Mississippi State Men's Basketball Climbs in AP Poll
Mississippi State's men's basketball squad has risen to No. 17 in the latest AP Poll.
The Bulldogs climbed six spots from their previous 23rd ranking, becoming the biggest risers in this week's poll. They took down Big Ten opponent Minnesota by a score of 69-51 on Sunday evening to improve their record to a perfect 9-0.
The program's record speaks for itself, but the dominance that MSU has had on the court has certainly not gone unnoticed. First-year head coach Chris Jans has begun to develop Mississippi State into a formidable opponent that can make necessary adjustments to win.
The squad's tough defense has held each of its opponents to 55 points or less, ranking the Bulldogs among some of the best defenders in the nation. Star players Tolu Smith, Cameron Matthews and DJ Jeffries have kept the team afloat offensively. A few of the teams that State has beaten -- namely Marquette and Utah -- have recorded big victories of their own to help boost MSU's resume.
Before this year, MSU had not been ranked in the AP Poll since the 2018-2019 season. The Bulldogs fluctuated in the rankings for 13 consecutive weeks that year, peaking at 14th in the standings before falling out completely in late January. If they can manage to climb any higher than that over the coming weeks, then it will be their highest ranking since 2004.
Alabama is the highest SEC program in the AP Poll this week, coming in at No. 4 overall. Tennessee is in sixth and Arkansas is in 10th to round out the top 10. Kentucky sits in 13th place, while Auburn has slipped two spots behind MSU for a No. 19 ranking.
Mississippi State will face Jackson State in Magnolia Madness on Wednesday evening in hopes of continuing its winning streak. Tipoff is at 6:30 p.m. CT in the Mississippi Coliseum.
