The 2020–21 Mississippi State Bulldogs men's basketball team represented Mississippi State University during the 2020–21 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The team was led by sixth-year head coach Ben Howland, and played their home games at Humphrey Coliseum in Starkville, Mississippi as a member of the Southeastern Conference. In a season limited due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, they finished the season 18–15, 8–10 in SEC play to finish in ninth place. They defeated Kentucky in the second round of the SEC tournament before losing to Alabama in the quarterfinals. They received an invitation to the National Invitation Tournament as the fourth seed in the Saint Louis bracket. There they defeated Saint Louis, Richmond, and Louisiana Tech to advance the championship game where they lost to Memphis.
Previous season The Bulldogs finished the 2019–20 season 20–11, 11–7 in SEC play to finish in a tie for fourth place. They were set to be the No. 4 seed in the SEC tournament with a bye to the quarterfinals. However, the SEC Tournament and all other postseason tournaments were canceled due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
Offseason
Departures Name Number Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Reason for departure Nick Weatherspoon 0 G 6'2" 185 Junior Canton, MS Declared for the 2020 NBA draft Reggie Perry 1 F 6'10" 250 Sophomore Thomasville, GA Declared for the 2020 NBA draft; selected 57th overall by the Los Angeles Clippers Elias King 2 F 6'8" 205 Freshman Atlanta, GA Transferred to Middle Tennessee Devin Butts 4 G 6'5" 175 Freshman Macon, GA Transferred to Louisiana Tate Clayton 10 G 6'2" 170 Junior Tupelo, MS Walk-on; left the team Robert Woodard II 12 G 6'7" 235 Sophomore Columbus, MS Declared for the 2020 NBA draft; selected 40th overall by the Memphis Grizzlies Reggie Miller 13 G 6'5" 185 Senior Saltillo, MS Graduated Prince Oduro 15 F 6'8" 250 Redshirt Sophomore Toronto, ON Transferred to South Florida Mitchell Storm 20 F 6'7" 200 Senior Madison, MS Graduated KeyShawn Feazell 22 F 6'8" 225 Junior New Hebron, MS Transferred to McNeese State Tyson Carter 23 G 6'4" 175 Senior Starkville, MS Graduated E. J. Datcher 45 C 6'10" 260 Senior Harpersville, AL Graduated
Roster
Schedule and results
!colspan=12 style=|Non-conference regular season
!colspan=12 style=|SEC regular season
!colspan=12 style=| SEC Tournament
!colspan=12 style=| NIT
Source
References