2014–15 Mississippi State Bulldogs basketball team

2014–15 Mississippi State Bulldogs men's basketball
2014–15 Mississippi State Bulldogs men's basketball
Conference	Southeastern Conference
Record	13–19 (6–12 SEC)
Head coach	Rick Ray (3rd season);
Assistant coaches	George Brooks; Wes Flanigan; Chris Hollender;
Home arena	Humphrey Coliseum
	Seasons ← 2013–14 2015–16 →

2014–15 Southeastern Conference men's basketball standings
v t e	Conf				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
No. 1 Kentucky †	18	–	0	1.000	38	–	1	.974
No. 21 Arkansas	13	–	5	.722	27	–	9	.750
LSU	11	–	7	.611	22	–	11	.667
Georgia	11	–	7	.611	21	–	12	.636
Texas A&M	11	–	7	.611	21	–	12	.636
Ole Miss	11	–	7	.611	21	–	13	.618
Vanderbilt	9	–	9	.500	21	–	14	.600
Alabama	8	–	10	.444	19	–	15	.559
Florida	8	–	10	.444	16	–	17	.485
Tennessee	7	–	11	.389	16	–	16	.500
South Carolina	6	–	12	.333	17	–	16	.515
Mississippi State	6	–	12	.333	13	–	19	.406
Auburn	4	–	14	.222	15	–	20	.429
Missouri	3	–	15	.167	9	–	23	.281

† 2015 SEC tournament winner Rankings from AP poll

The 2014–15 Mississippi State Bulldogs basketball team represented Mississippi State University in the 2014–15 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The team's head coach was Rick Ray, in his third season at Mississippi State. The team played their home games at the Humphrey Coliseum in Starkville, Mississippi as a member of the Southeastern Conference. They finished the season 13–19, 6–12 in SEC play to finish in a tie for 11th place. They lost in the first round of the SEC tournament to Auburn.

On March 21, head coach Rick Ray was fired.^[1] He had a three-year record of 37–60.

Before the season[edit]

Departures[edit]

The Bulldogs lost eight players from the 2013–14 team.

Name	Number	Pos.	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown	Notes
Colin Borchert	3	F	6'8"	231	Senior	Phoenix, AZ	Graduated
Andre Applewhite	2	G	6'5"	217	RS Freshman	Memphis, TN	Transferred to Toledo during 2013–14 season
Jacoby Davis	11	G	6'1"	191	RS Freshman	Charlotte, NC	Transferred
De'Runnya Wilson	12	F	6'5"	215	Freshman	Birmingham, AL	Concentrating on football^[2]
Dallas Prater	10	G	6'3"	170	Freshman	Jackson, MS	Left team (Walk-on)
Tevin Moore	13	G	6'3"	185	Junior	Olive Branch, MS	Left team (Walk-on)
Tyson Cunningham	24	G	6'3"	197	RS Senior	Columbus, MS	Graduated (Walk-on)
Kyle Dobbs	33	G	6'6"	160	Freshman	Grayson, GA	Left team (Walk-on)

Recruits[edit]

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes
Name	Hometown	High school / college	Height	Weight	Commit date
Demetrius Houston SF	Montgomery, AL	Carver	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	Jul 8, 2013
Demetrius Houston SF	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN:
Oliver Black PF	Jackson, MS	Wingfield	6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)	215 lb (98 kg)	Jul 2, 2013
Oliver Black PF	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN:
Elijah Staley SF	Marietta, GA	Wheeler	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	208 lb (94 kg)	Jun 15, 2013
Elijah Staley SF	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN:
Maurice Dunlap SG	Greenwood, MS	Amanda Elzy	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	170 lb (77 kg)	Jun 27, 2012
Maurice Dunlap SG	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN:
Johnny Zuppardo PF	Bay St. Louis, MS	Jones County JC	6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)	235 lb (107 kg)	Apr 15, 2014
Johnny Zuppardo PF	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: N/A
Overall recruiting rankings: Scout: Not Ranked Rivals: Not Ranked ESPN: Not Ranked
Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "Mississippi State 2014 Basketball Commitments". Rivals.com. Retrieved August 3, 2014. "2014 Mississippi State Basketball Commits". Scout.com. Retrieved August 3, 2014. "ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved August 3, 2014. "Scout.com Team Recruiting Rankings". Scout.com. Retrieved August 3, 2014. "2014 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved August 3, 2014.

The Bulldogs also added two walk-ons, Isaiah Butler and Jeffery Johnson, who will be classified as seniors for the season.

Roster[edit]

2014–15 Mississippi State Bulldogs men's basketball team

Players

Coaches

Pos.	#	Name	Height	Weight	Year	Previous school	Hometown
G	0	Maurice Dunlap	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	170 lb (77 kg)	Fr	Amanda Elzy	Greenville, MS
G	1	Fred Thomas	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	206 lb (93 kg)	Jr	Jim Hill HS	Jackson, MS
F	2	Demetrius Houston	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	205 lb (93 kg)	Fr	G. W. Carver HS	Montgomery, AL
G	3	Trivante Bloodman	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	198 lb (90 kg)	Sr	Olney Central College	Bronx, NY
F	4	Johnny Zuppardo	6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)	235 lb (107 kg)	Jr	Jones County JC	Bay St. Louis, MS
G	5	Isaiah Butler (W)	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	214 lb (97 kg)	Sr	Brandon HS	Brandon, MS
G	10	Jeffery Johnson (W)	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	172 lb (78 kg)	Sr	Germantown HS	Memphis, TN
G	14	Elijah Staley	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	220 lb (100 kg)	Fr	Wheeler	Marietta, GA
G	15	I.J. Ready	5 ft 11 in (1.8 m)	170 lb (77 kg)	So	Parkview Magnet HS	Little Rock, AR
F	20	Gavin Ware	6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)	260 lb (118 kg)	Jr	Starkville HS	Starkville, MS
C	22	Fallou Ndoye	6 ft 11 in (2.11 m)	220 lb (100 kg)	RS Fr	Findlay Prep	Senegal
F	23	Travis Daniels	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	215 lb (98 kg)	RS Jr	Shelton State CC	Russellville, AL
F	25	Roquez Johnson	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	210 lb (95 kg)	Sr	G. W. Carver HS	Montgomery, AL
G	32	Craig Sword	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	194 lb (88 kg)	Jr	G. W. Carver HS	Montgomery, AL
F	33	Oliver Black	6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)	215 lb (98 kg)	Fr	Wingfield	Jackson, MS

Head coach

Rick Ray (Grand View)

Assistant coach(es)

George Brooks (Mississippi State)
Wes Flanigan (Auburn)
Chris Hollender (Evansville)

Legend

(C) Team captain
(S) Suspended
(I) Ineligible
(W) Walk-on

Injured
Current redshirt

Roster

Schedule and results[edit]

^[3]

Date time, TV	Opponent	Result	Record	Site (attendance) city, state
Exhibition
11/06/2014* 7:00 pm	Delta State	W 72–51	–	Humphrey Coliseum Starkville, MS
Non-Conference games
11/14/2014* 5:30 pm	Western Carolina	W 66–56	1–0	Humphrey Coliseum (6,261) Starkville, MS
11/17/2014* 7:00 pm	Mississippi Valley State	W 89–68	2–0	Humphrey Coliseum (6,065) Starkville, MS
11/22/2014* 2:00 pm	Utah State	W 71–63	3–0	Humphrey Coliseum (7,240) Starkville, MS
11/24/2014* 7:00 pm	Clayton State	W 59–46	4–0	Humphrey Coliseum (6,030) Starkville, MS
11/28/2014* 8:30 pm, CBSSN	vs. Saint Louis Corpus Christi Coastal Classic	W 75–50	5–0	American Bank Center (2,867) Corpus Christi, TX
11/29/2014* 5:30 pm, CBSSN	vs. TCU Corpus Christi Coastal Classic	L 52–61	5–1	American Bank Center (2,867) Corpus Christi, TX
12/06/2014* 1:00 pm, ESPN3	at Tulane	L 54–59	5–2	Devlin Fieldhouse (1,483) New Orleans, LA
12/13/2014* 3:00 pm, P12N	at Oregon State	L 49–59	5–3	Gill Coliseum (4,211) Corvallis, OR
12/17/2014* 6:00 pm, SECN	Arkansas State	L 55–69	5–4	Humphrey Coliseum (5,390) Starkville, MS
12/20/2014* 3:00 pm	vs. USC Upstate Jackson Showcase	L 51–53	5–5	Mississippi Coliseum (1,102) Jackson, MS
12/23/2014* 7:00 pm	Jacksonville	W 70–47	6–5	Humphrey Coliseum (5,366) Starkville, MS
12/30/2014* 7:00 pm	McNeese State	L 47–66	6–6	Humphrey Coliseum (5,155) Starkville, MS
01/02/2015* 7:00 pm, ESPNU	Florida State	W 62–55	7–6	Humphrey Coliseum (5,756) Starkville, MS
Conference games
01/07/2015 8:00 pm, SECN	Tennessee	L 47–61	7–7 (0–1)	Humphrey Coliseum (5,704) Starkville, MS
01/10/2015 6:00 pm, FSN	at Florida	L 47–72	7–8 (0–2)	O'Connell Center (11,966) Gainesville, FL
01/13/2015 8:00 pm, SECN	at Texas A&M	L 70–74	7–9 (0–3)	Reed Arena (4,804) College Station, TX
01/17/2015 3:00 pm, FSN	Vanderbilt	W 57–54	8–9 (1–3)	Humphrey Coliseum (6,568) Starkville, MS
01/21/2015 8:00 pm, SECN	at Auburn	W 78–71	9–9 (2–3)	Auburn Arena (8,083) Auburn, AL
01/24/2015 2:00 pm, FSN	Georgia	L 66–72	9–10 (2–4)	Humphrey Coliseum (7,549) Starkville, MS
01/28/2015 8:00 pm, SECN	at Ole Miss	L 73–79	9–11 (2–5)	Tad Smith Coliseum (8,959) Oxford, MS
01/31/2015 1:00 pm, SECN	LSU	W 73–67	10–11 (3–5)	Humphrey Coliseum (6,657) Starkville, MS
02/03/2015 6:00 pm, SECN	at Tennessee	W 71–66	11–11 (4–5)	Thompson–Boling Arena (13,268) Knoxville, TN
02/07/2015 3:00 pm, SECN	at Arkansas	L 41–61	11–12 (4–6)	Bud Walton Arena (17,404) Fayetteville, AR
02/10/2015 8:00 pm, SECN	Alabama	L 51–55	11–13 (4–7)	Humphrey Coliseum (6,386) Starkville, MS
02/14/2015 3:00 pm, ESPNU	at Missouri	W 77–74	12–13 (5–7)	Mizzou Arena (8,278) Columbia, MO
02/19/2015 8:00 pm, ESPN2	Ole Miss	L 65–71	12–14 (5–8)	Humphrey Coliseum (7,873) Starkville, MS
02/21/2015 3:00 pm, FSN	No. 18 Arkansas	L 61–65	12–15 (5–9)	Humphrey Coliseum (6,254) Starkville, MS
02/25/2015 6:00 pm, SECN	No. 1 Kentucky	L 56–74	12–16 (5–10)	Humphrey Coliseum (6,795) Starkville, MS
02/28/2015 5:00 pm, SECN	at South Carolina	L 68–81	12–17 (5–11)	Colonial Life Arena (14,022) Columbia, SC
03/04/2015 8:00 pm, SECN	at Vanderbilt	L 56–66	12–18 (5–12)	Memorial Gymnasium (8,685) Nashville, TN
03/07/2015 5:30 pm, SECN	Missouri	W 52–43	13–18 (6–12)	Humphrey Coliseum (5,897) Starkville, MS
SEC tournament
03/11/2015 6:00 pm, SECN	vs. Auburn SEC tournament first round	L 68–74	13–19	Bridgestone Arena (10,039) Nashville, TN
*Non-conference game. ^#Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central Time.

References[edit]

^ "Mississippi State fires basketball coach Ray". March 21, 2015.
^ Wilson was listed on the 2014–15 roster, but never appeared in any games or even suited up. Bonner, Michael (January 5, 2015). "Rick Ray's plan for De'Runnya Wilson: to play in the NFL". ClarionLedger.com. The Clarion-Ledger. Retrieved May 16, 2015.
^ "Men's Basketball".

[1] "Mississippi State fires basketball coach Ray". March 21, 2015.

[2] Wilson was listed on the 2014–15 roster, but never appeared in any games or even suited up. Bonner, Michael (January 5, 2015). "Rick Ray's plan for De'Runnya Wilson: to play in the NFL". ClarionLedger.com. The Clarion-Ledger. Retrieved May 16, 2015.

[3] "Men's Basketball".

[1]

[2]

[3]

v t e Mississippi State Bulldogs men's basketball
Venues	"Tin Gym" (1929–1950) McCarthy Gymnasium (1950–1975) Humphrey Coliseum (1975–present)
Culture & lore	Bully "Hail State" Game of Change Howell Trophy
People	Head coaches NBA draftees Statistical leaders
Seasons	List of seasons 1908–09 1909–10 1910–11 1911–12 1912–13 1913–14 1914–15 1915–16 1916–17 1917–18 1918–19 1919–20 1920–21 1921–22 1922–23 1923–24 1924–25 1925–26 1926–27 1927–28 1928–29 1929–30 1930–31 1931–32 1932–33 1933–34 1934–35 1935–36 1936–37 1937–38 1938–39 1939–40 1940–41 1941–42 1942–43 1943–44 1944–45 1945–46 1946–47 1947–48 1948–49 1949–50 1950–51 1951–52 1952–53 1953–54 1954–55 1955–56 1956–57 1957–58 1958–59 1959–60 1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24
NCAA Final Four appearance in italics