Mississippi State basketball is back in the NCAA Tournament. The Bulldogs are the 8-seed in the East Region, and they'll take on 9-seed Baylor in Raleigh on Friday. State has become a regular face in March Madness in these last few years, but is that normal for the program?
How many times has Mississippi State made the NCAA Tournament? What are their best runs in March? When was their last win in the Big Dance? And how has their head coach performed in the tournament?
Mississippi State basketball NCAA Tournament history
Including this season, the Mississippi State Bulldogs have been to 14 NCAA Tournaments in their program history, with their first appearance coming back in 1963. The 2025 tournament will be their third-straight, the program's second-best stretch in history behind going to four-straight from 2002-2005. The Bulldogs have appeared in the Sweet 16 three times (1963, 1995, and 1996). In 1996, the program made it's lone trip to the Final Four. Mississippi State's all-time NCAA Tournament record is 11-13.
Rick Stansbury has the most NCAA Tournament appearances of any Mississippi State head coach with six (2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2008, and 2009). Richard Williams (1991, 1995, and 1996) and Chris Jans (2023, 2024, and 2025) each have three, while Babe McCarthy (1963) and Ben Howland (2019) each have one.
Reaching the 1996 Final Four is Mississippi State's greatest NCAA Tournament run
No Mississippi State season compares to 1996. The Bulldogs, led by head coach Richard Williams, went to the Final Four for the first and only time in program history. Fueled by a Sweet 16 appearance in 1995, the Bulldogs put together a fantastic season, winning the 1996 SEC Tournament with an upset of top-ranked, eventual national champion Kentucky.
They'd enter the 1996 NCAA Tournament as a 5-seed, getting by 12-seed VCU and 13-seed Princeton to return to the second weekend. In the Sweet 16, they took on 1-seed UConn, led by Ray Allen, and upset the Huskies 60-55. In the Elite 8, the Bulldogs defeated 2-seed Cincinnati 73-63 to reach the Final Four in New York. That's where their run would come to an end, losing to Syracuse 77-69, but it's a run that remains the greatest the program has ever seen.
When was Mississippi State's last NCAA Tournament win?
Mississippi State's last win in the NCAA Tournament came in 2008 when the 8-seed Bulldogs defeated 9-seed Oregon 76-69 in Little Rock. State would fall 77-74 to 1-seed and eventual national runner-up Memphis in the second round.
The Bulldogs have failed to win an NCAA Tournament game in four-straight appearances. In 2009, 13-seed MSU lost to 4-seed Washington 71-58. In 2019, 5-seed MSU lost to 12-seed Liberty 80-76. In 2023, 11-seed MSU lost to 11-seed Pittsburgh in the First Four 60-59. And in 2023, 8-seed MSU lost 69-51 to 9-seed Michigan State.
What is Mississippi State coach Chris Jans' NCAA Tournament record?
The 2025 tournament will be Mississippi State head coach Chris Jans' sixth NCAA Tournament appearance as a head coach. He led New Mexico State to tournaments in 2018, 2019, and 2022 and Mississippi State has reached the NCAA Tournament in all three of his seasons in Starkville. Jans' NCAA Tournament record is 1-5.
Chris Jans' lone NCAA Tournament win came in 2022, when his 12-seed NMSU Aggies upset 5-seed UConn 70-63, UConn's last loss in the Big Dance. Two of Jans' teams have lost in heartbreaking fashion in March. In 2019, 12-seed NMSU lost 78-77 to eventual Final Four-participant Auburn in the first round despite having a chance to win at the free throw line with one second left.
In 2023, 11-seed MSU lost 60-59 to Pittsburgh in the First Four despite having three looks at a winning bucket in the final seconds. Upset of UConn aside, Chris Jans' squads have been just on the cusp of big moments in the NCAA Tournament.
Chris Jans has been a part of a team that made a deep run in March. As an assistant at Wichita State under Gregg Marshall, Jans helped coach the Shockers to five NCAA Tournament appearances. That includes their legendary run to the Final Four in 2013.