Men’s College Basketball 2021-2022 Season Preview: Mississippi State Bulldogs

The SEC is loaded this year as most teams used the transfer portal to their advantage and shored up their talent as well as their depth. Teams like Kentucky, Tennessee and Auburn built elite freshman classes while LSU, Arkansas (as usual) and Florida made key additions via the portal.

SEC slates are going to be high scoring and mega exciting all year long. For DFS players this is the conference that will command your attention, so keep that at the top of your mind as we go team-by-team through the SEC to preview the coming season.

In this one, Mississippi State.

(Check out our full college basketball season preview!)

Mississippi State 2021-2022 Season Preview

2020-2021 record: 18-15 (8-10 SEC), ninth in SEC
Postseason: Lost in NIT finals

Key Departures | Mississippi State Bulldogs

• DJ Stewart (playing professionally)
• Deivon Smith (transferred to Georgia Tech)
• Abdul Ado (transferred to Cincy)
• Jalen Johnson (transferred to Texas A&M)
• Quinten Post (transferred to Boston College)

Key Additions | Mississippi State Bulldogs

• Garrison Brooks (transferred from UNC)
• Shakeel Moore (transferred from NC State)
• DJ Jeffries (transferred from Memphis)
• Rocket Watts (transferred from Michigan State)
• Camryn Carter (top 130 recruit)

Returners | Mississippi State Bulldogs

• Iverson Molinar (16.7 PPG/3.7 RPG/2.3 APG)
• Tolu Smith (12.6 PPG/8.4 RPG/1.2 APG)
• Derek Fountain (5.4 PPG/3 RPG)
• Javian Davis-Fleming (2.6 PPG/3.3 RPG)
• Cam Matthews (2.7 PPG/2.8 RPG)

Mississippi State Bulldogs Outlook for 2021-2022

Let’s start off with some injury news: Tolu Smith is dealing with an ailment, and Ben Howland has said he will miss around five games, but that certainly could turn into more. On top of that, Spartans transfer Rocket Watts is dealing with a hip issue and could be out long term. That’s a huge dent for this club. They brought in some high-caliber transfers to bolster the roster, but depth has suddenly gone from a strength to a weakness depending on the recovery of those key pieces.

The arrival of Garrison Brooks (10.2 PPG/6.9 RPG) and DJ Jeffries (9.9 PPG/5.1 RPG) helps lessen the blow if Tolu misses additional time. Brooks is a gifted low post player capable of knocking down mid-range jumpers. Jeffries hasn’t quite realized his star potential yet, but he is a quality piece that will get a chance to be the focal point of the offense at times.

Shakeel Moore is an excellent defender that should fit right into Howland’s junkyard dog style. Moore has the capabilities of being a stat sheet stuffer and averaged over a steal per game in 2020. He had the 16th best steals rate in the country last year as well. He doesn’t require the ball in his hands to contribute which makes him an ideal fit next to alpha scorer Iverson Molinar. The maturation of Molinar was a joy to watch last year as he went from a complete role player to an offensive star. The Bulldogs glaring issue appears to be the lack of a true point guard. Molinar would be much better off the ball but freshman Camryn Carter likely isn’t going to be ready for big minutes right away in the grueling SEC. Shakeel Moore could see time at PG but that’s not something he did very much during his lone season at NC State.

My breakout player for this squad is Derek Fountain. He was a revelation last year that forced his way into the starting lineup late into the season and was extremely productive. Fountain knocked down just under 40% of his triples and could blossom into a legit threat as a stretch big.

(Check out our rankings of the top 100 teams and top 100 players for men’s college basketball in 2021-2022.)

Summary

Heading into the season with injuries to key players is never a good thing. The lack of a true point guard is what will ultimately keep this team from being a true contender, but they have enough overall talent to be competitive. Iverson Molinar should maintain his high-usage alpha scorer role from last season and the defense should be fairly strong with the additions of Shakeel Moore and DJ Jeffries. Look for my guy Derek Fountain to keep his starting spot despite the influx of talent via the transfer portal.