One team in, one team out: Where Mississippi State stands in bracketology

Mississippi State’s men and women face very different NCAA Tournament outlooks as NET rankings, tough losses and upcoming games shape March hopes.

Mississippi State Bulldogs head coach Chris Jans reacts toward an official during the second half against the Alabama Crimson Tide at Humphrey Coliseum. | Petre Thomas-Imagn Images

There’s a real chance there won’t be any Mississippi State basketball players dancing in March.

If the NCAA Tournament fields for both men and women were set today, the women’s team would be in the men wouldn’t.

But considering how Mississippi State women’s team has fared in the first weeks of conference play, their spot in ESPN’s updated Bracketology isn’t very secure.

The Bulldogs have lost their last four SEC games after starting play with a 75-53 win against Auburn. Since then, they’ve lost to Oklahoma, Tennessee, Ole Miss and Vanderbilt. All four ranked and the Sooner and Commodores were ranked No. 5 when they faced Mississippi State.

The schedule doesn’t ease up with three more games against ranked opponents, No. 7 Kentucky, No. 21 Alabama and a rematch with No. 20 Tennessee.

There wouldn’t be much shame in losing to any of those teams. A Mississippi State win in any of them would be a big upset.

The two things helping their cause the most is these losses are coming against some of the best teams in the nation. The second is how close the Bulldogs came to handing Vanderbilt its first loss of the season.

However, a seven-game losing streak would be hard to overcome and still make the NCAA Tournament.

But at least the women’s team is in the tournament field right now. The men’s team is very far away.

Mississippi State’s men team is ranked No. 93 in the NET Men’s College Basketball Rankings. That’s the second-lowest ranking among SEC teams and only four spots ahead of South Carolina.

The bright spot for the Bulldogs is that they have some winnable games upcoming. They host Ole Miss on Saturday, who has the same record as the Bulldogs and is ranked No. 81 in NET rankings.

After the Rebels, Mississippi State will travel to College Station where Texas A&M awaits. The Aggies are 13-4 this season and rank No. 48 in NET rankings.

That’s a high ranking, but considering Texas is ranked No. 39 and the Bulldogs beat them, the Aggies are a beatable opponent.

The season is long though and all it takes is one hot streak to change the narrative around both Mississippi State teams.

Here are the complete NET rankings breakdown for both teams:

Mississippi State Men’s NET Ranking

Rank: 93
Overall: 10-7
Road: 2-1
Neutral: 1-4
Home: 7-2
Q1: 1-4
Q2: 1-2
Q3: 2-1
Q4: 5-0

Mississippi State Women’s NET Ranking

Rank: 36
Overall: 14-5
Road: 1-3
Neutral: 2-0
Home: 11-2
Q1: 0-5
Q2: 1-0
Q3: 1-0
Q4: 12-0