Mississippi State Bulldogs men’s basketball

The Mississippi State Bulldogs men’s basketball team is the intercollegiate men’s basketball program that represents Mississippi State University in Starkville, Mississippi. The school competes in NCAA Division I and the Southeastern Conference (SEC).

History
Mississippi State first fielded a varsity basketball squad during the 1908–09 season, making it one of the oldest programs in college sports history. Although largely successful throughout its early years, including an appearance at the 1938 Final Four, MSU fell on hard times after World War II and was forced to disband its program for several years due to financial constraints. In 1975-76 under head coach Richard Williams, they returned with a vengeance and made their first trip back to post-season play since 1957 by appearing in both the NIT & NCAA tournaments; this began what would be an unprecedented period of success lasting more than 20 years which included 15 postseason appearances culminating with three Sweet Sixteen berths from 1996–98. However following those successes came another dry spell as between 1999 & 2008 only two trips were taken to post season tourneys – neither being particularly deep or successful ones either time around. Recently though Bulldog Basketball has been experiencing a resurgence led by Head Coach Ben Howland who took over prior to 2015-16 season where he led them all the way up into number 1 seed territory before eventually bowing out of tournament play just shy of reaching Elite Eight status when they lost 74-81 against eventual champion Villanova Wildcats . This marked their deepest run since 1998 when they reached Sweet Sixteen round but also gave fans optimism that future appearances will come soon enough if not next year then certainly within near future now that expectations have already been set so high while recruiting class continues improving every single year like never before!

Rivalries
Mississippi state maintains rivalries with three other SEC schools: Ole Miss Rebels , Alabama Crimson Tide , LSU Tigers . As well as non conference opponents such as Memphis Tigers , Cincinnati Bearcats among others going far beyond regional boundaries stretching even further Northwards towards Midwest states like Ohio or Indiana ! Overall record wise MSU holds slight edge over each one except Alabama whom they are currently tied at 103 wins apiece despite having played fewer games overall versus them historically speaking ; no matter outcome however these matchups always remain some most anticipated events yearly calendar especially locally here in Magnolia state whether regular season finale/opener showdown happens down Oxford’s Tad Smith Coliseum vs rivals across highway 6 or neutral site “Battle 4 Atlantis” showdowns against tough competition coming from outside region too – nothing ever quite beats feeling running through veins whenever these clashes occur!

Achievements
MSU entered 2018 ranked 18th nationally according AP Poll marking highest ranking achieved since 2002 when former standouts Mario Austin & Derrick Zimmerman helped lead Dave Bliss coached squad up into top 10 rankings briefly during late January until March Madness arrived shortly thereafter ending Cinderella story almost prematurely yet still leaving legacy behind worthy noting even today nearly 16yrs later … From individual level perspective 7 different players earned All American honors throughout decades long existence while current roster boasts 3 potential NBA draft picks this upcoming June suggesting bright days ahead very likely await us once again sometime soon provided right pieces stay together moving forward….