STARKVILLE — Mississippi State University and Baylor University have decided the contract they signed more than a year ago for their men’s basketball teams to play a home-and-home series doesn’t work for either school.
Mississippi State Director of Athletics Scott Stricklin confirmed Thursday morning in e-mail response to The Dispatch that the schools have agreed to cancel the two remaining games in the contract.
“Baylor and MSU mutually agreed to drop the remaining two games in the contract,” Stricklin wrote to The Dispatch.
The Bears, who are expected to be ranked in The Associated Press’ preseason top 25 poll for the 2012-13 season, were scheduled to visit Humphrey Coliseum in November before the Bulldogs played a road game in Waco, Texas in 2013. The cancellation is a mutual decision, and neither side will be required to pay a buyout.
“I didn’t think it was a very favorable schedule for us because even if all of those guys would be coming back, which of course they’re not, it would’ve been an extremely difficult challenge,” MSU first-year coach Rick Ray said Monday in an interview with The Dispatch.
MSU fans can expect the 2012-13 schedule not to have many road challenges before Southeastern Conference play begins after New Year’s Day. MSU will play one nationally televised game and in the prestigious Maui Invitational. Butler University, the University of Illinois, Marquette University, the University of North Carolina, the University of Texas, the University of Southern California, and
Division II host Chaminade will round out the field for the Maui Invitational.
MSU will return only one starter and two players who received significant minutes from last season’s team that lost to the University of Massachusetts in the first round of the National Invitation Tournament.
“After coming back from the toughest tournament in all of mankind in Maui, you got to prepare for Baylor. That’s not favorable for our team in any way,” Ray said.
Baylor earned a 54-52 victory on a last-second layup from Pierre Jackson last season at the American Airlines Center in Dallas.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 41 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.