The energy around Starkville right now is a bit of a rollercoaster. If you’ve been following the ms state men's basketball schedule, you know the Bulldogs under Chris Jans have a way of making your heart rate spike before the first TV timeout. We’re deep into the 2025-26 grind, and honestly, the way this season has swung from a wild overtime win in Austin to a tough reality check at Rupp Arena tells you everything you need to know about life in the SEC.
Basketball in the Deep South is basically a contact sport.
One day you’re watching Josh Hubbard drop 38 points to stun Texas on their own floor, and the next, you’re trying to figure out how the defense let Kentucky put up 92. It’s messy. It’s loud. It’s exactly what Jans-era basketball was promised to be, for better or worse.
The Current State of the ms state men's basketball schedule
Most fans just look at the wins and losses, but that doesn't tell the whole story. As of mid-January 2026, the Bulldogs are sitting at 10-7 overall with a 2-2 mark in conference play. That sounds middle-of-the-pack, but the "middle" of the SEC this year is a shark tank.
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The non-conference slate was... interesting. Losing to Iowa State early in Sioux Falls was a sting, and that Hall of Fame Classic weekend in Kansas City where they dropped back-to-back games to Kansas State and New Mexico really tested the fan base's patience. But then they went and beat Georgia Tech on the road and took down a solid Utah team in Salt Lake City.
The Bulldogs are a bit of an enigma. They play down to the wire almost every night.
Recent Results and the SEC Gauntlet
If you missed the start of January, you missed a clinic in resilience. The SEC opener against Texas was an instant classic. Mississippi State walked into the Moody Center and traded punches for 45 minutes, eventually escaping with a 101-98 OT victory. Josh Hubbard was basically a human torch that night.
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But the schedule doesn't care about your feelings. Following that high, they handled Oklahoma at home but then ran into the buzzsaw that is Kentucky. Then came the home game against No. 18 Alabama on January 13, which was a 97-80 loss that felt closer than the final score suggested until Labaron Philon went off in the second half.
Upcoming Battles You Can't Miss
Looking ahead at the ms state men's basketball schedule, the next few weeks are basically a gauntlet of "must-win" games if this team wants to stay on the right side of the March Madness bubble.
- January 17: vs Ole Miss. This is the big one. The rivalry game at Humphrey Coliseum. You've got to protect home court here.
- January 21: at Texas A&M. College Station is never an easy place to shoot, and Buzz Williams always has those guys playing 40 minutes of "grind-you-into-dust" defense.
- January 24: vs Vanderbilt. The Commodores are currently ranked No. 10 in the country, which feels weird to say, but they are legit this year.
- January 28: at LSU. A Wednesday night in Baton Rouge. Sorta the definition of a "trap game" if the Bulldogs aren't careful.
The back half of February is where the real drama lives. They’ve got a return trip to Oxford to face Ole Miss on Valentine’s Day—nothing says "love" like a heated Magnolia State rivalry—and a brutal stretch against Auburn, South Carolina, and Alabama to close out the month.
Why the "Hump" Still Matters
The renovated Humphrey Coliseum, or "The Hump," has been loud, but the Bulldogs have already dropped a couple of home games they probably should have won, like that overtime heartbreaker against SMU in late November. Chris Jans has talked about it—you can’t give away games in Starkville. Not in this league.
Who is Actually Powering This Team?
You can't talk about the schedule without talking about the guys playing it. Josh Hubbard is the alpha; there’s no debating that. He’s a junior now, and he’s playing like a guy who wants to be in the NBA by June. But he can't do it alone.
Quincy Ballard and Ja'Borri McGhee have been the unsung heroes in the paint. Ballard is a redshirt senior who provides that rim protection Jans craves. Then you have the new faces like Jayden Epps and Achor Achor. Achor, the Kansas State transfer, has brought a level of versatility that helps when teams try to double-team Hubbard.
The Bubble Watch and March Projections
Every year, people start talking about the "bubble" in January. It’s annoying, but it’s reality. Right now, the ms state men's basketball schedule is actually doing them some favors in terms of Strength of Schedule (SOS).
Because the SEC is so top-heavy with teams like Alabama, Kentucky, and even Vanderbilt, every game is a Quad 1 or Quad 2 opportunity. If State can find a way to go .500 in the league, they’re almost a lock for the tournament. But if they stumble during this upcoming stretch against Ole Miss and A&M, the pressure becomes suffocating.
What Most People Get Wrong
There's this idea that Mississippi State is just a "defensive team" because of Chris Jans. While they still play hard, this year's squad is actually scoring more. They averaged over 81 points a game through the first half of the season. They’re faster. They take more threes. Sometimes that’s great (like against Texas), and sometimes it leads to track meets they can't win (like against Alabama).
Navigating the Rest of the Season
If you're planning on catching a game, keep an eye on the TV designations. The SEC Network and ESPN are bouncing these games around constantly. Most of the Saturday games are afternoon or late evening tips, which usually means the Starkville crowd will be... well, let's just say "well-hydrated" and loud.
Actionable Next Steps for Fans:
- Check the Tip Times: SEC games are notorious for 8:00 PM or 9:00 PM CST starts on school nights. Don't assume a "night game" starts at 7:00 PM.
- Monitor the Net Rankings: Keep an eye on the NCAA NET rankings every Monday. For the Bulldogs, a win over Vanderbilt on Jan 24 would be a massive resume booster.
- Ticket Availability: With Ole Miss and Arkansas coming to the Hump soon, tickets are getting scarce. If you're looking for the Feb 7 game against the Razorbacks, you might want to hit the secondary markets now.
The path to Nashville and the SEC Tournament (March 11-15) is going to be a bumpy one. It always is. But that's the fun of it, right?