Mississippi State basketball breaks into AP Top 25 after 5-0 start

Mississippi State basketball has gotten off to a hot start to the season. The Bulldogs are undefeated, have handled lesser-competition with ease, and own both a neutral court win over Utah and a road win over SMU. So far, State is living up to the hype the fanbase created before the year, and now, national media are starting to give them their due.

Mississippi State basketball ranked in latest AP Top 25 Poll

On Monday, Bulldog basketball entered the AP Top 25 Poll for the first time this season. State checks-in at #25 in the rankings. The Bulldogs entered the season as in the "Others Receiving Votes" category and had slowly received more votes through the first few weeks of the season. Now 5-0 with a pair of wins away from home against power conference competition, Mississippi State makes its official debut in the rankings.

This is the third-straight season that Chris Jans' program has been ranked at some point in the year. The last two years, State's time in the rankings was short-lived. Hopefully they can not only stick around in the rankings this time but also move up in them.

Here's a look at the full AP Poll for the week...

Full AP Top 25 Rankings

1. Kansas Jayhawks (5-0)
2. UConn Huskies (4-1) - rankings out prior to loss to Memphis
3. Gonzaga Bulldogs (5-0)
4. Auburn Tigers (4-0)
5. Iowa State Cyclones (3-0)
6. Houston Cougars (3-1)
7. Tennessee Volunteers (6-0)
8. Kentucky Wildcats (5-0)
9. Alabama Crimson Tide (5-0)
10. Marquette Golden Eagles (6-0)
11. Duke Blue Devils (4-1)
12. North Carolina Tar Heels (3-1)
13. Purdue Boilermakers (5-1)
14. Indiana Hoosiers (4-0)
15. Wisconsin Badgers (7-0)
16. Cincinnati Bearcats (5-0)
17. Baylor Bears (4-2)
18. Florida Gators (6-0)
19. Arkansas Razorbacks (4-1)
20. Texas A&M Aggies (4-1)
21. Creighton Bluejays (4-1)
22. Xavier Musketeers (5-0)
23. Ole Miss Rebels (5-0)
24. Arizona Wildcats (2-2)
25. Mississippi State Bulldogs (5-0)

In total, nine SEC teams are ranked, including four in the Top 10. Three other SEC teams (Texas, Georgia, and Vanderbilt) received votes for the AP Poll.

Pundits are beginning to take notice of the Bulldogs

Preseason expectations from national outlets weren't particularly high for Mississippi State despite Bulldog fans knowing this team had a chance to be a very good one. As always seems to be the case with MSU, there was not benefit of the doubt given and they instead had to prove their worth.

Finally, those covering college basketball are paying MSU some well-deserved attention. The Bulldogs are playing at a high level here early in the year and have a pair of solid wins on the resume. We'll see if they can continue to prove their worth this week in the Arizona Tip-Off, where they'll face UNLV and then either Butler or Northwestern.