Mississippi State aims to gain respect in opener vs. West Georgia

(Photo credit: Petre Thomas-Imagn Images)
Mississippi State has made back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances and has one of the game's top stars in sophomore guard Josh Hubbard. But that wasn't enough to get the Bulldogs into the preseason Associated Press Top 25 rankings.

"I love the fact that there's nine (Southeastern Conference) teams in the AP 25," Bulldogs coach Chris Jans said at SEC Media Day. "Obviously we're n