Mississippi Sports HOF, MSU to honor Final Four team

The Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame and Museum will honor the best team in Mississippi State basketball history next month.

On March 31, while college basketball prepares to crown this season’s champion, the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame will honor the 1995-96 MSU team that advanced to the Final Four. The squad remains the only Magnolia State program to advance to the Final Four.

“It really doesn’t seem like it’s been 20 years because somebody brings it up almost every day,” former head coach Richard Williams said in a statement. “I see a lot of the guys often, but I’m really looking forward to getting back together as a team.”

Mississippi State began its run to the Final Four by defeating eventual national champion Kentucky in the SEC Tournament Championship at the Louisiana Superdome. The No. 5-seeded Bulldogs then defeated Virginia Commonwealth, Princeton, No. 1 seed Connecticut and No. 2 seed Cincinnati to secure a spot in the Final Four. The Bulldogs' season ended in East Rutherford, New Jersey with a loss to Syracuse.

The event in Jackson will begin at 5:30 p.m. with a reception and followed by a 7 p.m. dinner and program.

Mississippi State will honor the 20th anniversary of the trip to the Final Four on Saturday. The team will be honored during MSU’s game against South Carolina. A team-member dinner will also be held earlier in the week.

“I want to make sure we have a packed house to not only support our team, in one of our last two home games,” MSU coach Ben Howland said. “But to me, more importantly, to really show those guys how much they were appreciated by the fans for that special season that is again the greatest in the history of this university.”

Contact Michael Bonner at mbonner@jackson.gannett.com. Follow @MikeBBonner on Twitter.