Summer School: MSU Basketball's Lost Years

MSU basketball’s golden years feature two-thirds of the program’s SEC championships, but are often forgotten.

MSU men’s basketball hasn’t made the NCAA Tournament since 2009, as the curse of Hank Flick continues to haunt the Bulldogs. There was once, however, a time when MSU had great basketball teams. I don’t mean good ones like Coach Stansbury had – but great ones. The Babe McCarthy era, specifically 1957-1963, featured a handful of years when Mississippi State had great basketball teams but nearly all of them were relegated to just another season in the record books due to the prejudice of the times.

1957: 17-8, ranked 15th in final AP poll

1958: 20-5, ranked 15th in final AP poll

1959: 24-1, ranked 3rd in final AP poll – SEC Champions

1960: 12-13

1961: 19-6 – SEC Champions

1962: 24-1, ranked 4th in final AP poll – SEC Champions

None of those teams went to the NCAA Tournament (only one SEC team made it during this era, so State would have gone in 1959, 1961 and 1962). In 1963 MSU finally participated in the NCAA Tournament and took part in the “game of change” vs. Loyola. That team finished 22-6 and ranked 6th in the final AP poll.

The NCAA Tournament was comprised of 23-25 teams during this time period. State was so highly ranked in 1959 and 1962 they would’ve had a bye into the Sweet 16 (as they did in 1963), needing only two wins to make it to the Final Four and four wins for a national championship. The 1961 team, however, wasn’t highly ranked due to some non-conference losses but they would’ve still been in the tourney.

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Instead of just one Final Four, how many would we have? Would Mississippi State have a national championship if we were allowed to play in the NCAA Tournament?

There’s no way to tell for sure, but two 24-1 seasons with top 5 teams certainly leave a lot to the imagination. What’s more, the program could have gained experience by playing in the big dance and then maybe the 1963 team wouldn’t have bowed out so early (although Loyola did win the national title) when they had sneak off just to play in it.

So why could we not go to the NCAA Tournament? Because of an unwritten rule that said we could not play a school using black players. Was it a coincidence that Ole Miss’ sport of dominance at the time was football which used a arbitrary way of determining a national champion (not settled on the field)? OM didn’t have to play against black athletes in football, but they still crowned themselves national champions three times over this same time period. During that time the Mississippi legislature was dominated by Ole Miss graduates, and Ross Barnett was the governor.

But it wasn’t all on Ole Miss. It was a “rule” followed by the entire state at the time. Even one of our own tried to get an injunction to prevent the team from leaving in 1963.

It was a different time. Something that I can’t understand as someone who did not live through it. These years of excellence hold little water with fans. No postseason accomplishments means they are a forgotten part of the Mississippi State basketball program. While the 1963 team will be forever remembered, many people don’t realize how good the Maroons were in the six years prior under McCarthy.

Coach McCarthy only coached two more years at MSU. Like Allyn McKeen in football, he was only at State for a short, but ultra-successful, period of time. The Bulldogs basically went into the crapper for 30 years except for a few glimpses of hope in the late 70s. How would things have been different if more Final Four banners hung from McCarthy Gym and Humphrey Coliseum?

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Summer School: MSU Basketball’s Lost Years

By Josh Barnhill | Jul 29, 2016

MSU basketball’s golden years feature two-thirds of the program’s SEC championships, but are often forgotten.