Men’s Hoops Announces Openers; Additional Non-Conference Games

by Matt Dunaway, Director/Communications
 
STARKVILLE – Mississippi State men’s basketball will make its highly-anticipated debut at a renovated state-of-the-art Humphrey Coliseum in 67 days against UT Martin on Saturday, November 11.
 
The Bulldogs also will open the 2023-24 campaign in Chicago’s ‘Windy City’ with a showcase matchup versus Arizona State, a fellow 2023 NCAA participant from the Pac-12 Conference, at the Barstool Sports Invitational on Wednesday, November 8.
 
The Barstool Sports Invitational will be played at Wintrust Arena. Florida Atlantic and Loyola Chicago will proceed State’s matchup with the Sun Devils at 6 p.m. CT. There will be 30 minutes between games. Both games will be streamed exclusively online at www.Barstool.TV/live.
 
The Bulldogs defeated Akron, 73-54, during last year’s inaugural Barstool event at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia. Tolu Smith and D.J. Jeffries did the heavy lifting for the Maroon and White with a combined 41 points and 10 rebounds.  
 
Arizona State has piled up 20-plus wins in four of the last six seasons highlighted by a trio of NCAA Tournament bids under Bobby Hurley. The Sun Devils have won both previous meetings between the two schools by a combined six points, most recently a 72-67 decision at the MGM Resorts Main Event in Las Vegas during the 2018-19 season.
 
Mississippi State also will take on North Alabama (Nov. 14), Southern (Dec. 3) and Murray State (Dec. 13) in non-conference home matchups at Humphrey Coliseum. Additional non-conference home games, tip times and television information will be released at a later date.  
 
The Bulldogs are scheduled to face North Texas (Dec. 17), the defending 2023 NIT Champions, at Cadence Bank Arena in Tupelo. State has won all four of its previous games played in Tupelo by an average of 18.3 points per contest which began with an 80-60 victory over UT Martin under Richard Williams in 1997-98. Ticket information, tip time and television information will be announced at a later date.
 
State meets Tulane (Dec. 9) during Holiday Hoopsgiving at State Farm Arena, home of the NBA’s Atlanta Hawks, as part of a doubleheader with Auburn and Indiana. The two former SEC rivals last played at the 2019 Myrtle Beach Invitational, an 80-66 win for the Maroon and White. The Bulldogs have won eight of the last nine over the Green Wave since Tulane’s last SEC season in 1965-66.
 
Mississippi State’s non-conference slate already features a matchup with Washington State (Nov. 18) from the Pac-12 Conference at the Hall of Fame Tip-Off hosted by the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. The Bulldogs also have a guaranteed matchup with either Northwestern or Rhode Island (Nov. 19) in Uncasville, Connecticut.  
 
Mississippi State will travel to Georgia Tech (Nov. 28) for the inaugural ACC/SEC…