Description Available in: The Mississippi State Bulldogs men's basketball program represents Mississippi State University in Starkville, Mississippi, in men's NCAA Division I basketball. The Bulldogs play in the Southeastern Conference. On March 23, 2015, Mississippi State named former UCLA head coach, Ben Howland as its 20th head basketball coach.
The Bulldogs have been to the NCAA Tournament ten times, the first time in 1963 and the most recent being 2019. Three previous bids were turned down because of a state policy barring collegiate teams from playing in integrated events. The 1963 team, however, famously snuck out of the state in the dead of night to play.