Students throughout Mississippi (somewhat reluctantly, for the most part) headed back to school this week, but before we know it, the 2025-2026 school year will officially come rushing to an end in just a few short months.
So, just in case you have not been to watch your favorite local athletes play in junior high or high school basketball games, you’d better get with it because the Mississippi basketball season is in full swing and moving quickly. In fact, it’s hard to believe, but the playoff season for the schools that are members of the seven divisions of the Mississippi High School Activities Association (misshsaa.com) will actually begin quarterfinal play in a little over six weeks, on Wednesday, February 25, 2026, to be exact.
For those high school basketball teams that successfully make their way from the North Half of the state to the quarterfinal competitions, the games will take place on the campuses of various colleges, including Mississippi Valley State University, Itawamba Community College, and Northeast Mississippi Community College. While Pearl River Community College, Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College, and Raymond High School will be hosting quarterfinal playoff games for the various teams from the South Half of Mississippi.
After that, the amazing high school teams that advance to the semifinals will begin playoff games on Monday, March 2, 2026. But keep in mind that state competition in the semifinal bracket will move to one central location. At that point, all games will take place in the Mississippi Coliseum in Jackson, Mississippi, which is better known to our Mississippi high school basketball players as “The Big House.”
At The Big House, everything will come down to three days (March 5-7, 2026) of final competition, with the coveted state basketball championship title and trophy going to one girls’ team and one boys’ team from each of the seven MISSHSAA divisions, 1A-7A.
Yep, now is the time, folks! If you have been planning on going to watch your local basketball players compete, you’d better get with it. And if you need to find a schedule for your high school teams, the MaxPreps website makes it extremely easy to find the rosters and schedules of each Mississippi team: maxpreps.com/ms/. As one of America’s best online sources for information on high school sports, MaxPreps will also keep you updated on past game scores, current team rankings, team news, and division standings in all seven state divisions.
So, go online and find the dates and times of your favorite Mississippi high school basketball team and head out this week to support our amazing state athletes. You will be so glad you did!
