Yesterday the SEC announced the conference matchups for the 2024-2025 men's basketball season. Today, they've done the same for women's basketball.
The introduction of Texas and Oklahoma to the league means schedules and formatting have been somewhat overhauled compared to normal. So what does Mississippi State women's basketball's draw look like?
Our 2024-25 @SEC opponents are set ⤵️#HailState🐶 pic.twitter.com/xFeHy6tOTW
— Mississippi State Women's Basketball (@HailStateWBK) May 14, 2024
Vic Schaefer's return to the Hump headlines outstanding home slate
Mississippi State women's basketball was given a home schedule that's about as good as they could ask for. Rival Ole Miss comes to Starkville for the only meeting between the two teams next season, and with the game being a one-off, it makes the stakes that much higher. Defending national champion South Carolina will be back in the Hump for the first time since 2021, and that's a game that always draws incredible atmospheres.
State will also have home games with several other good programs. 2024 tournament teams Alabama, Texas A&M, and Oklahoma come to the Hump, as does a winning Arkansas program.
But there's one home game that will undoubtedly stand out above the rest, and there's a very real possibility it proves to be the single toughest ticket of any Mississippi State athletic event during the 2024-2025 academic year.
In their first year as SEC members, the Texas Longhorns, led by former Mississippi State head coach Vic Schaefer, will travel to Starkville. This will be the first time that Schaefer, who led the Bulldogs to a pair of SEC championships and consecutive and consecutive appearances in the National Championship Game, will face off with his old school since leaving them for Texas.
Despite Vic Shaefer's unprecedented run of success in Starkville, his exit from State was by no means received well, and there's still bad blood from the breakup. His return will be a must-watch for Bulldog fans, and there's no doubt the atmosphere inside Humphrey Coliseum for that game will be electric if not hostile.
Bulldogs travel to Baton Rouge, face Auburn twice next season
MSU's road slate is headlined by a trip to Baton Rouge to face Kim Mulkey's LSU Tigers. Last season, State upset the then-defending champs in Starkville for the highlight of the season. State will also have road games at Florida, Georgia, Tennessee, Kentucky, Missouri, and Vanderbilt.
As part of the SEC's new scheduling format, teams will face just one team both home and away going forward. This season, that team will be Auburn for MSU. It seems each teams home/away opponent will rotate annually. It's interesting that the league didn't select one permanent rival to always be played twice for each team and chose to instead rotate through the league.
Personally, giving each team their biggest rival to play twice each year would've made the most sense. That team, of course, would've been Ole Miss, and it's honestly a shame they won't be played twice annually now given that the series has just recently become competitive.
Regardless, Mississippi State ended up with a very favorable SEC schedule for 2024-2025. Having Ole Miss, South Carolina, and Texas all coming to Starkville is more than you could ask for. Sam Purcell has to work hard to reload his roster for next season, but he's got a schedule that will draw plenty of fans to the Hump.