Ben Howland Fired as Head Coach of Mississippi State Men's Basketball Team

The Bulldogs fired Howland after a disappointing end to the much-anticipated 2021-2022 season.

Mississippi State basketball head coach Ben Howland was fired on Thursday morning after seven seasons with the Bulldogs. 

There were high hopes for the Bulldogs heading into the 2021-2022 season: veteran players were returning to the team, and a host of talented transfers were set to call Starkville home. Many expected the team to have a good run in the NCAA Tournament. Ultimately, that was not the case. Mississippi State finished the season with a disappointing 18-16 overall record and went just 8-10 in conference play. The team lost to Virginia by a score of 57-60 in the first round of the National Invitation Tournament on Wednesday night to end the year.

During his time in Starkville, Howland went 134-98. He led his team to only one NCAA Tournament appearance-- a 76-80 loss to Liberty as the fifth seed in 2019. The Bulldogs also reached the NIT three times under Howland: they finished in the semifinals in 2018 and were the tournament runners-up in 2021, as well as going one-and-done this year. 

Howland also coached some of the most talented players in the program's recent history: Quinndary Weatherspoon, Reggie Perry and Robert Woodard II. Weatherspoon was drafted 49th overall in the 2019 NBA Draft and now plays for the Golden State Warriors. Perry and Woodard were both picked in the second round of the 2020 NBA Draft-- Perry plays for the Raptors 905 in the NBA G-League, while Woodard is also in the G-League with the Austin Spurs. 

The future of the Mississippi State men's basketball program remains unclear. The program will begin its coaching search in the coming weeks, but with LSU, Missouri, South Carolina and Georgia also looking for new coaches, a final decision might not be made for a while. 

With the renovations taking place in Humphrey Coliseum and the hiring of new coaches for both the men's and women's basketball programs, the future looks fresh and exciting for Mississippi State basketball.