Mississippi State Last season: 16-16, no postseason appearance Nickname: Bulldogs Coach: Ben Howland Conference: Southeastern Who’s gone: F Mario Kegler (transfer to Baylor), G I.J. Ready Who’s back: G Quinndary Weatherspoon. The versatile player scored 16.5 points per game last
Mississippi State
Last season: 16-16, no postseason appearance
Nickname: Bulldogs
Coach: Ben Howland
Conference: Southeastern
Who’s gone: F Mario Kegler (transfer to Baylor), G I.J. Ready
Who’s back: G Quinndary Weatherspoon. The versatile player scored 16.5 points per game last season, which ranked seventh in the SEC. G Lamar Peters. Was one of the Bulldogs’ best players as a freshman, averaging 10.7 points and finishing second on the team with 101 assists. F Aric Holman. The athletic 6-foot-10 junior averaged 8.4 points and 6.0 rebounds last season.
Who’s new: G Nick Weatherspoon. The Bulldogs expect Quinndary’s younger brother to immediately contribute after a stellar prep career. F Abdul Ado. The 6-11 redshirt freshman should give the Bulldogs even more size in the post, combining with 6-10 holdovers Holman, Schneider Herard and E.J. Datcher.
The Skinny: Mississippi State hasn’t made the NCAA Tournament since 2009, but feels like it has enough talent to at least compete for 20-plus wins. Coach Ben Howland is in his third year with the Bulldogs, and at his previous jobs (Northern Arizona, Pittsburgh, UCLA) his programs have always made a big jump in the third season.
———
For more AP college basketball coverage: http://collegebasketball.ap.org and http://twitter.com/AP—Top25 .
