BulldogBlitz.com - Mississippi State cracks Top 25 polls

October 29, 2009

MSU Media Relations

STARKVILLE, Miss. - When Mississippi State opens exhibition play at 2 p.m. on Saturday against Oklahoma City, it will do so as one of the premier teams in the country.

On Thursday, Rick Stansbury's Bulldogs cracked both major preseason polls, coming in at No. 18 in the Associated Press Top 25 and No. 19 in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches' poll.

It's MSU's first preseason ranking since the 2004-05 campaign when it opened the year at No. 12.

"It's nice to have those expectations, but you've heard me say many times that these expectations won't change anything in how we prepare," said Stansbury, who owns a school-record 231 victories. "Polls are not anything we have control of. What we do have control of is what happens between the lines, and that's where our focus will be."

The Bulldogs began to catch national attention following their magical run to the SEC Tournament title in Tampa, Fla., last March.

Mississippi State, which finished the year 23-13 and garnered a second-consecutive NCAA Tournament berth, returns all five starters from that squad, including preseason All-SEC selection Jarvis Varnado.

"It's always good to be recognized, but it's just rankings," the senior forward from Brownsville, Tenn., said. "They really don't mean anything. We now have targets on our backs, and everybody will be out to get us. We've just got to be ready for them."

The ranking is also Mississippi State's first since the 2007-08 season. The Bulldogs received a ranking of No. 25 after defeating arch-rival Ole Miss 88-68 on Jan. 26, 2008, but fell out of the polls for the remainder of the year after losing back-to-back outings against Arkansas and Tennessee.

"I fully expected it. The Bulldogs should be one of the elite teams in the SEC," ESPN.com senior college basketball writer Andy Katz said. "The key will be how much help Jarvis Varnado gets inside, whether the perimeter shooting is consistent and if the Bulldogs can step up and win key non-conference games."

After a second exhibition outing against Georgetown (Ky.) at 2 p.m. on Nov. 7, MSU opens regular-season play at Humphrey Coliseum on Friday, Nov. 13 at 8 p.m. against Rider.

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