Starkville - Mississippi State will be without one of its projected starting guards during the opening week of college basketball.

During his press conference Monday morning, head coach Chris Jans announced that senior guard Shakeel Moore will not play this week due to a violation of team rules. The Bulldogs open their season in Chicago on Wednesday against Arizona State and will have their home opener on Saturday against UT Martin.

"Shakeel Moore will not be with us this week due to a violation of team rules," Jans said.

Moore, who transferred to Mississippi State from NC State two years ago, is entering his third season with the Bulldogs. The 6-foot-1 guard started appeared in 32 games as a junior last season, starting the last 15. He was second on the with 9.8 points per game and led the team with 1.7 steals per game.

Mississippi State will now be down two starters to open the season, as All-SEC center Tolu Smith is set to be sidelined with a foot injury until January. Redshirt sophomore forward KeShawn Murphy will also miss some time with a foot injury and is set to return in mid-December.

With Moore absent, the Bulldogs will need to call upon a few of their other guards. Graduate Dashawn Davis returns from last season after averaging 8.7 points and 3.5 assists while Marshall transfer Andrew Taylor comes in after averaging 20.2 points and 4.7 assists in the Sun Belt. Four-star freshman Josh Hubbard and junior college transfer Trey Fort will also make their Mississippi State debuts.