Prestige Rankings: The Best SEC Men’s Basketball Programs

Mar 11, 2015; Nashville, TN, USA; Mississippi State Bulldogs guard I.J. Ready (15) shoots the ball over Auburn Tigers guard K.C. Ross-Miller (12) during the first half of the first round of the SEC Tournament at Bridgestone Arena. Mandatory Credit: Joshua Lindsey-USA TODAY Sports

8. Mississippi State Bulldogs

NCAA Tournament Appearances: 10

Sweet Sixteens: 2

Elite Eights: 1

Final Fours: 1

National Championship Appearances: None

National Championships: None

SEC Tournament Championships: 3

The Mississippi State Bulldogs may be in the middle of rebuilding now, but they have had success in the postseason in the past, more than a handful of SEC teams at least.

While the Bulldogs have only made 10 NCAA Tournament appearances, they’ve made a couple deep runs. The mid 90’s were good to the Bulldogs, as they advanced to the Sweet Sixteen in 1995 and all the way to the Final Four in 1996, eventually losing to Syracuse.

In the nearly two decades since, however, the Bulldogs haven’t had nearly as much success. While Mississippi State earned a tournament berth for 4 straight seasons from 2002-05 and again in 2008 and 2009, they had minimal success. The Bulldogs won at least a game in 4 of those appearances, but they never made it past the 2nd round in the 2000’s.

2009 was the last year the Bulldogs made the NCAA Tournament, and 2010 was the last year they made any sort of impact in the postseason.

The Bulldogs do own 3 SEC Tournament titles, winning the tournament in 1996, 2002, and 2009. They also made championship game appearances in 2003 and 2010.

But the last half decade hasn’t been kind to the Bulldogs, and they have similarly large gaps in their program’s history when it comes to postseason accomplishments. For that reason, the Bulldogs finish off the bottom half of the SEC rankings.