21–9 (9–8) | 14 – Carter | 12 – Perry | 3 – Tied | Thompson–Boling Arena (20,555) Knoxville, TN |
| March 9, 2019 1:00 pm, ESPN2 | | Texas A&M | W 92–81 | 22–9 (10–8) | 21 – Peters | 9 – Holman | 8 – Peters | Humphrey Coliseum (8,732) Starkville, MS |
| SEC tournament |||||||||
| March 14, 2019 8:00 pm, SECN | (6) | vs. (11) Texas A&M Second Round | W 80–54 | 23–9 | 15 – Peters | 8 – Woodard | 9 – Q. Weatherspoon | Bridgestone Arena (14,813) Nashville, TN |
| March 15, 2019 8:00 pm, SECN | (6) | vs. (3) No. 8 Tennessee Quarterfinals | L 76–83 | 23–10 | 20 – Holman | 12 – Perry | 5 – Peters | Bridgestone Arena (19,575) Nashville, TN |
| NCAA tournament |||||||||
| March 22, 2019* 6:27 pm, truTV | (5 E) | vs. (12 E) Liberty First Round | L 76–80 | 23–11 | 27 – Q. Weatherspoon | 10 – Perry | 5 – Peters | SAP Center (12,824) San Jose, CA |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central Time. |||||||||

## Rankings

Ranking movements Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking — = Not ranked RV = Received votes :
| | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week |
| Poll | Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | Final |
| AP | 18 | 17 | 15 | 25 | 22 | 18 | 17 | 19 | 17 | 14 | 24 | 22 | 22 | RV | — | RV | | | | Not released |
| Coaches | 19 | 19^ | 15 | 25 | 22 | 17 | 16 | 17 | 16 | 14 | 23 | 22 | 21 | 22 | — | RV | | | | RV |
*AP does not release post-NCAA Tournament rankings ^Coaches did not release a Week 2 poll.