# 2017–18 Mississippi State Bulldogs men's basketball team

The 2017–18 Mississippi State Bulldogs basketball team represented Mississippi State University in the 2017–18 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Bulldogs, led by third-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 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.

## Previous season

The Bulldogs finished the 2016–17 season 16–16, 6–12 in SEC play to finish in 12th place. They defeated LSU in the SEC tournament before losing in the second round to Alabama.

## Offseason
### Departures

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Notes |
| Mario Kegler | 4 | F | 6'7" | 230 | Freshman | Jackson, MS | Transferred to Baylor |
| Joe Strugg | 5 | F | 6'9" | 196 | RS Freshman | Montgomery, AL | Walk-on; left the team |
| I. J. Ready | 15 | G | 5'11" | 170 | Senior | Little Rock, AR | Graduated |
| Miles Washington | 20 | C | 6'7" | 195 | Freshman | New Albany, MS | Walk-on; left the team |

### Incoming transfers

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Previous School |
| Mitch Storm | 5 | F | 6'6" | 195 | Sophomore | Madison, MS | Junior college transferred from East Mississippi CC |

### 2017 recruiting class

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Nick Weatherspoon #10 PG | Camden, MS | Velma Jackson Magnet High School | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | 175 lb (79 kg) | Sep 11, 2016 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ||||||
| KeyShawn Feazell #45 PF | Monticello, MS | Lawrence County High School | 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) | 185 lb (84 kg) | Oct 13, 2016 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: Scout: 16 Rivals: 25 247Sports: 23 ESPN: 19 ||||||
| 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 2017 Basketball Commitments". Rivals.com. Retrieved August 31, 2016. "2017 Mississippi State Basketball Commits". Scout.com. Retrieved August 31, 2016. "ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved August 31, 2016. "Scout.com Team Recruiting Rankings". Scout.com. Retrieved August 31, 2016. "2017 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved August 31, 2016. ||||||

### 2018 recruiting class

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Reggie Perry PF | Thomasville, Georgia | Thomasville High School | 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) | 225 lb (102 kg) | Jul 17, 2017 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ||||||
| D. J. Stewart SF | Benoit, 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 ||||||
| Robert Woodard II SF | Columbus, Mississippi | Columbus High School | 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) | 200 lb (91 kg) | Nov 14, 2017 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ||||||
| Jethro Tshisumpa C | Lubumbashi, Democratic Republic of the Congo | San Jacinto College | 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) | 260 lb (120 kg) | Feb 18, 2018 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ||||||
| 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 August 31, 2016. "2017 Mississippi State Basketball Commits". Scout.com. Retrieved August 31, 2016. "ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved August 31, 2016. "Scout.com Team Recruiting Rankings". Scout.com. Retrieved August 31, 2016. "2018 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved August 31, 2016. ||||||

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition ||||||
| Oct. 22, 2017* 1:00 pm | | Nebraska Hurricane Irma charity game | L 72–76 | | Humphrey Coliseum Starkville, MS |
| Nov 2, 2017* 7:00 pm | | West Florida | W 87–62 | | Humphrey Coliseum (1,711) Starkville, MS |
| Non-conference regular season ||||||
| Nov 10, 2017* 5:30 pm | | Alabama State | W 96–68 | 1–0 | Humphrey Coliseum (6,811) Starkville, MS |
| Nov 18, 2017* 1:00 pm | | Florida A&M Hoops in the Heartland | W 79–48 | 2–0 | Humphrey Coliseum (6,132) Starkville, MS |
| Nov 20, 2017* 7:00 pm | | Green Bay Hoops in the Heartland | W 77–68 | 3-0 | Humphrey Coliseum (6,359) Starkville, MS |
| Nov 22, 2017* 7:00 pm | | Stephen F. Austin Hoops in the Heartland | W 80–75 | 4–0 | Humphrey Coliseum (7,687) Starkville, MS |
| Nov 26, 2017* 4:00 pm | | Jacksonville State | W 59–56 | 5–0 | Humphrey Coliseum (6,034) Starkville, MS |
| Nov 30, 2017* 6:00 pm, SECN | | North Dakota State Hoops in the Heartland | W 83–59 | 6–0 | Humphrey Coliseum (5,831) Starkville, MS |
| Dec 3, 2017* 7:00 pm, SECN | | Dayton | W 61–59 | 7–0 | Humphrey Coliseum (7,539) Starkville, MS |
| Dec 9, 2017* 4:00 pm | | North Georgia | W 95–62 | 8–0 | Humphrey Coliseum (6,613) Starkville, MS |
| Dec 12, 2017* 6:00 pm, ESPN2 | | at No. 25 Cincinnati | L 50–65 | 8–1 | BB&T Arena (8,128) Highland Heights, KY |
| Dec 16, 2017* 7:00 pm | | UT Martin | W 92–61 | 9–1 | Humphrey Coliseum (6,709) Starkville, MS |
| Dec 20, 2017* 7:00 pm | | Little Rock | W 64–48 | 10–1 | Humphrey Coliseum (7,156) Starkville, MS |
| Dec 23, 2017* 7:00 pm | | vs. Southern Miss Jackson Showcase | W 70–64 | 11–1 | Mississippi Coliseum (4,028) Jackson, MS |
| Dec 30, 2017* 3:00 pm, SECN+ | | North Florida | W 109–81 | 12–1 | Humphrey Coliseum (7,764) Starkville, MS |
| SEC regular season ||||||
| Jan 2, 2018 8:00 pm, SECN | | No. 22 Arkansas | W 78–75 | 13–1 (1–0) | Humphrey Coliseum (6,324) Starkville, MS |
| Jan 6, 2018 3:30 pm, SECN | | at Ole Miss | L 58–64 | 13–2 (1–1) | The Pavilion at Ole Miss (8,664) Oxford, MS |
| Jan 10, 2018 6:00 pm, SECN | | at Florida | L 54–71 | 13–3 (1–2) | O'Connell Center (9,917) Gainesville, FL |
| Jan 13, 2018 2:30 pm, SECN | | No. 22 Auburn | L 68–76 | 13–4 (1–3) | Humphrey Coliseum (8,443) Starkville, MS |
| Jan 16, 2018 6:00 pm, SECN | | Vanderbilt | W 80–62 | 14–4 (2–3) | Humphrey Coliseum (6,633) Starkville, MS |
| Jan 20, 2018 7:30 pm, SECN | | at Alabama | L 62–68 | 14–5 (2–4) | Coleman Coliseum (15,383) Tuscaloosa, AL |
| Jan 23, 2018 8:00 pm, ESPN | | at Kentucky | L 65–78 | 14–6 (2–5) | Rupp Arena (20,609) Lexington, KY |
| Jan 27, 2018 7:30 pm, SECN | | Missouri | W 74–62 | 15–6 (3–5) | Humphrey Coliseum (7,169) Starkville, MS |
| Jan 31, 2018 7:30 pm, SECN | | at South Carolina | W 81–76 | 16–6 (4–5) | Colonial Life Arena (11,042) Columbia, SC |
| Feb 3, 2018 5:00 pm, ESPNU | | Georgia | W 72–57 | 17–6 (5–5) | Humphrey Coliseum (7,775) Starkville, MS |
| Feb 6, 2018 6:00 pm, SECN | | Alabama | W 67–63 | 18–6 (6–5) | Humphrey Coliseum (7,095) Starkville, MS |
| Feb 10, 2018 1:00 pm, ESPN2 | | at Missouri | L 85–89 $^{OT}$ | 18–7 (6–6) | Mizzou Arena (15,061) Columbia, MO |
| Feb 14, 2018 6:00 pm, SECN | | at Vanderbilt | L 80–81 | 18–8 (6–7) | Memorial Gymnasium (8,592) Nashville, TN |
| Feb 17, 2018 7:30 pm, SECN | | Ole Miss | W 79–62 | 19–8 (7–7) | Humphrey Coliseum (9,002) Starkville, MS |
| Feb 20, 2018 6:00 pm, SECN | | at Texas A&M | W 93–81 | 20–8 (8–7) | Reed Arena (8,614) College Station, TX |
| Feb 24, 2018 2:30 pm, SECN | | South Carolina | W 72–68 $^{OT}$ | 21–8 (9–7) | Humphrey Coliseum (8,162) Starkville, MS |
| Feb 27, 2018 6:00 pm, SECN | | No. 16 Tennessee | L 54–76 | 21–9 (9–8) | Humphrey Coliseum (7,548) Starkville, MS |
| Mar 3, 2018 12:00 pm, SECN | | at LSU | L 57–78 | 21–10 (9–9) | Maravich Center (9,067) Baton Rouge, LA |
| SEC tournament ||||||
| Mar 8, 2018 6:00 pm, SECN | (7) | vs. (10) LSU Second Round | W 80–77 | 22–10 | Scottrade Center (11,752) St. Louis, MO |
| Mar 9, 2018 6:00 pm, SECN | (7) | vs. (2) No. 13 Tennessee Quarterfinals | L 59–62 | 22–11 | Scottrade Center (14,596) St. Louis, MO |
| NIT ||||||
| Mar 14, 2018* 8:00 pm, ESPN2 | (4) | (5) Nebraska First Round – Baylor Bracket | W 66–59 | 23–11 | Humphrey Coliseum (3,485) Starkville, MS |
| Mar 18, 2018* 11:00 am, ESPN | (4) | at (1) Baylor Second Round – Baylor Bracket | W 78–77 | 24–11 | Ferrell Center (2,246) Waco, TX |
| Mar 20, 2018* 8:00 pm, ESPN | (4) | at (2) Louisville Quarterfinals – Baylor Bracket | W 79–56 | 25–11 | KFC Yum! Center (10,718) Louisville, KY |
| Mar 27, 2018* 6:00 pm, ESPN | (4) | vs. (4) Penn State Semifinals | L 60–75 | 25–12 | Madison Square Garden (7,865) New York City, NY |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central Time. ||||||