2024–25 Mississippi State Bulldogs men's basketball team

2024–25 Mississippi State Bulldogs men's basketball
2024–25 Mississippi State Bulldogs men's basketball
Conference	Southeastern Conference
Ranking
Coaches	No. 19
AP	No. 19
Record	11–1 (0–0 SEC)
Head coach	Chris Jans (3rd season);
Assistant coaches	George Brooks; David Anwar; Patrice Days; Scott Padgett; Dillon Elder;
Home arena	Humphrey Coliseum
	Seasons ← 2023–24 2025–26 →

2024–25 Southeastern Conference men's basketball standings
v t e	Conf				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
No. 6 Florida	0	–	0	–	12	–	0	1.000
No. 12 Oklahoma	0	–	0	–	12	–	0	1.000
No. 1 Tennessee	0	–	0	–	12	–	0	1.000
No. 2 Auburn	0	–	0	–	11	–	1	.917
Georgia	0	–	0	–	11	–	1	.917
No. 19 Mississippi State	0	–	0	–	11	–	1	.917
No. 16 Ole Miss	0	–	0	–	11	–	1	.917
Vanderbilt	0	–	0	–	11	–	1	.917
No. 5 Alabama	0	–	0	–	10	–	2	.833
No. 23 Arkansas	0	–	0	–	10	–	2	.833
No. 10 Kentucky	0	–	0	–	10	–	2	.833
LSU	0	–	0	–	10	–	2	.833
Missouri	0	–	0	–	10	–	2	.833
Texas	0	–	0	–	10	–	2	.833
No. 13 Texas A&M	0	–	0	–	10	–	2	.833
South Carolina	0	–	0	–	9	–	3	.750

† 2025 SEC tournament winner As of December 23, 2024 Rankings from AP poll

The 2024–25 Mississippi State Bulldogs men's basketball team represents Mississippi State University during the 2024–25 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Bulldogs, led by third-year head coach Chris Jans, play their home games at Humphrey Coliseum located near Starkville, Mississippi as a member of the Southeastern Conference.

Previous season

The Bulldogs finished the 2023–24 season 21–14, 8–10 in SEC play to finish in 9th place. They defeated LSU in the second round, and Tennessee in the quarterfinals of the SEC tournament before losing to Auburn in the semifinals. They received an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament as the 8th seed in the west, where they lost in the first round to Michigan State.^[1]^[2]

Offseason

Departures

Departures
Name	Number	Pos.	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown	Reason for departure
D.J. Jeffries	0	F	6'7"	215	Graduate student	Olive Branch, Mississippi	Exhausted eligibility
Tolu Smith III	1	F	6'11"	245	Graduate student	Bay St. Louis, Mississippi	Graduated; joined the Motor City Cruise
Shakeel Moore	3	G	6'1"	190	Senior	Greensboro, North Carolina	Transferred to Kansas
Dashawn Davis	10	G	6'2"	190	Graduate student	Bronx, New York	Exhausted eligibility
Trey Fort	11	G	6'4"	200	Junior	Jackson, Mississippi	Transferred to Samford
Jimmy Bell Jr.	15	F	6'10"	280	Graduate student	Saginaw, Michigan	Exhausted eligibility
Jaquan Scott	22	F	6'8"	230	Junior	Dallas, Texas	Transferred to UTSA
Isaac Stansbury	25	G	6'1"	170	Graduate student	Bowling Green, Kentucky	Exhausted eligibility

Incoming transfers

Incoming transfers
Name	Number	Pos.	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown	Previous school
Claudell Harris Jr.	0	G	6'4"	200	Senior	Hahnville, Louisiana	Boston College
Kanye Clary	1	G	5'11"	190	Junior	Virginia Beach, Virginia	Penn State
Riley Kugel	2	G	6'5"	210	Junior	Orlando, Florida	Florida
Jeremy Foumena	7	C	6'11"	250	RS Sophomore	Montreal, Quebec	Rhode Island
RJ Meléndez	22	F	6'7"	210	Senior	Arecibo, Puerto Rico	Georgia
Michael Nwoko	23	C	6'10"	245	Sophomore	Toronto, Ontario	Miami (FL)

Recruiting class

College recruiting information
Name	Hometown	High school / college	Height	Weight	Commit date
Dellquan Warren G	Erie, Pennsylvania	Our Saviour Lutheran School	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	Sep 10, 2023
Dellquan Warren G	Star ratings: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 84
EJ Paymon F	Raymond, Mississippi	Raymond High School	6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)	230 lb (100 kg)	Feb 21, 2024
EJ Paymon F	Star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 80
Overall recruiting rankings:
Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "2024 Team Ranking". Rivals.com.

Preseason

On October 14, 2024 the SEC released their preseason media poll. Mississippi State was picked to finish tenth in the SEC regular season.^[3] Sophomore guard Josh Hubbard was named to the Second Team All-SEC.^[3]

SEC media poll

Predicted finish	Team
SEC media poll
1	Alabama
2	Auburn
3	Tennessee
4	Arkansas
5	Texas A&M
6	Florida
7	Texas
8	Kentucky
9	Ole Miss
10	Mississippi State
11	South Carolina
12	Georgia
13	Missouri
14	LSU
15	Oklahoma
16	Vanderbilt

Source^[3]

Roster

2024–25 Mississippi State Bulldogs men's basketball team

Players

Coaches

Pos.	#	Name	Height	Weight	Year	Previous school	Hometown
G	0	Claudell Harris Jr.	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	Sr	Boston College	Hahnville, Louisiana
G	1	Kanye Clary	5 ft 11 in (1.8 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	Jr	Penn State	Virginia Beach, Virginia
G	2	Riley Kugel	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	210 lb (95 kg)	Jr	Florida	Orlando, Florida
F	3	KeShawn Murphy	6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)	230 lb (104 kg)	RS Jr	Ramsay High School	Birmingham, Alabama
F	4	Cameron Matthews	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	235 lb (107 kg)	GS	Olive Branch High School	Olive Branch, Mississippi
G	5	Shawn Jones Jr.	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	205 lb (93 kg)	Jr	Shadow Creek High School	Houston, Texas
G	6	Dellquan Warren	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	Fr	Our Saviour Lutheran School	Erie, Pennsylvania
C	7	Jeremy Foumena	6 ft 11 in (2.11 m)	250 lb (113 kg)	RS So	Rhode Island	Montreal, Quebec
G	8	Harrison Alexander	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	RS Fr	Madison-Ridgeland Academy	Madison, Mississippi
F	9	Adrian Myers	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	210 lb (95 kg)	So	Massanutten Military Academy	Stephens City, Virginia
F	11	EJ Paymon	6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)	230 lb (104 kg)	Fr	Raymond High School	Raymond, Mississippi
G	12	Josh Hubbard	5 ft 11 in (1.8 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	So	Madison-Ridgeland Academy	Madison, Mississippi
G	21	Martavious Russell	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	RS So	Sipsey Valley High School	Coker, Alabama
F	22	RJ Meléndez	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	210 lb (95 kg)	Sr	Georgia	Arecibo, Puerto Rico
C	23	Michael Nwoko	6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)	245 lb (111 kg)	So	Miami (FL)	Toronto, Ontario
C	34	Gai Chol	7 ft 0 in (2.13 m)	245 lb (111 kg)	So	Greenforest McCalep Christian Academy	Juba, South Sudan
G	40	Trey Jackson III	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	RS Sr	MUW	Starkville, Mississippi

Head coach

Chris Jans (Loras)

Assistant coach(es)

George Brooks (Mississippi State)
David Anwar (Fitchburg State)
Patrice Days (New Orleans)
Scott Padgett (Kentucky)
Dillon Elder (Texas A&M)

Legend

(C) Team captain
(S) Suspended
(I) Ineligible
(W) Walk-on

Injured
Current redshirt

Roster
Last update: December 5, 2024

Schedule and results

Date time, TV	Rank^#	Opponent^#	Result	Record	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Site (attendance) city, state
Non-conference regular season
November 4, 2024* 6:30 p.m., SECN+/ESPN+		West Georgia	W 95–60	1–0	26 – Hubbard	7 – Murphy	4 – Murphy	Humphrey Coliseum (9,125) Starkville, MS
November 8, 2024* 6:30 p.m., SECN+/ESPN+		Georgia State	W 101–66	2–0	15 – Hubbard	6 – Tied	6 – Tied	Humphrey Coliseum (8,726) Starkville, MS
November 12, 2024* 6:30 p.m., SECN+/ESPN+		Southeastern Louisiana	W 80–59	3–0	23 – Hubbard	13 – Matthews	5 – Hubbard	Humphrey Coliseum (8,744) Starkville, MS
November 17, 2024* 3:00 p.m., ESPN2		vs. Utah Mid-South Showdown	W 78–73	4–0	23 – Hubbard	14 – Murphy	4 – Matthews	Landers Center (2,596) Southaven, MS
November 22, 2024* 7:30 p.m., ACCNX/ESPN+		at SMU	W 84–79	5–0	16 – Murphy	7 – Murphy	8 – Matthews	Moody Coliseum (5,468) University Park, TX
November 28, 2024* 8:30 p.m., CBSSN	No. 25	vs. UNLV Arizona Tip-Off Cactus Division semifinals	W 80–58	6–0	14 – Murphy	13 – Murphy	4 – Tied	Mullett Arena (1,736) Tempe, AZ
November 29, 2024* 8:30 p.m., CBSSN	No. 25	vs. Butler Arizona Tip-Off Cactus Division championships	L 77–87	6–1	22 – Tied	12 – Murphy	3 – Hubbard	Mullett Arena (1,978) Tempe, AZ
December 4, 2024* 8:15 p.m., SECN		No. 18 Pittsburgh ACC–SEC Challenge	W 90–57	7–1	20 – Murphy	13 – Matthews	4 – Hubbard	Humphrey Coliseum (9,492) Starkville, MS
December 8, 2024* 3:00 p.m., SECN+/ESPN+		Prairie View A&M	W 91–84	8–1	25 – Hubbard	10 – Nwoko	6 – Matthews	Humphrey Coliseum (7,111) Starkville, MS
December 14, 2024* 5:00 p.m., ESPNU	No. 25	vs. McNeese Magnolia Madness	W 66–63	9–1	18 – Meléndez	7 – Matthews	5 – Hubbard	Cadence Bank Arena (3,846) Tupelo, MS
December 17, 2024* 6:30 p.m., SECN+/ESPN+		vs. Central Michigan Magnolia Madness	W 83–59	10–1	19 – Harris Jr.	10 – Matthews	7 – Matthews	Mississippi Coliseum (2,536) Jackson, MS
December 21, 2024* 11:30 a.m., CBS		at No. 21 Memphis	W 79–66	11–1	19 – Kugel	9 – Tied	6 – Matthews	FedExForum (14,565) Memphis, TN
December 30, 2024* 8:00 p.m., SECN		Bethune–Cookman						Humphrey Coliseum Starkville, MS
SEC regular season
January 4, 2025 1:00 p.m., SECN		South Carolina						Humphrey Coliseum Starkville, MS
January 7, 2025 8:00 p.m., TBD		at Vanderbilt						Memorial Gymnasium Nashville, TN
January 11, 2025 7:30 p.m., SECN		Kentucky						Humphrey Coliseum Starkville, MS
January 14, 2025 6:00 p.m., SECN		at Auburn						Neville Arena Auburn, AL
January 18, 2025 TBD, TBD		Ole Miss						Humphrey Coliseum Starkville, MS
January 21, 2025 6:00 p.m., TBD		at Tennessee						Thompson–Boling Arena Knoxville, TN
January 25, 2025 12:00 p.m., SECN		at South Carolina						Colonial Life Arena Columbia, SC
January 29, 2025 8:00 p.m., SECN		Alabama						Humphrey Coliseum Starkville, MS
February 1, 2025 12:00 p.m., SECN		Missouri						Humphrey Coliseum Starkville, MS
February 8, 2025 5:00 p.m., SECN		at Georgia						Stegeman Coliseum Athens, GA
February 11, 2025 6:00 p.m., TBD		Florida						Humphrey Coliseum Starkville, MS
February 15, 2025 5:00 p.m., TBD		at Ole Miss						SJB Pavilion Oxford, MS
February 18, 2025 6:00 p.m., SECN		Texas A&M						Humphrey Coliseum Starkville, MS
February 22, 2025 12:00 p.m., SECN		at Oklahoma						Lloyd Noble Center Norman, OK
February 25, 2025 8:00 p.m., TBD		at Alabama						Coleman Coliseum Tuscaloosa, AL
March 1, 2025 2:30 p.m., SECN		LSU						Humphrey Coliseum Starkville, MS
March 4, 2025 7:00 p.m., SECN		Texas						Humphrey Coliseum Starkville, MS
March 8, 2025 11:00 a.m., TBD		at Arkansas						Bud Walton Arena Fayetteville, AR
*Non-conference game. ^#Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central Time.

Source^[4]

Rankings

Ranking movements
**Legend:** ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
RV = Received votes
	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	Final
AP	RV	RV	RV	25	RV	25	RV	19
Coaches	RV	RV	RV	RV	RV	RV	25	19

References

^ "2023-24 Mississippi State Bulldogs Men's Schedule and Results". Sports Reference. Retrieved August 1, 2024.
^ Krajisnik, Stefan. "Mississippi State's March Madness opponent is MSU in March Madness, 2024 NCAA Tournament bracket". The Clarion-Ledger. Retrieved August 1, 2024.
^ ^a ^b ^c "Media picks Alabama to win 2025 SEC men's basketball championship". Southeastern Conference. Retrieved December 5, 2024.
^ "2024–25 Men's Basketball Schedule". Mississippi State. Retrieved October 17, 2024.

[1] "2023-24 Mississippi State Bulldogs Men's Schedule and Results". Sports Reference. Retrieved August 1, 2024.

[2] Krajisnik, Stefan. "Mississippi State's March Madness opponent is MSU in March Madness, 2024 NCAA Tournament bracket". The Clarion-Ledger. Retrieved August 1, 2024.

[poll-3] "Media picks Alabama to win 2025 SEC men's basketball championship". Southeastern Conference. Retrieved December 5, 2024.

[4] "2024–25 Men's Basketball Schedule". Mississippi State. Retrieved October 17, 2024.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

v t e Mississippi State Bulldogs men's basketball
Venues	"Tin Gym" (1929–1950) McCarthy Gymnasium (1950–1975) Humphrey Coliseum (1975–present)
Culture & lore	Bully Gambling scandal Game of Change "Hail State" Howell Trophy
People	Head coaches NBA draftees Statistical leaders
Seasons	List of seasons 1908–09 1909–10 1910–11 1911–12 1912–13 1913–14 1914–15 1915–16 1916–17 1917–18 1918–19 1919–20 1920–21 1921–22 1922–23 1923–24 1924–25 1925–26 1926–27 1927–28 1928–29 1929–30 1930–31 1931–32 1932–33 1933–34 1934–35 1935–36 1936–37 1937–38 1938–39 1939–40 1940–41 1941–42 1942–43 1943–44 1944–45 1945–46 1946–47 1947–48 1948–49 1949–50 1950–51 1951–52 1952–53 1953–54 1954–55 1955–56 1956–57 1957–58 1958–59 1959–60 1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24 2024–25
NCAA Final Four appearance in italics