Report: Ben Howland Expected to Be Next Mississippi State Basketball Coach

According to a report by CBSSports.com released Monday, Mississippi State and former UCLA head coach Ben Howland are finalizing a deal for Howland to be the next basketball coach of the Bulldogs.

No terms have been disclosed but the deal is "imminent" and is expected to be done sometime Monday.

Howland was the head coach at UCLA for nine years and collected a record of 233-107. He made three consecutive Final Fours with the Bruins from 2006 to 2008 and led UCLA to two Pac-10 tournament championships during that time. Before UCLA, Howland was the head coach at Pittsburgh where he was named the Naismith National Coach of the Year in 2002 and won the Big East tournament in 2003 with the Panthers. Howland has been out of coaching since his firing in 2013 working as a basketball analyst for NBC Sports.

This is seemingly a slam dunk hire for MSU. After a rough outing with Rick Ray, hiring a coach with an excellent resume and a good amount of buzz should get fans in Starkville engaged again and help the program start a climb back to where it once was under Rick Stansbury.

We will bring you any updates on Howland as they arrive.