# 2014–15 Mississippi State Bulldogs basketball team

The 2014–15 Mississippi State Bulldogs basketball team represented Mississippi State University in the 2014–15 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The team's head coach was Rick Ray, in his third season at Mississippi State. The team played their home games at the Humphrey Coliseum in Starkville, Mississippi as a member of the Southeastern Conference. They finished the season 13–19, 6–12 in SEC play to finish in a tie for 11th place. They lost in the first round of the SEC tournament to Auburn.
On March 21, head coach Rick Ray was fired. He had a three-year record of 37–60.

## Before the season
### Departures

The Bulldogs lost eight players from the 2013–14 team.
| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Notes |
| Colin Borchert | 3 | F | 6'8" | 231 | Senior | Phoenix, AZ | Graduated |
| Andre Applewhite | 2 | G | 6'5" | 217 | RS Freshman | Memphis, TN | Transferred to Toledo during 2013–14 season |
| Jacoby Davis | 11 | G | 6'1" | 191 | RS Freshman | Charlotte, NC | Transferred |
| De'Runnya Wilson | 12 | F | 6'5" | 215 | Freshman | Birmingham, AL | Concentrating on football |
| Dallas Prater | 10 | G | 6'3" | 170 | Freshman | Jackson, MS | Left team (Walk-on) |
| Tevin Moore | 13 | G | 6'3" | 185 | Junior | Olive Branch, MS | Left team (Walk-on) |
| Tyson Cunningham | 24 | G | 6'3" | 197 | RS Senior | Columbus, MS | Graduated (Walk-on) |
| Kyle Dobbs | 33 | G | 6'6" | 160 | Freshman | Grayson, GA | Left team (Walk-on) |

### Recruits

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Demetrius Houston SF | Montgomery, AL | Carver | 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) | 185 lb (84 kg) | Jul 8, 2013 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ||||||
| Oliver Black PF | Jackson, MS | Wingfield | 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) | 215 lb (98 kg) | Jul 2, 2013 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ||||||
| Elijah Staley SF | Marietta, GA | Wheeler | 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) | 208 lb (94 kg) | Jun 15, 2013 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN: ||||||
| Maurice Dunlap SG | Greenwood, MS | Amanda Elzy | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | 170 lb (77 kg) | Jun 27, 2012 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ||||||
| Johnny Zuppardo PF | Bay St. Louis, MS | Jones County JC | 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) | 235 lb (107 kg) | Apr 15, 2014 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: N/A ||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: Scout: Not Ranked Rivals: Not Ranked ESPN: Not Ranked ||||||
| 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 2014 Basketball Commitments". Rivals.com. Retrieved August 3, 2014. "2014 Mississippi State Basketball Commits". Scout.com. Retrieved August 3, 2014. "ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved August 3, 2014. "Scout.com Team Recruiting Rankings". Scout.com. Retrieved August 3, 2014. "2014 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved August 3, 2014. ||||||
The Bulldogs also added two walk-ons, Isaiah Butler and Jeffery Johnson, who will be classified as seniors for the season.

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Opponent | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition |||||
| 11/06/2014* 7:00 pm | Delta State | W 72–51 | – | Humphrey Coliseum Starkville, MS |
| Non-Conference games |||||
| 11/14/2014* 5:30 pm | Western Carolina | W 66–56 | 1–0 | Humphrey Coliseum (6,261) Starkville, MS |
| 11/17/2014* 7:00 pm | Mississippi Valley State | W 89–68 | 2–0 | Humphrey Coliseum (6,065) Starkville, MS |
| 11/22/2014* 2:00 pm | Utah State | W 71–63 | 3–0 | Humphrey Coliseum (7,240) Starkville, MS |
| 11/24/2014* 7:00 pm | Clayton State | W 59–46 | 4–0 | Humphrey Coliseum (6,030) Starkville, MS |
| 11/28/2014* 8:30 pm, CBSSN | vs. Saint Louis Corpus Christi Coastal Classic | W 75–50 | 5–0 | American Bank Center (2,867) Corpus Christi, TX |
| 11/29/2014* 5:30 pm, CBSSN | vs. TCU Corpus Christi Coastal Classic | L 52–61 | 5–1 | American Bank Center (2,867) Corpus Christi, TX |
| 12/06/2014* 1:00 pm, ESPN3 | at Tulane | L 54–59 | 5–2 | Devlin Fieldhouse (1,483) New Orleans, LA |
| 12/13/2014* 3:00 pm, P12N | at Oregon State | L 49–59 | 5–3 | Gill Coliseum (4,211) Corvallis, OR |
| 12/17/2014* 6:00 pm, SECN | Arkansas State | L 55–69 | 5–4 | Humphrey Coliseum (5,390) Starkville, MS |
| 12/20/2014* 3:00 pm | vs. USC Upstate Jackson Showcase | L 51–53 | 5–5 | Mississippi Coliseum (1,102) Jackson, MS |
| 12/23/2014* 7:00 pm | Jacksonville | W 70–47 | 6–5 | Humphrey Coliseum (5,366) Starkville, MS |
| 12/30/2014* 7:00 pm | McNeese State | L 47–66 | 6–6 | Humphrey Coliseum (5,155) Starkville, MS |
| 01/02/2015* 7:00 pm, ESPNU | Florida State | W 62–55 | 7–6 | Humphrey Coliseum (5,756) Starkville, MS |
| Conference games |||||
| 01/07/2015 8:00 pm, SECN | Tennessee | L 47–61 | 7–7 (0–1) | Humphrey Coliseum (5,704) Starkville, MS |
| 01/10/2015 6:00 pm, FSN | at Florida | L 47–72 | 7–8 (0–2) | O'Connell Center (11,966) Gainesville, FL |
| 01/13/2015 8:00 pm, SECN | at Texas A&M | L 70–74 | 7–9 (0–3) | Reed Arena (4,804) College Station, TX |
| 01/17/2015 3:00 pm, FSN | Vanderbilt | W 57–54 | 8–9 (1–3) | Humphrey Coliseum (6,568) Starkville, MS |
| 01/21/2015 8:00 pm, SECN | at Auburn | W 78–71 | 9–9 (2–3) | Auburn Arena (8,083) Auburn, AL |
| 01/24/2015 2:00 pm, FSN | Georgia | L 66–72 | 9–10 (2–4) | Humphrey Coliseum (7,549) Starkville, MS |
| 01/28/2015 8:00 pm, SECN | at Ole Miss | L 73–79 | 9–11 (2–5) | Tad Smith Coliseum (8,959) Oxford, MS |
| 01/31/2015 1:00 pm, SECN | LSU | W 73–67 | 10–11 (3–5) | Humphrey Coliseum (6,657) Starkville, MS |
| 02/03/2015 6:00 pm, SECN | at Tennessee | W 71–66 | 11–11 (4–5) | Thompson–Boling Arena (13,268) Knoxville, TN |
| 02/07/2015 3:00 pm, SECN | at Arkansas | L 41–61 | 11–12 (4–6) | Bud Walton Arena (17,404) Fayetteville, AR |
| 02/10/2015 8:00 pm, SECN | Alabama | L 51–55 | 11–13 (4–7) | Humphrey Coliseum (6,386) Starkville, MS |
| 02/14/2015 3:00 pm, ESPNU | at Missouri | W 77–74 | 12–13 (5–7) | Mizzou Arena (8,278) Columbia, MO |
| 02/19/2015 8:00 pm, ESPN2 | Ole Miss | L 65–71 | 12–14 (5–8) | Humphrey Coliseum (7,873) Starkville, MS |
| 02/21/2015 3:00 pm, FSN | No. 18 Arkansas | L 61–65 | 12–15 (5–9) | Humphrey Coliseum (6,254) Starkville, MS |
| 02/25/2015 6:00 pm, SECN | No. 1 Kentucky | L 56–74 | 12–16 (5–10) | Humphrey Coliseum (6,795) Starkville, MS |
| 02/28/2015 5:00 pm, SECN | at South Carolina | L 68–81 | 12–17 (5–11) | Colonial Life Arena (14,022) Columbia, SC |
| 03/04/2015 8:00 pm, SECN | at Vanderbilt | L 56–66 | 12–18 (5–12) | Memorial Gymnasium (8,685) Nashville, TN |
| 03/07/2015 5:30 pm, SECN | Missouri | W 52–43 | 13–18 (6–12) | Humphrey Coliseum (5,897) Starkville, MS |
| SEC tournament |||||
| 03/11/2015 6:00 pm, SECN | vs. Auburn SEC tournament first round | L 68–74 | 13–19 | Bridgestone Arena (10,039) Nashville, TN |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central Time. |||||