Mississippi State basketball moves up four spots in AP Poll

DAYTON, OH - NOVEMBER 30: Lamar Peters #2 of the Mississippi State Bulldogs pleads for the call after a loose ball scramble against the Dayton Flyers in the second half of the game at UD Arena on November 30, 2018 in Dayton, Ohio. The Bulldogs won 65-58. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images)
DAYTON, OH - NOVEMBER 30: Lamar Peters #2 of the Mississippi State Bulldogs pleads for the call after a loose ball scramble against the Dayton Flyers in the second half of the game at UD Arena on November 30, 2018 in Dayton, Ohio. The Bulldogs won 65-58. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images)

The Mississippi State basketball team picked up a home win and a good neutral site win this weekend and moved up four spots in the AP poll.

The Mississippi State basketball team hosted McNeese State this past week and went to New Jersey for a neutral site game against Clemson. The Bulldogs won both games and climbed their way back to their initial ranking in the AP Top 25 poll.

The Bulldogs moved to 8-1 on the season with their lone loss coming to Arizona State during their tournament in Las Vegas. Other than that, the Mississippi State basketball team has been playing really solid basketball so far in the 2018-19 season.

The Mississippi State basketball team was ranked 22nd in the country last week. After a perfect week of basketball, the team did move up those four spots in the AP Poll this week. This week’s AP poll has the Bulldogs ranked 18th as they get ready to take on the Cincinnati Bearcats on Saturday at the Humphrey Coliseum.

Here is how the rest of the poll shakes out.

1) Kansas

2) Duke

3) Tennessee

4) Gonzaga

5) Michigan

6) Virginia

7) Nevada

8) Auburn

9) Michigan State

10) Florida State

11) Texas Tech

12) North Carolina

13) Virginia Tech

14) Buffalo

15) Ohio State

16) Wisconsin

17) Villanova

18) Mississippi State

19) Kentucky

20) Arizona State

21) Marquette

22) Iowa

23) Furman

24) Houston

25) Syracuse, Indiana, and Kansas State all tied for 25th.

The Mississippi State basketball team still has plenty of opportunities to knock off some of these teams in the weeks to come. The Bulldogs will play a few teams currently ranked in the AP Top 25 when SEC play starts in January. This week’s opponent, Cincinnati is currently in the receiving votes category.

The Mississippi State basketball team is hoping to make it to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since the 2008-09 Men’s basketball season. Should the team continue to play at a level which keeps them ranked in the AP Top 25, then the team and fans should see those dreams come to fruition.