Mississippi State basketball will begin its fourth season under head coach Chris Jans next month, looking to make their fourth-straight trip to the NCAA Tournament. The Bulldogs will also look to climb the ladder within the SEC, but the media aren't necessarily sold on a high finish in the conference for State.
SEC Preseason Poll, per release.
— Jon Rothstein (@JonRothstein) October 13, 2025
1. Florida
2. Kentucky
3. Tennessee
4. Alabama
5. Arkansas
6. Auburn
7. Missouri
8. Ole Miss
9. Texas
10. Mississippi State
11. Vanderbilt
12. Oklahoma
13. Texas A&M
14. Georgia
15. LSU
16. South Carolina
The Bulldogs were picked 10th in the SEC's preseason media poll. Defending national champion Florida was pegged as the preseason favorite in the conference.
Mississippi State will have to win more to get more credit in the preseason
On the surface, a predicted 10th-place finish may seem low for Mississippi State considering they've become a consistent NCAA Tournament team under Chris Jans that's managed several impressive SEC wins. And around Starkville, there are expectations that the roster in place for the 2025-2026 season could be the best top to bottom that Jans has assembled.
However, that prediction by the media may be fair. Though there's confidence in the talent on the roster, Josh Hubbard is the Bulldogs' only known commodity. They're going to need several newcomers to prove themselves as high-level contributors in order to compete within the SEC and return to March Madness.
Given Chris Jans' track-record, the odds of that happening are high. But being a good team doesn't necessarily equate to finishing significantly higher than 10th in the SEC either. Despite fielding good teams that reached the NCAA Tournament all three previous seasons under Chris Jans, the Bulldogs have yet to post a winning (or even .500) league record during his tenure, finishing 8-10 each year. That landed them with SEC standing finishes of 9th, 9th, and 10th.
For as successful as State has been under Jans, what they haven't yet proven is the ability to ascend into the upper-half of the league. Much of that is simply the product of the strength of the SEC. There are simply a lot of great teams in this conference. But State's also had some inconsistencies that have cost them a few wins.
Regardless of why, until Mississippi State shows it can be more than just merely good within the SEC and breakthrough into the league's upper-half, they're not going to get much credit from media in these polls. If the Bulldogs can finally have a strong regular season within the conference, they'll see more buzz going into future campaigns.