Mississippi State Ranked #2 In Latest Coaches Poll, Highest In Program History

STARKVILLE, Miss. (WCBI / Miss. St. Athletics)– Mississippi State women’s basketball is the No. 2 team in the nation.

The Bulldogs earned another program-record ranking Tuesday as State climbed into the second spot in the USA Today Coaches Top 25 Poll. MSU remained No. 3 in Monday’s Associated Press ranking.

Vic Schaefer’s squad rallied for tough wins against Georgia and Texas A&M last week to improve to 27-1 overall and 13-1 in SEC play. State took sole possession of first place in the league standings heading into the final week of the regular season.

State’s first victory in College Station clinched the Bulldogs a Top 2 seed in next week’s SEC Tournament in Greenville, S.C. The Bulldogs also moved up to No. 2 in the NCAA’s final Top 16 reveal on Monday.

The Bulldogs’ No. 2 ranking comes in its 52^nd-straight week in the poll. MSU has been in the Top 5 for 12-consecutive weeks and the Top 10 for 16 in a row.

Mississippi State can clinch a share of its first SEC regular-season championship Thursday when it heads to Lexington to face a Kentucky squad that moved into the Associated Press poll at No. 22 on Monday.  Tip for that contest, which will be streamed online on SEC Network +, is set for 6 p.m. CT.

The Bulldogs return home Sunday to close the regular season against Tennessee. That contest tips at 4 p.m. on ESPN2, and prior to the game Mississippi State will honor seniors Ketara Chapel, Dominique Dillingham, Chinwe Okorie and Breanna Richardson.

USA Today Coaches Poll – February 21, 2017

Rnk.       Team     Pts.         Rcd.       Pvs.

1              UConn (32)           800         26-0        1

2              Mississippi State               760         27-1        3                             

3              Baylor    738         26-2        4

4              Notre Dame         692         25-3        6

5              Maryland              677         26-2        2

6              Stanford                574         24-4        10

7              South Carolina     559         22-4        5

8              Oregon State       553         25-3        11

9              Ohio State            532         24-5        12

10           Texas     507         21-6        8

11           Florida State        501         24-4        7

12           Washington          491         25-4        9

13           Duke      439         24-4        14

14           Louisville               435         23-6        13

15           UCLA      346         20-7        16

16           Oklahoma             321         21-6        19

17           Miami (Fla.)          255         19-7        17

18           DePaul   252         22-6        15

19           NC State                204         20-7        18

20           Temple  168         21-5        25

21           Syracuse                167         18-9        21

22           Drake     89           22-4        NR

23           Arizona State       74           17-10     23

24           Michigan               61           21-7        20

25           Creighton              50           20-6        NR

Others Receiving Votes: South Florida (20-6) 39; Texas A&M (19-8) 39; Kentucky (19-8) 26; Missouri (19-9) 14; Tennessee (17-10) 9; Virginia (18-9) 6; Indiana (18-9) 4; Marquette (20-7) 4; Kansas State (19-8) 3; Arkansas-Little Rock (19-7) 2; Jacksonville (21-7) 2; Tulane (16-11) 2; West Virginia (18-9) 2; Elon (21-6) 1; New Hampshire (23-4) 1; Northwestern (18-9) 1.