Mississippi State will start Southeastern Conference play in 2025 the same way the Bulldogs ended the 2023-24 regular season: with a home game against South Carolina.
MSU hosts the Gamecocks on Jan. 4, 2025, the first of three straight Saturday home games for head coach Chris Jans’ team. The Bulldogs welcome Kentucky to Humphrey Coliseum on Jan. 11 and will battle rival Ole Miss in Starkville on Jan. 18. Other SEC home opponents include Alabama (Jan. 28 or 29), Missouri (Feb. 1), Florida (Feb. 11 or 12), Texas A&M (Feb. 18 or 19), LSU (Mar. 1) and Texas (Mar. 4 or 5).
MSU’s road conference opponents are Vanderbilt (Jan. 7 or 8), Auburn (Jan. 14 or 15), Tennessee (Jan. 21), South Carolina (Jan. 25), Georgia (Feb. 8), Ole Miss (Feb. 15), Oklahoma (Feb. 22), Alabama (Feb. 25 or 26) and Arkansas (Mar. 8).
The Bulldogs had an up-and-down conference season last winter, going 3-6 in the first half of SEC play against an extremely difficult schedule. MSU then won five straight games before ending the regular season on a four-game losing streak, but won two games in the SEC Tournament to reach its second straight NCAA Tournament despite an 8-10 conference record in both years.
South Carolina, Ole Miss and Alabama are MSU’s “home-and-home” opponents. The Bulldogs were a collective 1-5 against those teams last year, with the only win coming at home against the Rebels.
MSU will be led by sophomore guard Josh Hubbard and fifth-year senior forward Cameron Matthews. The Bulldogs also added six new players in the transfer portal, including Riley Kugel from Florida and RJ Melendez from Georgia. Melendez will visit his old stomping grounds in Athens on Feb. 8, while Kugel will see his former team at The Hump on Feb. 11 or 12.
Midweek game dates, tipoff times and TV coverage will be announced at a later date.
In non-conference play, MSU opens the season at home against West Georgia on Nov. 4 and has a home game scheduled with Southeastern Louisiana on Nov. 12. The Bulldogs visit SMU on Nov. 22 and head to Tempe, Arizona for a multi-team event over Thanksgiving weekend. MSU will play UNLV in Tempe on Nov. 28 and either Butler or Northwestern the following day.
Other announced non-conference games include a home game against Pittsburgh on Dec. 4 as part of the ACC-SEC Challenge, a home game against Prairie View A&M on Dec. 8, a matchup with McNeese in Tupelo on Dec. 14 and a road game at Memphis on Dec. 21.
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