STARKVILLE — First-year Mississippi State coach Ben Howland wouldn’t have picked Eastern Washington to open the season with.
That game was scheduled before Howland was hired in April, but regardless, Howland wants his team to get off to a good start in non-conference play to have some confidence going into Southeastern Conference play that starts in January. The Bulldogs and the Eagles open the regular season at Humphrey Coliseum on Nov. 13 with an 8 p.m. tipoff on the SEC Network. MSU will officially get practice underway Monday, but will be on the floor Saturday.
“Every game is critical, every single game,” Howland said. “Every game we play is the biggest game of the year, make no mistake about it. That’s how I approach every single game.”
Eastern Washington finished with a 26-9 overall record last season and won the Big Sky Conference Tournament to make the NCAA Tournament. The Eagles lost 84-74 to Georgetown in their first game in the tournament. Eastern Washington went to Bloomington, Indiana, last November and beat the Indiana Hoosiers 88-86, so it will be an early test for Howland and the Bulldogs.
“We want to get off to a good start,” Howland said. “We want to win that first game at home against Eastern Washington.”
In the last three years under former coach Rick Ray, the Bulldogs had a winning record in non-conference play only once. That came during the 2013-14 season and the Bulldogs were 11-4 before SEC play started. MSU only won three conference games that season and limped to a 14-19 overall record.
In Ray’s first year, the Bulldogs were 6-8 in non-conference play and finished with a 10-22 overall record and a 4-14 mark in SEC play. Last season, the Bulldogs beat Florida State at home to cap off a 7-7 non-conferee record, but finished 13-19 overall and 6-12 in SEC play.
The Bulldogs play 12 non-conference games this season.
“We have to come out from the start and knock heads off,” MSU senior guard Craig Sword said. “We’ve been here and we’ve worked the whole summer. I feel like if we come out and play hard through non-conference play, SEC play is going to be easy to us.”
Sword missed the first four games last season after having back surgery close to the season opening. The Montgomery, Alabama, native has led the team in scoring the last three seasons.
After the opener against Eastern Washington, the Bulldogs host Southern University before participating in the Puerto Rico Tip-Off Nov. 19-22. The Bulldogs open the tournament with Miami and will either play Texas Tech or Utah in the next round. The Bulldogs will also play a third game against an opponent to be announced later. Also in the tournament is Butler, Minnesota, Missouri State, and Temple.
The Bulldogs return home for matchups with the University of Tennessee-Martin and Texas Southern. Texas Southern went to East Lansing, Michigan, last year and took down the Michigan State Spartans.
MSU then hits the road for games at University of Missouri Kansas City and Florida State. The Bulldogs will play Tulane at home Dec. 19, and the Green Wave beat the Bulldogs 59-54 in New Orleans, Louisiana, last season.
The Bulldogs close out the non-conference schedule with a game against Northern Colorado in Jackson at the Mississippi Coliseum and a home game with North Carolina Central. The Bulldogs open conference play against Texas A&M. Former Bulldog coach and all-time wins leader Rick Stansbury is an assistant for the Aggies.
The last winning season in conference play for the Bulldogs came in 2010-11 when MSU went 9-7.
“If you don’t have any confidence, you’re really a non player,” MSU senior guard Fred Thomas said. “If we have tons of confidence throughout each and every game, we’re going to be a great team.”
Follow Dispatch sports writer Ben Wait on Twitter @bcwait
Ben Wait reports on Mississippi State University sports for The Dispatch.
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 32 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.