STARKVILLE — In the past three seasons, the Mississippi State men’s basketball team found competing in the Southeastern Conference to be an uphill battle.
In three seasons at MSU, former coach Rick Ray didn’t post a winning record in the SEC. His highest win total (six) came last season. As a result, Ray was fired a week and a half after a season-ending loss to Auburn in the SEC tournament. He has since been hired to lead the Southeast Missouri State men’s basketball program.
MSU’s struggles in the SEC under Ray may have been directly related to the team’s performance in non-conference play. Ray held a non-conference record of 24-19, but the Bulldogs only had a winning record in non-conference games in one of Ray’s seasons (11-4 in 2013-14). MSU went on to win three SEC games that season.
Ray’s three-year stint began with a road loss to Troy in 2012. MSU rolled into conference play with a 6-8 record that season. It beat Florida State 62-55 last January to cap a 7-7 non-conference mark.
MSU’s 2015-16 non-conference schedule was announced Monday, and first-year coach Ben Howland is excited about how the early competition will impact his team when SEC play starts in January.
“I think it will be rigorous and good for us in preparation for the SEC,” Howland said in a school release.
MSU will opens the season Nov. 13 against Eastern Washington at Humphrey Coliseum. The Eagles were Big Sky Conference co-champions, and won the conference tournament to gain a berth into the NCAA tournament last season. Eastern Washington lost to 84-74 to Georgetown in the first round and finished 26-9.
“I’m excited about our schedule,” Howland said. “Eastern Washington will be a tough opener. They were in the NCAA tournament last year and are very well coached. They have the core of their team returning, and they will prove to be a competitive start for us.”
The MSU women also are expected to open their season Nov. 13 at the Hump. The opponent and time for that game haven’t been announced.
MSU will play five other non-conference games at home: Southern (Nov. 26), Tennessee-Martin (Nov. 28), Texas Southern (Dec. 2), Tulane (Dec. 19), and North Carolina Central (Dec. 31).
Texas Southern defeated a ranked Michigan State team in East Lansing, Michigan, last season. Texas Southern won the Southwestern Athletic Conference tournament title, but fell to Arizona in the first round of the NCAA tournament. North Carolina Central lost to Miami in the first round of the National Invitational Tournament last season, while Tulane beat MSU 59-54 last December in New Orleans.
The other six games will be on the road or at neutral sites.
MSU will play three games in the Puerto Rico Tip-Off Classic on Nov. 19-22. The bracket will be released in August, but the field includes Butler, Miami, Minnesota, Missouri State, Temple, Texas Tech, and Utah.
Butler and Utah made it the round of 32 in last season’s NCAA tournament.
“That’s going to be a very strong tournament,” Howland said. “A lot of those teams you’ll see in the NCAA tournament.”
CBS Sports has reported MSU will meet Miami in the first round of the tournament. The winner of that game will play the winner of the Texas Tech-Utah game in the semifinals.
Howland has led Northern Arizona, Pittsburgh, and UCLA to NCAA tournament appearances. He led the Panthers to two Sweet 16 appearances, and helped the Bruins to three Final Fours, including a runner-up finish in 2006.
MSU will travel to Missouri-Kansas City on Dec. 12 and travel to Tallahassee, Florida, on Dec. 16 to take on Florida State.
MSU will play Northern Colorado on Dec. 23 in Jackson.
The SEC schedule will be announced in late August.
Ben Wait is a sports writer for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter @bcwait
Ben Wait reports on Mississippi State University sports for The Dispatch.
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