Mississippi State Men's Basketball Continues to Rise in AP Poll

The Bulldogs are listed at No. 15 in this week's rankings.

Mississippi State's undefeated men's basketball squad has been steadily climbing in the AP Poll over the last few weeks.

The Bulldogs (11-0) jumped up two spots to No. 15 in the rankings this weekend. They are behind just three SEC foes in the standings: Tennessee (No. 8), Alabama (No. 9) and Arkansas (No. 10). Kentucky and Auburn sit in 19th place and 23rd place, respectively, to round out conference representation. 

Despite facing some challenges last week, MSU is one of just five undefeated college basketball teams in the nation and the only SEC program with a goose egg in the loss column. The team survived a back-and-forth contest against JSU in the Mississippi Coliseum on Wednesday to pick up a 69-59 victory. Over the weekend, it held off a late comeback attempt by Nicholls State to maintain its perfect record.

Throughout this season's non-conference slate, Tolu Smith has been the shining star for Mississippi State. The redshirt senior has averaged 16.2 points and 8.9 rebounds per game while boasting a field goal percentage of 61.9 percent. He is backed up by a competitive group of teammates that have each stepped up in big ways to help the program find success.

Before SEC play begins, MSU has one more game remaining against Drake. The Bulldogs will face off against a team with the same mascot in hopes of rounding out non-conference play with a perfect 12-0 record. From there, things will get a bit harder for the program. Mississippi State will open SEC play against Alabama on Dec. 28 before traveling to Tennessee and hosting Ole Miss to kick off a packed few months of games. 

MSU will face off against Drake on Tuesday afternoon at the Battle in the Vault in Lincoln, Nebraska. Tipoff is set for 4 p.m. CT, and the game can be streamed on Baller TV.