Video: Mississippi State Men and Women Eager to Tip-Off 2016-17 Basketball Season

STARKVILLE, Miss. (WCBI/MSU Athletics) – Year 2 of the Ben Howland era officially gets underway Tuesday when Mississippi State ushers in the 2016-17 campaign with the start of practice.

The Bulldogs return two starters in I.J. Ready and Quinndary Weatherspoon and a stacked roster of new talent that garnered the fourth-best recruiting class in the country, tops in school history.

MSU graduated six players from last year’s team that finished 14-17 after closing out the regular season by winning five of its last eight games. The seven SEC wins were the most since totaling eight in 2012.

“We’re obviously very young,” Howland said. “I have probably the youngest team I’ve ever coached in my 21 years as a head coach. But, I obviously have some talented kids that we are really excited about their futures. The trip this summer to Italy and the opportunity to practice was a really good thing for this team because of our youth.

“I’m looking forward to getting started. (Tuesday) for us is the first day we get 30 days of practice, out of 42 days prior to our first game which began September 30th. We’ve spaced out our practice times and I like the rule way better.”

Team unity and chemistry were developed back in August when MSU traveled to Italy and Switzerland to compete in a foreign tour. The Bulldogs posted an impressive 4-0 run against the European pro teams with standout performances from freshmen Tyson Carter, Eli Wright, Lamar Peters and Schnider Herard, along with Weatherspoon. The 2017 SEC All-Freshman standout paced MSU in Europe with his 23.3 scoring clip, followed by Carter at 20.5.

“I just take the season the same way as I did last year,” said Weatherspoon, who averaged 12.0 points and 4.7 his rookie campaign. “I am just going to go out there and play hard. I am not going to do anything special; just play my game and try to have a good season again. I feel more confident.”

Joining Weatherspoon as a returning starter is Ready, who averaged 9.2 points per game and led the team in assists with 134 last season. His 4.5 assists were sixth best in the conference.

The Little Rock native is also the lone senior on the team.

“I want to lead by example,” he said. “There isn’t many times when you’re the lone senior. This is a special group, and they have so much talent that I want to be able to not only give them knowledge but also help them and lead the path for them so they don’t hit the freshmen hump as soon as most do, and so we can win games.”

The Bulldogs open their 105^th season of play at home on Nov. 11 against Norfolk State on Nov. 11.

Meanwhile, Mississippi State opens its 43^rd season of women’s basketball Tuesday when practice for the 2016-17 slate begins.

Vic Schaefer’s fifth Bulldog squad will do team-building exercises with The Program before hitting the court for the first time Tuesday afternoon.

MSU can hold 30 practices in a 40-day span before hitting the court for game action.

“It’s an exciting time. We’re 40 days out and excited about the opportunity,” Schaefer said. “We have a veteran group, with our seniors being the first class that we recruited four years ago. We’re looking for a great year. We’ve had great conditioning, and they’re all working hard.”

The Bulldogs enter the slate ranked in the Top 10 in several preseason publications. Both Athlon and Sporting News put the Bulldogs at No. 7, while Slam Magazine placed the team at No. 8. Lindy’s Sports rated MSU No. 12 in its college basketball preview issue.

Schaefer returns all five starters and nine letterwinners from last year’s edition that won a program-best 28 games, tied for second in the SEC and earned the school’s second trip to the NCAA Sweet 16.

Junior Victoria Vivians claimed first team all-America honors from Sporting News and second-team accolades from Athlon following a 2014-15 season that saw her average an SEC second-most 17.1 ppg en route to claiming WBCA All-America Honorable Mention accolades and first team All-SEC honors.

Vivians also ranked in the SEC’s Top 20 in both rebounding (5.8 rpg) and steals (1.7 spg).

The Bulldogs also return Morgan William, who ranked second in scoring (9.7 ppg) and tops in assists with a league second-most 4.9 apg. The Birmingham, Ala., native also finished 2015-16 second in the SEC at the free-throw line, draining a program-best 84.4 percent.

Dominique Dillingham enters her senior season looking to build on a junior season that saw her average 7.9 ppg, while Chinwe Okorie scored 6.8 ppg and paced the team with 6.0 rebounds per contest.

Ketara Chapel, a 35-game starter last season, also returns along with a pair of key reserves in Breanna Richardson (5.6 ppg) and SEC All-Freshman Team selection Teaira McCowan (6.6 ppg, 5.6 rpg).

The Bulldogs open the season at Humphrey Coliseum on Nov. 3, facing former MSU assistant Elena Lovato and Arkansas-Fort Smith in a 6 p.m. exhibition.

MSU officially begins the 2015-16 ledger at the Maine Tipoff Tournament Nov. 11-16. State’s home opener comes Nov. 20 when Texas, another preseason Top 10 squad, comes to Starkville.

Season tickets for the 2016-17 are currently on sale and can be purchased online at www.hailstate.com/tickets or via phone at 1-888-GO-DAWGS. Reserved season tickets (sections 114-118 and sections 105-107) cost $100 each, while general admission tickets for the campaign are $40 each.