Sources: Howland a leading candidate to replace Ray

Ben Howland has emerged as a leading candidate to fill Mississippi State's men's basketball coaching position, multiple sources confirmed to the Clarion-Ledger Sunday night.

NBC Sports first reported MSU's interest in the former UCLA coach.

The move would be a home-run hire for MSU athletic director Scott Stricklin. The deal could happen quickly.

Stricklin said Saturday that he hoped to have a replacement "relatively short order." He was in the process of finding a replacement as early as Saturday afternoon.

"I've done some homework. I try to stay on top of the marketplace as best I can," Stricklin said. "I have an idea of some names that interest me more than others. I've already started the process in trying to figure out which ones of those were something that maybe fruitful."

Howland spent nine seasons at UCLA, where he led the Bruins to three straight Final Fours from 2006-2008. By comparison, Mississippi State has been to one Final Four.

He was fired in April of 2013, after he led UCLA to the Pac-12 regular season title -- the fourth with the Bruins.

Prior to UCLA, Howland coached Northern Arizona and Pitt. He won league titles at both schools. The past two seasons he's been a a color commentator for Fox Sports and NBC Sports.

Overall he's won 398 games compared to 205 losses. He's also won eight regular season championships in the Pac-12, Big East and the Big Sky. He's a three-time league coach of the year and won national coach of the year in 2002.

Mississippi State fired Ray after three seasons in Starkville. Ray went 37-60 as MSU's coach, including a 13-19 record in his last season.