The Mississippi State men’s basketball team has a problem.

A good problem.

“We’ve got good depth,” head coach Ben Howland said Tuesday.

Howland put the Bulldogs’ 2021-22 squad among the best teams top to bottom he has coached at either UCLA or Mississippi State. Four impact transfers, dynamic point guard Iverson Molinar and last season’s leading Southeastern Conference rebounder Tolu Smith fill out the roster.

Beyond them, wings Cameron Matthews and Derek Fountain return, and freshmen Camryn Carter and Alden Applewhite are seeing playing time.

Right now, the “issue” facing the Bulldogs is how to allocate minutes with so many good players in the mix.

“I think the greatest blessing this team enjoys in my mind right now is our depth,” Howland said Tuesday. “We have really good depth that I feel comfortable with.”

And barring a potential setback, that depth should be increased as soon as Wednesday’s game against Detroit Mercy (0-2) at Humphrey Coliseum. Howland said last week Michigan State transfer guard Rocket Watts is expected to make his debut for Mississippi State (2-0) after surgery to repair a torn labrum in his hip this offseason.

But at the end of a productive Monday practice, Watts slipped when his shoe gave out on the court, tweaking his hip. Howland said he felt better when he got up and even better Tuesday morning. Watts saw a team trainer later Tuesday afternoon, but Mississippi State had no update on his condition.

“I’m very concerned about it, but until I know more, it’s hard for me to comment on it,” Howland said before Watts visited associate athletic trainer Seth Tisdale. “I’m sure hoping he’s OK, because he’s really put in a lot of work to get back to where he’s out there now.”

Howland still said he hoped Watts will play Wednesday against the Titans and hopes to get Smith back from a stress fracture in his foot within three weeks. If Watts can take the court, he’ll factor into the mix at guard with Molinar, Carter and North Carolina State transfer Shakeel Moore.

“It’s kind of hard to play three of those four guys together because of their lack of size, but we can even do that at times,” Howland said.

The Bulldogs should be able to get by with a smaller lineup against a Detroit Mercy team that does not feature a starter over 6-foot-8. Point guard Antoine Davis — who was second in the nation in scoring last year with 24 points per game — is 6-1, and shooting guard Kevin McAdoo is 6-2.

The Titans’ tallest projected starter is center Prince Oduro, whom Howland knows well. For two seasons, he coached Oduro at Mississippi State, where the Toronto native played sparingly.

Oduro transferred to South Florida before going as a graduate transfer to Detroit Mercy, where he has come off a few injuries to score 13 points and grab 6 rebounds during the Titans’ first two games.

“He’s a good little post player and is going to play really hard for them,” Howland said.

The Titans didn’t play well in an 85-47 loss at Wyoming before falling 81-73 at Toledo. Wednesday’s game is the third of nine road trips to eight states for coach Mike Davis — Antoine’s father — and his club.

“This is an experienced, smart team,” Howland said of the Titans, who went 12-10 (10-6 Horizon League) last season. Detroit Mercy ranks No. 236 of 358 Division I teams, per kenpom.com.

The Bulldogs, who rank 49th, are projected to win 80-63. If they play anywhere near how they did in wins over North Alabama and Montana to open the season, expect a similar or greater margin.

“If we can keep holding our opponents to 30 percent from the field and outrebounding them by an average of 15 per game and shoot 50 percent from the field ourselves, I’ll be really happy,” Howland said. “If we can maintain the level of play we’ve shown in the first two games, I’d be ecstatic.”

Theo DeRosa reports on Mississippi State sports for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter at @Theo_DeRosa.