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The 2017-18 basketball season was one that saw Mississippi State's Women's team return to the national championship for the second consecutive year and the Men's team return to the postseason for the first time in six years. The Women's team went undefeated in the regular season to pick up the 2018 SEC Regular Season Championship and claim a 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament, in which they won 5 straight until a heartbreaking last second loss to Notre Dame in the national title. The Men's team got off to a slow start in SEC play but caught fire mid-season. They barely missed out on the NCAA tournament, but took advantage of their first postseason appearance since 2012 by winning three games in the NIT to advance to the semifinals in NYC.
The Women's team wore 6 uniforms this season, two fewer than the 8 worn last season (the lack of Made in March uniforms this year accounts for this discrepancy). 5 of the uniforms (White, Maroon, Black, Gray, and White "State") were retained from the 2016-17 season; only the pink BCA uniforms were brand new this season.
The Bulldogs finished the regular season undefeated, so obviously all uniforms had undefeated records after the first 30 games. The Bulldogs first loss came in the white "State" uniforms in the SEC Tournament championship vs South Carolina and the second came in the regular white uniforms vs Notre Dame in the national championship. The four non-white uniforms (maroon, gray, black, pink) remained undefeated for the entire season.
The regular white uniforms were worn for a majority of the Bulldogs' games: 12 of 14 non-conference game, 7 SEC games, and all 6 NCAA tournament games. The maroon jerseys were worn 8 times in the regular season; because of the Bulldogs' high seed in both the SEC and NCAA tournament, the maroon jerseys were never worn in the postseason. The White "State" jerseys were worn once in the regular season and again in all three SEC tournament games. The gray, black, and pink uniforms were worn once each in home SEC games.
The Bulldogs finished the regular season undefeated, so obviously all uniforms had undefeated records after the first 30 games. The Bulldogs first loss came in the white "State" uniforms in the SEC Tournament championship vs South Carolina and the second came in the regular white uniforms vs Notre Dame in the national championship. The four non-white uniforms (maroon, gray, black, pink) remained undefeated for the entire season.
The regular white uniforms were worn for a majority of the Bulldogs' games: 12 of 14 non-conference game, 7 SEC games, and all 6 NCAA tournament games. The maroon jerseys were worn 8 times in the regular season; because of the Bulldogs' high seed in both the SEC and NCAA tournament, the maroon jerseys were never worn in the postseason. The White "State" jerseys were worn once in the regular season and again in all three SEC tournament games. The gray, black, and pink uniforms were worn once each in home SEC games.
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NEW: Check out Mississippi State Women's Basketball Uniform History
The Men's team wore 7 uniforms this season, matching last season's program record of most in a season. 5 of the uniforms (White, Maroon, Black, Cream "State", Iced Out) returned from last season. The two new uniforms were an Adidas template gray uniform and a throwback to the white uniforms worn from 1974-75 through 1976-77 that feature a cursive "State" script on the chest and "MSU" on the shorts.
The gray uniform, the fourth in program history and the first since the 2013-14 season, is a pretty dark gray that I have to admit looks pretty good. The numbers/wordmark are white and the name on back is a lighter gray. The biggest problem with these is the pattern on the shoulder tops and shorts; this is a by-product of the fact that they are a templated Adidas design- most Adidas schools had a similar gray jersey this season.
The regular white uniforms were the most worn this season, and were undefeated for a majority of the season; after 15 straight wins, they finally suffered a loss in the final home game of the regular season against Tennessee, but were worn in an SEC Tournament win to finish with a record of 16-1.
The Bulldogs did not fare well at all in the maroon uniforms this season, which is a shame because the maroon uniforms are arguably the sharpest of the Bulldogs' current set. This can be almost entirely attributed to the Bulldogs' struggle to win road games. The only game won in the maroon uniforms all season was at South Carolina, which was the Bulldogs' first road win of the season. Though State later won three road games in the gray uniforms, the maroon uniforms finished the 17-18 season with a dismal 1-8 record.
The black and gray jerseys were worn 4 times each; the grays finished with a record of 3-1 while the blacks finished 2-2. The gray jerseys were notably worn in two road NIT wins at Baylor and at Louisville. However, in the semifinals against Penn State, the Nittany Lions wore gray, causing the Bulldogs to go with black.
The two cream uniforms were only worn once each, in back-to-back December home games. I was somewhat surprised to see the "Iced Out" uniforms back this season, but was disappointed to see the cream "State" throwbacks only worn once. The 1975 throwbacks worn in the NIT opener against Nebraska somewhat made up for that, but I would've still liked to have seen the cream throwbacks more than once. It will be interesting to see next season if the 75 throwbacks completely replace the creams. The cream "State" throwbacks, "Iced Out" uniforms, and 1975 throwbacks each finished the season with a 1-0 record.
It was somewhat surprising, but not really disappointing, to see Adidas not do any special "Made in March" uniforms this season. This resulted in State wearing its regular white uniforms in the SEC Tournament for the first time since 2011. And despite not having any "Made in March" uniforms, the Bulldogs still managed to not wear their regular uniforms in the NIT by wearing alternates throughout.
The gray uniform, the fourth in program history and the first since the 2013-14 season, is a pretty dark gray that I have to admit looks pretty good. The numbers/wordmark are white and the name on back is a lighter gray. The biggest problem with these is the pattern on the shoulder tops and shorts; this is a by-product of the fact that they are a templated Adidas design- most Adidas schools had a similar gray jersey this season.
The regular white uniforms were the most worn this season, and were undefeated for a majority of the season; after 15 straight wins, they finally suffered a loss in the final home game of the regular season against Tennessee, but were worn in an SEC Tournament win to finish with a record of 16-1.
The Bulldogs did not fare well at all in the maroon uniforms this season, which is a shame because the maroon uniforms are arguably the sharpest of the Bulldogs' current set. This can be almost entirely attributed to the Bulldogs' struggle to win road games. The only game won in the maroon uniforms all season was at South Carolina, which was the Bulldogs' first road win of the season. Though State later won three road games in the gray uniforms, the maroon uniforms finished the 17-18 season with a dismal 1-8 record.
The black and gray jerseys were worn 4 times each; the grays finished with a record of 3-1 while the blacks finished 2-2. The gray jerseys were notably worn in two road NIT wins at Baylor and at Louisville. However, in the semifinals against Penn State, the Nittany Lions wore gray, causing the Bulldogs to go with black.
The two cream uniforms were only worn once each, in back-to-back December home games. I was somewhat surprised to see the "Iced Out" uniforms back this season, but was disappointed to see the cream "State" throwbacks only worn once. The 1975 throwbacks worn in the NIT opener against Nebraska somewhat made up for that, but I would've still liked to have seen the cream throwbacks more than once. It will be interesting to see next season if the 75 throwbacks completely replace the creams. The cream "State" throwbacks, "Iced Out" uniforms, and 1975 throwbacks each finished the season with a 1-0 record.
It was somewhat surprising, but not really disappointing, to see Adidas not do any special "Made in March" uniforms this season. This resulted in State wearing its regular white uniforms in the SEC Tournament for the first time since 2011. And despite not having any "Made in March" uniforms, the Bulldogs still managed to not wear their regular uniforms in the NIT by wearing alternates throughout.
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I'm going to wrap up this season recap by drawing attention to one of the best things to come of this year's football and basketball seasons: Mississippi State's total domination of Louisville.
It all started last offseason when the two schools essentially traded defensive coordinators, with Mississippi State getting Todd Grantham and Louisville getting Peter Sirmon. Huge win for the Bulldogs. It continued in December when the two teams faced off in the TaxSlayer Bowl and the Bulldogs, led by backup QB Keytaon Thompson, won 31-28 on the back of Mark McLaurin's three interceptions of 2016 Heisman Trophy winner Lamar Jackson.
It continued in the NIT quarterfinals, when the Men's Basketball team traveled to Louisville and absolutely dominated the Cardinals from start to finish. Finally, and perhaps most importantly, the Women's Basketball team defeated the Cardinals in the Women's Final Four on the back of a Roshunda Johnson 3-pointer that sent the game to an overtime that the Bulldogs won by 10.
3 huge wins on the field, 1 extra huge win off the field. Total domination. Also- to tie it back in to uniforms- I love how it worked out so that we beat them while wearing each of our three main uniform colors: maroon in football, gray in men's basketball, and white in women's basketball.
It all started last offseason when the two schools essentially traded defensive coordinators, with Mississippi State getting Todd Grantham and Louisville getting Peter Sirmon. Huge win for the Bulldogs. It continued in December when the two teams faced off in the TaxSlayer Bowl and the Bulldogs, led by backup QB Keytaon Thompson, won 31-28 on the back of Mark McLaurin's three interceptions of 2016 Heisman Trophy winner Lamar Jackson.
It continued in the NIT quarterfinals, when the Men's Basketball team traveled to Louisville and absolutely dominated the Cardinals from start to finish. Finally, and perhaps most importantly, the Women's Basketball team defeated the Cardinals in the Women's Final Four on the back of a Roshunda Johnson 3-pointer that sent the game to an overtime that the Bulldogs won by 10.
3 huge wins on the field, 1 extra huge win off the field. Total domination. Also- to tie it back in to uniforms- I love how it worked out so that we beat them while wearing each of our three main uniform colors: maroon in football, gray in men's basketball, and white in women's basketball.
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