When February began, Mississippi’s big three basketball teams were riding high.

Mississippi State was among the leaders in the Southeastern Conference and firmly entrenched in the Top 25. Ole Miss seemed a lock for the NCAA Tournament. Southern Miss was on the edge of the Top 25 and in first place in Conference USA.

The year’s shortest month has turned into the longest of the season for all three teams. As it draws to a close, the end can’t come fast enough.

None of the three has a winning record in February, and all are on losing streaks heading into today’s action. It’s been a freefall that’s brought the state’s hopes of stocking the NCAA Tournament crashing hard to earth.

Mississippi State’s tumble has been most startling. The Bulldogs (19-9. 6-7) have lost four consecutive games, going from third place in the SEC to seventh as they prepare to face Alabama (18-7, 7-6) tonight in Tuscaloosa.

Two of the losses came in overtime, and another was to top-ranked Kentucky on Wednesday.

“It’s a fine line. We wouldn’t even be having these conversations if we make one more play in two games. When it doesn’t go exactly the way you want it to go, you have to survive that rough spell and stay focused,” Mississippi State coach Rick Stansbury said.

Fortunately for MSU, it gets to face an Alabama team in turmoil. Crimson Tide coach Anthony Grant suspended four players in the past month for various infractions.

Tony Mitchell is suspended for the rest of the season, while Trevor Releford and Andrew Steele missed one game apiece. Forward JaMychal Green, the team’s leading scorer and rebounder, will return against Mississippi State after serving a four-game suspension.

While Mississippi State is still hoping to straighten things out and earn an NCAA Tournament bid, Ole Miss has played its way out of a potential at-large berth.

The Rebels finished January with a 14-7 overall record, then lost in double overtime to Alabama on Feb. 4. They’ve lost four of five since then, dropping to 15-12 overall and 5-8 in the SEC as a surging LSU squad comes to Oxford this afternoon.

“I’m not oblivious to the fact there’s some disappointment that we’ve let some opportunities slip, but we can’t do anything about that now. We have to focus on the three remaining games to try and garner some momentum going into New Orleans,” Ole Miss coach Andy Kennedy said earlier this week, referring to the upcoming SEC Tournament.

LSU (17-10, 7-6) has won four straight games and five of six. That hot streak has shot it past both Ole Miss and Mississippi State in the SEC standings. Kennedy, however, noted that a number of teams are bunched together and the last three regular-season games are still important.

“It’s kind of unusual that Kentucky has obviously separated themselves, so everybody is fighting for two through 12,” Kennedy said. “In the middle of the pack, where we find ourselves, a lot is going to be determined in the next two weeks.”

Compared to the other two Mississippi schools, Southern Miss’ recent slide has been minor. The Golden Eagles’ two-game losing streak has consisted of a two-point road loss at Houston and a double-overtime loss at UTEP.

It’s hardly the sort of losing streak that will keep coaches up at night, but it did drop USM out of first place in Conference USA. It’s also one a mid-major program like Southern Miss (22-6, 9-4 C-USA) can ill afford.

The Golden Eagles’ RPI ranking has slipped from No. 7 earlier this month to No. 11 this week, and is likely to drop further when the next rankings are released Monday. A loss tonight at home to Rice (16-12, 7-6) could be costly, and force Southern Miss into having to win the Conference USA Tournament to secure an NCAA bid.

“It was a tough road trip,” Eustachy told the Hattiesburg American after the loss to UTEP. “But we’ve got to get our heads up, and go back and practice tomorrow.”

On the air

• 12:30 p.m. – LSU at Ole Miss

TV: WJTV; Radio: 1490 AM

• 5 p.m. – Mississippi St. at Alabama

TV: ESPN; Radio: 105.5 FM

• 7 p.m. – Rice at Southern Miss

TV: None; Radio: 105.1 FM