Mississippi State basketball finally has some momentum. Last weekend, the Bulldogs went on the road for a ranked win over rival Ole Miss, completing a season-sweep of the Rebels. Then on Tuesday, State followed up that win with an even more impressive result.
The Bulldogs took down a Top 10 Texas A&M team for their best win of the season. The one big thing State was missing from their NCAA Tournament resume was a true marquee win. That changed after defeating the Aggies, and now they're making significant strides in the bracket projections.
Mississippi State basketball a 5-seed in Joe Lunardi's latest bracketology
Beating Ole Miss in Oxford moved Mississippi State back in the right direction in the eyes of bracketologists. In ESPN's Joe Lunardi's early-week bracket, he had pushed the Bulldogs up to a 7-seed. Taking down Texas A&M was an even bigger resume-booster for MSU, and now they've made a big leap according to Lunardi.
In his Friday bracket, Joe Lunardi had State as a 5-seed in the West Region. He matched the Bulldogs up with projected 12-seed Yale, playing all the way out in Seattle. It's not the first time Lunardi has had State taking on Yale in his bracket, though last time he had the squads on different seed lines. Regardless of the seed, that would be a tricky first round game for MSU.
Just last year, Yale spoiled another SEC team's tournament dreams with their first round upset of Auburn. But on the note of being a 5-seed, there's always the risk of the dreaded "5/12 upset", something State fans unfortunately know well.
The last time State was a 5-seed in the tournament was 2019, and the Bulldogs fell victim to that 5/12 upset with a first round loss to Liberty. You'd obviously be hoping to avoid a repeat performance. But by being a 5-seed, they'd at least avoid a potential second round matchup with one of the highest seeded teams. Lunardi matches up State with projected 4-seed Michigan and 13-seed Lipscomb.
Mississippi State is in a good spot now, and now they get the chance to further improve upon that seeding. They get another Quad 1 road opportunity on Saturday at Oklahoma.