Mississippi State Basketball Enters 2024 SEC Tournament on the Bubble in Latest Bracketology

Mississippi State basketball travels to Nashville for the 2024 SEC Tournament this week. The Bulldogs will open up postseason play with the LSU Tigers on Thursday. And after closing the regular season with four-straight losses, State has work to do if they want to return to the NCAA Tournament.

Two weeks ago, MSU looked like a near-lock for the NCAA Tournament. And had they found just one more win down the stretch, they would've secured a bid to the Big Dance. But with their struggles down the stretch, MSU is now is serious danger of missing out on March Madness.

Do bracketologists still have Mississippi State basketball in the tournament as they head to Nashville? Let's find out...

Mississippi State basketball in the latest bracketology

ESPN: 11-seed, West Region (Last Four Byes)

CBS Sports: 10-seed, East Region

Fox Sports: 10-seed

Andy Katz: Last Four In

Busting Brackets: 8-seed, West Region

On3: Last Four In

Bleacher Report: 11-seed, South Region (Last Four Byes)

USA Today: Last Four In

Bracketometry: 11-seed, South Region (Last Four Byes)

Bracketville: 9-seed, Midwest Region

Bracketeer: Last Four In

Making the Madness: 11-seed, West Region (Last Four Byes)

Heat Check CBB: Last Four In

JBR Bracketology: Last Four In

T3 Bracketology: 10-seed (Last Four Byes)

Bracket Matrix Average: 10-seed

Takeaways from Mississippi State basketball in the latest bracketology

According to the experts, things are getting interesting for Mississippi State basketball, and not in a good way. Their late-season skid has placed them firmly on the NCAA Tournament bubble, and they're now in very real danger of missing the Big Dance.

Most bracketologists have State somewhere between the "Last Four Byes" and the "Last Four In". The consensus is that if State were to beat LSU on Thursday, they're probably in the final field of 68. But for those with the Bulldogs are one of their last teams in the field, they're by no means guaranteeing the game as "win and in" for MSU.

Beating LSU would not do much to improve State's resume, so the possibility would remain that even with a win, other bubble teams or bid-stealers could jump them. That's why it's in their best interest that Mississippi State not just beat the Tigers, but win by a large margin. Having a good showing in the following game against Tennessee wouldn't hurt either.

Either way, there's firm agreement that if Mississippi State were to lose to the Tigers, their chances of making the tournament become incredibly slim. At that point, it would entirely become a case of hoping the Selection Committee values State's high-profile wins from earlier in the year, and that's not a fun spot to be in.

They don't want that to happen. LSU is a must-win game for Mississippi State basketball. They've got to put their best foot forward. Their season depends on it.