Mississippi State shocked the SEC last March by winning the conference tournament after a lackluster regular season that saw the Bulldogs finish third in the Western Division.

With all five starters returning, the Bulldogs were the likely choice to win the division this season, but the early going hasn't been all that easy.

The Bulldogs lost their opener at home to Rider, and no matter how much praise coach Rick Stansbury gives the Broncs -- "I think everybody understands now when I say how good Rider is," he said -- there is no way the Bulldogs should have lost at all, let alone by 14 points.

Then the Bulldogs dropped a one-pointer to Richmond in the first game of the South Padre Island Invitational.

That's two losses in their first six games when they were expected to get into December undefeated.

The Bulldogs have been shooting the ball well, but turnovers have been a problem at times. They have been committing one more a game than their opponents.

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