STARKVILLE — Mississippi State baseball won’t have to look far for a good game during the 2016 season.
The Bulldogs will play 30 games against teams who made the 2015 NCAA Tournament, as the 56-game slate was announced by coach John Cohen Tuesday. MSU will also play four series against teams that made the 2015 College World Series in Omaha, Nebraska, this past summer.
The Bulldogs open the season against Florida Atlantic on Friday, Feb. 19 at Dudy Noble Field. It is one of 34 home games for the Bulldogs. It is also the start of a 10-game homestand. Along with the Owls (Feb. 19-20), the homestand includes South Dakota State (Feb. 20-21), Memphis (Feb. 23), UMass-Lowell (Feb. 26-27), Nicholls State (Feb. 27-28), and Alcorn State (March 1).
Highlighting MSU’s non-conference schedule is the 2016 Dodger Stadium Baseball Classic March 4-6 in Los Angeles. The Bulldogs play UCLA, which earned the No. 1 national seed in the 2015 NCAA tournament, March 4. MSU then plays at fellow NCAA tournament team Southern Cal the next day, before wrapping up the west coast road trip with a neutral site game against Oklahoma March 6 at Dodger Stadium in Chavez Ravine.
Other key non-conference games include a three-game home series against 2015 NCAA Tournament participant Oregon March 11-13 and a midweek clash March 16 at Dudy Noble Field against an Oral Roberts squad which made the NCAA Tournament this past summer.
MSU will play three games outside of Starkville in Mississippi. The Bulldogs will host Southern Miss March 29 at Trustmark Park in Pearl. Three weeks later, the Bulldogs face Louisiana-Monroe April 20 at MGM Park in Biloxi, before returning to Trustmark Park April 26 for the annual Governor’s Cup game versus Ole Miss.
Southeastern Conference action for MSU begins in March and is anchored by four series against teams who made the CWS this past summer. The Bulldogs open conference play at Vanderbilt March 18-20, while also playing CWS teams Florida (April 8-10) and LSU (April 22-24) on the road. The regular season finale at home is May 19-21 against CWS participant Arkansas.
Other SEC series at home include Georgia (March 24-26), in-state rival Ole Miss (April 1-3), Texas A&M (April 15-17 for Super Bulldog Weekend) and Missouri (May 5-7). In addition to three-game road trips to play the Commodores, Gators and Tigers, MSU also travels to Alabama (April 28-30) and Auburn (May 13-15).
n, In men’s basketball news, sophomore forward Demetrius Houston is suspended indefinitely for conduct detrimental to the team, coach Ben Howland announced Tuesday.
The Bulldogs (1-1) play Miami (2-0) at 4 p.m. (ESPN2) Thursday in the Puerto Rico Tip-Off, but Houston will not travel with the team. His status will be reevaluated when the Bulldogs return to Starkville next week.
The Montgomery, Alabama, native made 29 appearances for the Bulldogs last season. As a freshman, he averaged 3.1 points and 2.3 rebounds per game, while totaling 11 assists and five blocks. He played just six minutes and scored two points in MSU’s season opening victory against Eastern Washington last Friday. He did not play in Monday night’s loss to Southern University.
n, Men’s basketball freshman guard Malik Newman and women’s basketball sophomore guard Victoria Vivians were added to the John R. Wood Award Men’s Preseason Top 50 and Top 30, respectively, Tuesday.
The award is given annually to the most outstanding player in both men’s and women’s college basketball.
MSU is one of only nine schools in the nation, including just two SEC programs, to boast candidates on each list.
n, The men’s basketball team announced the signing of four-star center Abdul Ado from Chattanooga, Tennessee, Tuesday.
The Bulldogs now have six signees for the class of 2016.
ESPN ranks the Hamilton Heights Christian Academy standout as the 68th best player in the nation.
“We’re really excited about Abdul’s commitment,” Howland said in a school release. “He is an exciting talent and multi-faceted in terms of being able to play two different positions. He can play both center and power forward and defend both as well. He has great length and size. His body has the potential to get bigger and stronger. He’s a good passer, has shown he can shoot the ball from 15-17 feet and he’s got a really great toughness about him. Abdul is going to be great for us in the future.”
Follow Dispatch sports writer Ben Wait on Twitter @bcwait
Ben Wait reports on Mississippi State University sports for The Dispatch.
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