How Did We Get Here?
There is one number that explains how Mississippi State, a program that has not made the NCAA Tournament since 2009, is popping up in preseason Top 25 rankings: 84.9.
84.9 is the percentage of possession-minutes that the Bulldogs are welcoming back from last year’s team, which won 25 games — the most the program had won in a season since 2003-04 — and made it to the semifinals of the NIT. Ben Howland’s third-year jump wasn’t as dramatic as his third-year jumps at Pittsburgh and UCLA, but Mississippi State in his third year found its stride. The Bulldogs started the season 13-1, albeit with only one win against a team ranked in the KenPom top 100; and after losing five of…
