# 2016–17 Mississippi State Bulldogs men's basketball team

The 2016–17 Mississippi State Bulldogs basketball team represented Mississippi State University in the 2016–17 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Bulldogs, led by second year head coach Ben Howland, played their home games at the Humphrey Coliseum in Starkville, Mississippi as a member of the Southeastern Conference. They finished the 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.

## Previous season

The Bulldogs finished the season 14–17, 7–11 in SEC play to finish in 11th place. They lost to Georgia in the second round of the SEC tournament.

## Departures

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Notes |
| Fred Thomas | 1 | Guard | 6'5" | 210 | Senior | Jackson, MS | Graduated |
| Demetrius Houston | 2 | Forward | 6'7" | 205 | Sophomore | Montgomery, AL | Transferred to Alabama State |
| Johnny Zuppardo | 4 | Forward | 6'8" | 226 | Senior | Bay St. Louis, MS | Transferred |
| Malik Newman | 14 | Guard | 6'3" | 190 | Freshman | Jackson, MS | Transferred to Kansas |
| Gavin Ware | 20 | Forward | 6'9" | 260 | Senior | Starkville, MS | Graduated |
| Reggie Patterson | 21 | Guard | 6'4" | 168 | Junior | Baldwyn, MS | Transferred |
| Fallou Ndoye | 22 | Center | 6'11" | 220 | RS Sophomore | Dakar, Senegal | Transferred to Cal State Bakersfield |
| Travis Daniels | 23 | Guard | 6'7" | 225 | Senior | Tuscaloosa, AL | Graduated |
| Craig Sword | 32 | Guard | 6'3" | 197 | Senior | Montgomery, AL | Graduated |

## Recruits

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Mario Kegler #11 SF | Jackson, MS | Oak Hill Academy | 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) | 218 lb (99 kg) | Nov 11, 2015 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ||||||
| Schnider Hérard #9 C | Plano, TX | Prestonwood Christian Academy | 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) | 260 lb (120 kg) | Nov 4, 2015 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ||||||
| Eli Wright #16 SG | Owensboro, KY | 22ft Academy | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) | 190 lb (86 kg) | Aug 16, 2015 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ||||||
| Abdulhakim Ado #11 C | Chattanooga, TN | Hamilton Heights Christian Academy | 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) | 190 lb (86 kg) | Nov 16, 2015 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ||||||
| Tyson Carter #22 PG | Starkville, MS | Starkville Academy | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | 170 lb (77 kg) | Oct 27, 2015 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ||||||
| Lamar Peters #23 PG | New Orleans, LA | L. B. Landry Senior High School | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | 165 lb (75 kg) | Jun 6, 2015 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ||||||
| E. J. Datcher #44 C | Vincent, AL | Vincent High School | 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) | 235 lb (107 kg) | Jun 6, 2015 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A 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 2016 Basketball Commitments". Rivals.com. Retrieved July 24, 2016. "2016 Mississippi State Basketball Commits". Scout.com. Retrieved July 24, 2016. "ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved July 24, 2016. "Scout.com Team Recruiting Rankings". Scout.com. Retrieved July 24, 2016. "2016 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved July 24, 2016. ||||||

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition ||||||
| 11/04/2016* 7:00 pm | | Delta State | W 78–63 | | Humphrey Coliseum (3,721) Starkville, MS |
| Non-conference regular season ||||||
| 11/11/2016* 7:00 pm | | Norfolk State | W 78–74 | 1–0 | Humphrey Coliseum (4,467) Starkville, MS |
| 11/17/2016* 4:00 pm, ESPN2 | | vs. UCF Charleston Classic quarterfinals | L 61–86 | 1–1 | TD Arena (3,430) Charleston, SC |
| 11/18/2016* 6:00 pm, ESPN3 | | vs. Boise State Charleston Classic consolation round | W 80–68 | 2–1 | TD Arena (3,517) Charleston, SC |
| 11/20/2016* 2:30 pm, ESPN3 | | vs. UTEP Charleston Classic 5th place game | W 61–54 | 3–1 | TD Arena (1,293) Charleston, SC |
| 11/25/2016* 7:00 pm | | Lehigh | L 73–87 | 3–2 | Humphrey Coliseum (6,697) Starkville, MS |
| 11/28/2016* 6:00 pm, SECN | | Northwestern State | W 65–59 | 4–2 | Humphrey Coliseum (6,070) Starkville, MS |
| 12/01/2016* 8:00 pm, ESPNU | | Oregon State | W 74–57 | 5–2 | Humphrey Coliseum (7,684) Starkville, MS |
| 12/04/2016* 4:00 pm | | Georgia State | W 82–60 | 6–2 | Humphrey Coliseum (6,805) Starkville, MS |
| 12/14/2016* 7:00 pm, SECN | | East Tennessee State | L 65–67 | 6–3 | Humphrey Coliseum (6,479) Starkville, MS |
| 12/19/2016* 8:00 pm, ESPNU | | vs. Southern Miss | W 86–44 | 7–3 | Mississippi Coliseum (4,031) Jackson, MS |
| 12/22/2016* 6:00 pm, SECN | | Morehead State | W 85–76 | 8–3 | Humphrey Coliseum (8,328) Starkville, MS |
| 12/29/2016* 7:00 pm | | UMKC | W 77–54 | 9–3 | Humphrey Coliseum (7,109) Starkville, MS |
| SEC regular season ||||||
| 01/03/2017 7:30 pm, SECN | | Alabama | L 58–68 | 9–4 (0–1) | Humphrey Coliseum (7,452) Starkville, MS |
| 01/07/2017 2:30 pm, SECN | | at LSU | W 95–78 | 10–4 (1–1) | Maravich Center (7,626) Baton Rouge, LA |
| 01/10/2017 8:00 pm, SECN | | at Arkansas | W 84–78 | 11–4 (2–1) | Bud Walton Arena (15,111) Fayetteville, AR |
| 01/14/2017 12:00 pm, CBS | | Texas A&M | W 67–59 | 12–4 (3–1) | Humphrey Coliseum (8,588) Starkville, MS |
| 01/17/2017 6:00 pm, ESPN | | No. 5 Kentucky | L 81–88 | 12–5 (3–2) | Humphrey Coliseum (9,768) Starkville, MS |
| 01/21/2017 5:00 pm, SECN | | at Tennessee | L 74–91 | 12–6 (3–3) | Thompson–Boling Arena (13,917) Knoxville, TN |
| 01/25/2017 6:00 pm, SECN | | Missouri | W 89–74 | 13–6 (4–3) | Humphrey Coliseum (7,101) Starkville, MS |
| 01/28/2017 7:30 pm, SECN | | at Alabama | L 62–71 | 13–7 (4–4) | Coleman Coliseum (15,383) Tuscaloosa, AL |
| 01/31/2017 6:00 pm, SECN | | at Ole Miss | L 61–88 | 13–8 (4–5) | The Pavilion at Ole Miss (8,205) Oxford, MS |
| 02/04/2017 2:30 pm, SECN | | Tennessee | W 64–59 | 14–8 (5–5) | Humphrey Coliseum (7,581) Starkville, MS |
| 02/07/2017 8:00 pm, ESPNU | | at Auburn | L 92–98 | 14–9 (5–6) | Auburn Arena (7,058) Auburn, AL |
| 02/11/2017 7:00 pm, ESPN2 | | No. 19 South Carolina | L 73–77 | 14–10 (5–7) | Humphrey Coliseum (7,635) Starkville, MS |
| 02/14/2017 8:00 pm, ESPNU | | at Georgia | L 72–79 | 14–11 (5–8) | Stegeman Coliseum (5,822) Athens, GA |
| 02/18/2017 1:00 pm, ESPN | | Florida | L 52–57 | 14–12 (5–9) | Humphrey Coliseum (7,980) Starkville, MS |
| 02/21/2017 8:00 pm, ESPN2 | | Ole Miss | L 82–87 $^{OT}$ | 14–13 (5–10) | Humphrey Coliseum (7,863) Starkville, MS |
| 02/25/2017 3:00 pm, ESPNU | | at Vanderbilt | L 48–77 | 14–14 (5–11) | Memorial Gymnasium (9,212) Nashville, TN |
| 02/28/2017 6:00 pm, ESPN2 | | at South Carolina | L 57–63 | 14–15 (5–12) | Colonial Life Arena (15,230) Columbia, SC |
| 03/04/2017 5:00 pm, SECN | | LSU | W 88–76 | 15–15 (6–12) | Humphrey Coliseum (6,739) Starkville, MS |
| SEC tournament ||||||
| 03/08/2017 6:00 pm, SECN | (12) | vs. (13) LSU First Round | W 79–52 | 16–15 | Bridgestone Arena (8,567) Nashville, TN |
| 03/09/2017 2:30 pm, SECN | (12) | vs. (5) Alabama Second Round | L 55–75 | 16–16 | Bridgestone Arena (11,973) Nashville, TN |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central Time. ||||||