Mississippi State basketball head coach Ben Howland was fired on Thursday morning after seven seasons with the Bulldogs. 

There were high hopes for the Bulldogs heading into the 2021-2022 season: veteran players were returning to the team, and a host of talented transfers were set to call Starkville home. Many expected the team to have a good run in the NCAA Tournament. Ultimately, that was not the case. Mississippi State finished the season with a disappointing 18-16 overall record and went just 8-10 in conference play. The team lost to Virginia by a score of 57-60 in the first round of the National Invitation Tournament on Wednesday night to end the year.

During his time in Starkville, Howland went 134-98. He led his team to only one NCAA Tournament appearance– a 76-80 loss to Liberty as the fifth seed in 2019.