Bringing Practice Into The Game
November 14, 2022 | Men's Basketball, Joel Coleman
Chris Jans' group excelling at defending and rebounding.
STARKVILLE – He told you so.
Back nearly eight months ago, before Chris Jans' feet had even touched Starkville soil, he let his intentions for his new team be known in his first interview as Mississippi State's coach while on a plane headed to his new home.
"At the end of the day, we want to have rebounding and toughness and defense in our back pocket," Jans said at the time. "It's the old cliché about how all that travels on buses and planes. Sometimes, for whatever reasons, the shots don't go down, but you can still win games even if you're not shooting the ball well."
It made for a good quote at the time, but three games into the Jans era at MSU, you see those were so much more than words. Jans is about action and doing what he says, and he has a team that's practicing every bit of what he's preaching.
After Sunday's 80-47 win over Arkansas-Pine Bluff, the Bulldogs sit at 3-0. A couple of common themes in the trio of triumphs has been State's relentless defense and endless pursuit of the basketball. The Dawgs emphasize those things in their practices and it's carrying over on gameday.
Let's start with the defense. Mississippi State has allowed just 48.33 points per game this season. That's tops in the entire Southeastern Conference and the 13th-best mark in the country (As of 11/14). The Bulldogs have limited opponents to a 31.3 percent field goal percentage, which stands at second in the league and 19th in the nation (As of 11/14). Oh, but there's more as this defense is performing at a historical clip.
Remember that aforementioned 48.33 points per game given up? That's the lowest amount of offense the Bulldogs have allowed through three games in modern program history, dating back to the 1955-56 campaign and legendary coach Babe McCarthy's first season.
MSU's defense has been particularly stingy in the final 20 minutes of games so far this year. The Dawgs have held foes to just 26-of-85 shooting (30.6 percent) in the second half. It's served as a spark for State's offense as the Maroon and White has outscored opponents 115-69 after halftime.
"Since day one coming in, [Coach Jans has] been making defense our focal point," senior forward D.J. Jeffries said. "That's what he wants us to do. We go out and pressure people with our defense and let our defense create our offense."
Of course, the State offense is also helped by how these Dawgs crash the boards. MSU has had the rebounding edge in all three games this season, most recently holding a 46-34 rebounding advantage over Arkansas-Pine Bluff. State has outrebounded its last two opponents by a +30 margin. On average this season, MSU sports a +13 rebounding margin – a total that stands second in the SEC.
But the Bulldogs don't just chase missed shots. They'll take the ball away from you, too. MSU's 12 steals per game is third in the SEC and 25th in all of college hoops.
As great as all that is, here's the best stats of all for State. It's led to a +23.67 scoring margin that has allowed MSU and Jans to go unbeaten through three. Jans is now the 10th head coach in State hoops history to win his opening three games.
Defense. Rebounding. Toughness.
Jans knew those three ingredients were a recipe for success, and his Dawgs are proving it early in his State tenure.
