The Mississippi State men’s basketball team won’t pretend it has no expectations for the upcoming season.

The Bulldogs wouldn’t have added four high-major transfer players to their roster if they didn’t plan on making the NCAA tournament, and head coach Ben Howland confirmed Monday a return to the Big Dance is what MSU is shooting for.

“That’s always No. 1, and I think it’s No. 1 for every team in America,” Howland said.

Mississippi State’s path to its first NCAA tournament appearance in three seasons begins at 7 p.m. Wednesday against North Alabama, a team projected to finish ninth in the 12-team Atlantic Sun Conference.

Of course, that estimate didn’t stop Howland’s trademark praise for every opponent the Bulldogs face. On Monday, he talked up North Alabama’s returning talent, its pressure defense and its skill on the perimeter.

“We’ve got our work cut out,” Howland said. “They have a lot of depth.”

The Lions’ 2021-22 roster features five players who weren’t there a season ago — Cleveland State Community College (Tenn.) transfer Damian Forrest and four freshmen. UNA lost leading scorer Mervin James, who transferred to Rider; leading rebounder Emanuel Littles made the move to South Alabama.

But guard Jamari Blackmon and forward Payton Youngblood, who each had 10.1 points per game last season, return. Senior guard C.J. Brim, a Shannon High School product, is back after contributing 8.6 points per contest.

“They’ve got talent, and they’ve got some veteran guys in the backcourt — which always makes it tough — who can shoot the ball,” Howland said.

The Lions rank No. 299 of 358 Division I teams, per kenpom.com, but they posted a winning record last season. They finished 13-11 and 7-8 in conference play, beating North Florida and Florida Gulf Coast in the Atlantic Sun tournament.

“I thought the way they played down the stretch at the end of the year was key,” Howland said. “They beat some good teams going into the conference tournament.”

UNA’s season ended with a four-point loss to Liberty, the same team that beat Mississippi State 84-73 in the Bulldogs’ second game last year. The Lions won six straight A-Sun games before losing seven in a row. They then beat Lipscomb to close out the regular season.

As their No. 273 ranking at the end of last season might suggest, North Alabama didn’t do a lot of things particularly well. But the Lions finished in the top 50 in free throw percentage and were 35th in limiting opponents’ offensive rebounding chances, showing the path to victory in Florence.

UNA also had the 75th-highest tempo in college basketball, something the Bulldogs might have to watch out for. Howland said the Lions like to get out and run and also have no problem employing a full-court press on defense when needed.

“We’re going to have to do a good job of handling those guys, being able to defend them and being able to handle their pressure,” Howland said.

The Bulldogs will have to do so without a full complement of players. Howland said Monday that Mississippi State has 10 scholarship players available with forward Tolu Smith, Michigan State transfer Rocket Watts and freshman Keshawn Murphy still out.

The first two players are nearing returns, though. Smith, who underwent a foot procedure earlier this fall, has been working on the ultra-gravity treadmill; Howland said Monday he hoped last year’s leading Southeastern Conference rebounder would be able to run on the court that day.

Watts, meanwhile, started practicing in the past week, with Monday his first day going up and down the court. Tuesday marked five months the former Spartans guard has been out as he recovers from hip surgery.

“We’re going to be very conservative and not rush either one of them back into playing until they’re definitely ready to give it a full shot,” Howland said.

That means freshmen Camryn Carter and Alden Applewhite will be relied upon to be big parts of the Bulldogs’ rotation. Howland insisted Monday both will play key roles as Mississippi State navigates a limited roster.

“The lack of depth is something that’s going to be critical for us — being able to handle that,” Howland said.

If the Bulldogs can do so, they’ve got a good shot at contending in a crowded SEC. ESPN’s Joe Lunardi released his preseason bracketology Tuesday, and it has seven SEC schools in. Mississippi State was projected as the first team outside the NCAA tournament field.

But for the Bulldogs this season, that won’t do. They want to play for a chance at a national title, and getting there starts Wednesday night.

“That’s always our No. 1 goal,” Howland said.

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