STARKVILLE — Last week, Mississippi State basketball entered a matchup with rival Ole Miss feeling good about its NCAA Tournament fate.

MSU (14-8, 3-6 SEC) had just picked up a top-10 win against Auburn and had a chance, with road games against the Rebels and Alabama on the slate, to pick up another big victory. Instead, Mississippi State missed two free throws against Ole Miss with a chance to tie the game in the final seconds before getting thumped at Alabama.

Now, MSU is back on the March Madness bubble.

It's familiar territory for coach Chris Jans as the Bulldogs were among the last four teams to the crack the field of 68 last season. However, Mississippi State has a chance to put any doubts to rest in the coming weeks. KenPom projects MSU to win its next six games, starting Wednesday (8 p.m., SEC Network) against Georgia (14-8, 4-5).

Here's a look at Mississippi State's résumé and where the Bulldogs stand in the latest NCAA Tournament predictions.

Mississippi State basketball’s résumé, NET ranking

NET ranking: 45

Quad 1 record: 3-6

Quad 2 record: 2-1

Quad 3 record: 4-0

Quad 4 record: 5-1

Where ESPN, CBS project Mississippi State in March Madness

ESPN's Joe Lunardi has dropped Mississippi State to a No. 10-seed in his latest bracketology. He views MSU as one of the last four teams with a bye, which means the Bulldogs would avoid a play-in game in Dayton, Ohio, again.

CBS' Jerry Palm agrees with placing MSU as a No. 10 seed. Palm and Lunardi have MSU spending its first weekend in Indianapolis, Indiana.

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Mississippi State basketball's 2024 schedule

Next five games for MSU:

Feb. 7: vs. Georgia (8 p.m., SEC Network)

Feb. 10: at Missouri (7:30 p.m., SEC Network)

Feb. 17: vs. Arkansas (1 p.m., ESPNU)

Feb. 21: vs. Ole Miss (8 p.m., ESPN2)

Feb. 24: at LSU (7:30 p.m., SEC Network)

Stefan Krajisnik is the Mississippi State beat writer for the Clarion Ledger. Contact him at skrajisnik@gannett.com or follow him on the X platform, formerly known as Twitter, @skrajisnik3.

This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: Mississippi State bracketology update: Latest NCAA bracket predictions