Mississippi State Bulldogs NCAA Basketball News

Kodi Augustus scored a career-high 19 points, Jarvis Varnado added 14 points and 12 rebounds and Mississippi State beat Georgia 79-60 Thursday in the opening round of the Southeastern Conference tournament.

Southeastern Conference basketball coaches wouldn't admit it during the regular season - their league was down.

STARKVILLE, Miss., Jan. 3 -- The University of Houston issued the following news release: Mississippi State used early runs in both halves and hot shooting to take an 82-65 win over the University of Houston men's basketball team Saturday inside Humphrey Coliseum.

LITTLE ROCK a ' Southeastern Conference basketball coaches spent much of a summer teleconference talking about how the league will be better.

SEC basketball coaches are predicting a massive Charles Barkley-like rebound for the league after a dismal season.

Corey Fisher scored 15 points and Deon Thompson added 12 to go with nine boards as the 2009 USA Men's World University Games Team earned a 67-63 hard-fought defensive battle over Russia in the 2009 Serbia International Invitational on Monday night in Belgrade.

FAYETTEVILLE - If absence makes the heart grow fonder, then fleeting absence must make the heart go bonkers.

Seven SEC underclassmen who declared for this yeara s NBA Draft withdrew their names and decided to return to school.

In his bright white Mississippi State basketball jersey, Jarvis Varnado is out of place walking around Mississippi State's campus on a recent scorching-hot afternoon.

With Jodie Meeks in the mix, Big Blue Nation might actually turn off John Calipari's tweets and turn on Thursday night's NBA Draft, live from Madison Square Garden.

The World University Games' frontcourt tussles were rugged from the first day with Purdue's JaJuan Johnson , Mississippi State's Jarvis Varnado , Washington's Quincy Pondexter , Marquette's Lazar Hayward , Iowa State's Craig Brackins and even Purdue's Robbie Hummel banging consistently.

The team the United States will send to the World University Games in Belgrade, Serbia, will include some of the top returning big men in college basketball.

Happy to see two locals - Villanova rising junior point guard Corey Fisher from the Bronx and St.

Jarvis Varnado doesn't know Bo Ryan, but he knows the Wisconsin basketball coach's reputation.

Now that the deadline to withdraw from the NBA Draft has come and gone, it's time to evaluate those who made out and those who came up short with the entire draft process.

Longtime John Wooden Classic participant UCLA will face Mississippi State in the 16th annual John R. Wooden Classic on Dec.

THE GOOD NEWS: Mississippi State returns all five of its starters, and it should return all but one of the guys who allowed it to essentially go 11-deep all the way into March.

FINAL RECORD: 23-13, 9-7 SEC, third place in the Western Division. WHAT WENT RIGHT: When shooting well, Mississippi State was a hard team to beat, regardless the foe.

So far, the SEC has been the biggest winner in early-entry withdrawal decisions after Patrick Patterson , Michael Washington , Tasmin Mitchell and Jarvis Varnado all announced they would come back to school.

SEC men's basketball is having a better off-season than post-season. Only three teams qualified for the NCAA tournament, and none made it past the second round.