Mississippi State basketball is in good position as the NCAA tournament nears.
Josh Hubbard had a career high 32 points as he led Mississippi State to a dominant 87-67 victory over LSU in Baton Rouge. This was the second true road win of the season for Mississippi State and they did it in blowout fashion. The win helped Mississippi State jump from 36 to 28 in the NET rankings. Keep in mind no team outside the top 37 in the NET has ever been left out of the NCAA tournament.
ESPN bracket expert Joe Lunardi had Mississippi State as a 9 seed in his latest projection. However, that was before the Bulldogs win over LSU last night. The dominant road win keeps Mississippi State safely off the bubble.
Up next for the Bulldogs is a huge home matchup against the Kentucky Wildcats. Kentucky comes into the game off an impressive blowout win over Alabama. This will be another opportunity for Mississippi State to add a Quad 1 win to its resume. It's the annual white out game at Humphrey Coliseum which should create an electric environment.
Following the Kentucky game is a tough road test at Auburn Saturday. This is a huge opportunity for the Bulldogs to notch an elite road win and move up the seed line. Mississippi State has proved it can get big wins at home already knocking off Auburn and Tennessee in Starkville, but the Bulldogs are missing that road win against an NCAA tournament team.
In the meantime, Mississippi State fans should be rooting for Northwestern to have a strong finish to their season. The Bulldogs own a neutral court victory over the Wildcats that is currently a Quad 2 victory. However, if Northwestern can finish in the top 50 of the NET rankings that win will be boosted to Quad 1. The Wildcats currently sit at 52 in the rankings.
To close out the regular season, Mississippi State will travel to Texas A&M and host South Carolina. The Texas A&M game will be another opportunity to add an impressive road win to the Bulldogs resume. If the Bulldogs can defeat South Carolina, it will be another win over a team projected to be in the NCAA tournament field.
Mississippi State returns to action on Tuesday night as they host the Kentucky Wildcats at Humphrey Coliseum.
