STARKVILLE, Miss. — Tennessee basketball knocked off Mississippi State 73-64 on Wednesday night as the Vols built a 23-point lead and held on despite a terrible stretch in the second half.
Following the game, Mississippi State head coach Chris Jans discussed Tennessee’s physicality, his team’s struggles besides Josh Hubbard and much more. Here’s everything Jans said.
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On how much Tennessee’s physicality and rebounding played a factor in the loss
“Yeah, I mean, it was the biggest reason why we dug ourselves a hole. Along with how we started the game defensively, from not being assignment correct on the game plan that we had installed. And our ball-screen coverage was nothing that we haven’t done in the past. It was pretty simple, trying to keep the ball and the roller in front. It’s easy for me to say, but we’ve done that before and had some success in it and we didn’t early.
“We were all over the board. We just weren’t in the right spots with the right coverage, with the right angles and (Tennessee) took full advantage of it. And, I mean, they were dunking the ball in our goal four or five times in the first five or six minutes. I don’t have the numbers, but I’d imagine that’s pretty close and that was very frustrating. We just weren’t in the right spot. And so that gives the other team a lot of confidence. Not that they needed any. Makes the bench feel good, the coaches feel good.
“The only reason why we were in the game — I think it was 27-25 — and obviously Josh had gotten off to a terrific start, and I will give our other guys credit on the other end for understanding that. And for the most part, they knew what was going on. And certainly we were trying to run things for him to get him looks, which isn’t that unusual for us. But he just had a bounce to his step tonight, and he kept us in the game. And I don’t mean that, like, it was just Josh kept us in the game, because of what I just talked about. The other guys were doing their part. And then we just had that stretch where they run a 7-0 run or something like that and got some separation there going into halftime.”
On how difficult it is when other Mississippi State players besides Josh Hubbard can’t get going offensively
“I mean, we’ve had stretches like that all year long. And we’ve had stretches like that with other teams that Josh has played on. I thought as the game unfolded, as we got deeper into it, that other guys had some moments. Quincy (Ballard) made a couple plays, and, and Jayden Epps made a couple plays. Ja’Borri (McGhee) had the three and then the steal and the dunk. But we’ve been there before. It’s not foreign to us.”
On why Mississippi State is so inconsistent
“Yeah, if I could fix that, we’d be in a better mood. It’s frustrating a little bit. Certainly, you know, nobody plays their best all the time. That’s the goal. You always want more. You’re always pushing and prodding, and scratching and clawing, to try to get your team to play at the maximum that they’re capable of, but we all understand that doesn’t work all the time. Unfortunately, we’ve certainly been inconsistent. You know, that run that we had there in the second half to, you know, at least have the other team call a timeout or two, and start getting a little nervous about the lead dissipating the way it did. But that can’t be why we play a little bit harder. It’s gotta be from the jump. It’s gotta be from the get-go. It’s gotta be all the time. For whatever reason, I haven’t been able to push the right buttons to get them to play like that all the time.”
On the matchup with Tennessee being like a fist fight
“It’s what they always do. You know, you either gotta step in the ring or not, because they’re gonna drag you in there. And you’ve gotta decide if you’re gonna fight or flee. I thought it got better for us as the game unfolded, I thought guys got more confidence individually and certainly as a group of what it was gonna take to compete with that team and how they go about doing it. They set as physical screens as you’re gonna see, not just in our league, but anywhere. They have an old-school approach. They’re different that way, where they do a lot of off-ball screening and pin downs and fades and staggers, the way my generation grew up playing and coaching. A lot of motion principles. Not as many ball screens as most teams play. But when you play Coach (Rick) Barnes and Tennessee, certainly our team was well aware of that and educated about it. You better put your helmet on and you better be willing to do what it takes. ‘Cause if you don’t, you know, and we had stretches where we didn’t, and they punished us. And then we had some stretches, especially in the second half, where that wasn’t the case, but we didn’t have forty minutes of it.”
On how Mississippi State can build off its 18-0 run in the second half against Tennessee in its next game
“Yeah, I mean, I’m sure it’ll get discussed tomorrow, but that ain’t necessarily gonna help us win the game. It’s gonna have little bearing on Saturday’s outcome, and, you know, right now, not thinking about it too much. I’m sure here shortly, my mind will switch over to preparing for our next game, which happens to be on the road at Ole Miss. Certainly, you know, looking at it from a rivalry standpoint, we dug ourselves a hole with losing at home by one, and, you know, it didn’t sit well with us. But we get another crack to try to even the score, if you will, and I’m sure by tomorrow morning, we’ll be ready to attack that.”
