Gameday: Five Things To Know MSU-Texas A&M-Corpus Christi

Monday, November 7

Starkville

6:30 PM

Mississippi State

Texas A&M - Corpus Christi

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Photo by: Mississippi State Athletics

Gameday: Five Things To Know MSU-Texas A&M-Corpus Christi

November 06, 2022 | Men's Basketball

WATCH: MSU vs. TAMU-CC [SECN+]LISTEN: Hail State On-Demand Buy Tickets Fan Gameday Central Live Stats Notes (PDF)

by Matt Dunaway, Director/Communications

STARKVILLE – Following 231 days of anticipation, Mississippi State men's basketball program will take the court under first-year coach Chris Jans as the Bulldogs begin the 2022-23 docket with Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on Monday evening at Humphrey Coliseum.

State will look to take its initial step towards a fifth straight postseason appearance when postseason tournaments have been played and a return to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2018-19.

Jans ushered in an unprecedented run of success over the last five seasons at New Mexico State where "The Man" guided the Aggies to a 122-32 record fueled by three NCAA Tournament trips. His squad pulled a patented 12-5 upset of No. 21 Connecticut during the 2022 Big Dance and limited fourth-seeded Arkansas to season lows in points (53) and field goal percentage (27.5) in the NCAA Round of 32.

The Islanders are the defending Southland Conference champions and return all five starters from a team that amassed 23 victories last season.

SERIES HISTORY & SEASON OPENERS
Mississippi State won both meetings of a home-and-home series with Texas A&M-Corpus Christi by an average of 24.5 points per contest during the 2006-07 and 2007-08 seasons.

The Bulldogs have won eight of their last nine season openers and returned to the win column with a 75-49 rout of North Alabama at Humphrey Coliseum last season.

The Matchup: Mississippi State (0-0, 0-0 SEC) vs. Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (0-0, 0-0 Southland)
Where: Starkville, Mississippi – Humphrey Coliseum
When: Monday, November 7, 6:30 p.m. CT
Live Stats: StatBroadcast (https://hailst.at/MBKLiveStats)
Fan Gameday Central: (https://hailst.at/BasketballGameday)

Stream: SEC Network+ (ESPN App only)
Talent: Bart Gregory and Charlie Winfield
Online: ESPN App (Cable Subscription Required)
(https://hailst.at/WatchESPN)

Radio: Mississippi State Sports Network – Powered by Learfield
Talent: Neil Price, Richard Williams
Affiliates: WKBB-FM 100.9 Starkville/West Point (Full List: https://hailst.at/MBKAffiliates)
Free Online Audio: Hail State On-Demand (https://hailst.at/MBKListen); The Varsity Network App

FROM THE LOCKER ROOM – COACH JANS
"When we're fresh and we feel good, we play pretty hard, and we defend pretty well. We're still not as good as where I want to be in terms of rebounding the ball both offensively or defensively. We have too big of a drop off right now with how hard we play from when we're fresh and first get into the scrimmage, game or practice compared to when they get a little bit winded or distracted."

"In terms of rotations, that's still up in the air. We've still got a lot of guys that are fighting and scrambling for minutes. We're real blunt in practice and in video. They know there's competition, and they know they're being evaluated every single day. It will just unfold the way it does. I can't predict who's going to get better and who's going to produce when the lights come on. Some people cower when it's their time, and some people rise up to the occasion."

"I don't know if I'll have butterflies or not. I hope I do; it's a fun type of feeling. You do it for long enough that you don't get them very often anymore. I know that I'll be excited, and I'll be anxious just like you guys are and hopefully our fan base is to see who you are and how we're going to play. Again, how I'll feel, you'll have to ask me around nine o'clock [tomorrow]."

"I know they'll be very well coached and well prepared. I've got a great relationship with their head coach, Steve Lutz, and he comes from a great coaching pedigree. He's done a wonderful job since he's arrived at Corpus Christi. I know they're excited about their program. They're coming off an NCAA Tournament appearance, and they've got all five starters back. They'll be really good on the defensive end. They'll play man-to-man. They'll play tough, hard-nosed old school defense. They're certainly well versed on offense as well."

FIVE THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT MISSISSIPPI STATE
1. Chris Jans, one of the nation's premier bench bosses, leads State's program. He is assisted by James Miller, David Anwar and George Brooks. His New Mexico State program which Miller and Anwar were apart of became the Western Athletic Conference's (WAC) standard bearer after racking up four regular season championships, three NCAA Tournament appearances and three WAC Tournament titles.

Jans, a three-time WAC Coach of the Year, owns an impressive .765 winning percentage (143-44) entering his seventh season as a NCAA Division I head coach. The .765 clip ranks third nationally among active NCAA head coaches which sits only behind Gonzaga's Mark Few (.837) and Kansas' Bill Self (.768).

As a junior college head coach, Jans won the 1997-98 NJCAA Division II National Championship at Kirkwood Community College in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. He also played a vital role as an assistant coach at Wichita State which was headed by a 2013 NCAA Final Four run, five NCAA Tournament trips and four Missouri Valley Conference regular season crowns.

2. Tolu Smith is one of nine players to capture All-SEC Preseason First-Team accolades. The Bulldogs have had a player secure those honors during four of the last five seasons. Smith is joined by Quinndary Weatherspoon (2018-19), Reggie Perry (2019-20) and Iverson Molinar (2021-22), who each garnered All-SEC Preseason First-Team selections by the conference coaches.

Smith has started 50 of his 51 career appearances in the Maroon and White where he has amassed 675 points, 390 rebounds and connected on 57.4 percent of his field goal attempts. He has piled up 36 career outings in double figures, 13 double-doubles and registered seven of his nine outings of 20-plus points versus SEC competition.
Smith finished the 2021-22 campaign on a strong note where he pumped home 19.0 points and 7.6 rebounds per contest over State's last seven games. He amassed four performances of 20-plus points and a trio of double-doubles over the seven-game run.

3. In addition to Smith, State's returning group is highlighted by D.J. Jeffries, Cameron Matthews and Shakeel Moore. The quarter combined to average 49.3 percent of the team's points, 48.4 percent of the team's rebounds, 43.9 percent of the team's assists, 52.9 percent of the team's steals and 46.9 percent of the team's blocks over 90 starts last season.

Jeffries enters the season 216 points shy of 1,00 for his career. He has provided double figures in 42 career games where Mississippi State and Memphis has garnered a 32-10 record.

Matthews secured six of his top eight scoring performances in 2021-22. Jeffries and Matthews, high school teammates who won a state championship at Olive Branch, showcased their versality en route to 25 games with 5+ rebounds, 24 games with 2+ assists, 18 games with 2+ steals and 10 games with 2+ blocks.

Moore has collected 12 of his 17 career games with 10-plus points in Maroon and White. Mississippi State and NC State are 13-4 when Moore secures double figures. He has tallied multiple steals in 29 career games and his 54 steals last season were the most by a MSU player since Lamar Peters in 2018-19.

4. The Bulldogs have brought in five talented transfers which include Dashawn Davis (Oregon State), Jamel Horton Jr. (UAlbany), Will McNair Jr. (New Mexico State), Eric Reed Jr. (Southeast Missouri) and Tyler Stevenson (Southern Miss).

Davis was the Pac-12's leader in assists with 5.5 dimes per game and a solid 2.2 assist-to-turnover ratio with Oregon State. The last Oregon State player to lead the Pac-12 was Gary Payton, a Naismith Hall of Famer and NBA 75th Anniversary Team member. Davis was one of two Pac-12 players to rank inside the league's top 15 in points (12.6 – 13th) along with top 5 marks in assists (6.1 – 1st) and steals (1.4 – 5th) in conference games.

Horton Jr., the 2022 America East Defensive Player of the Year, started 41 games over two seasons at UAlbany. He turned in 32 outings in double figures, 16 outings with 5+ assists and 12 outings with multiple steals. Horton Jr. was one of two America East players to rank among the league's top 11 in points (12.8 – 11th), assists (3.9 – 2nd) and steals (1.1 – 10th).

McNair Jr. improved his stat averages each season under Coach Jans at New Mexico State. He has connected on 55.8 percent of his field goal attempts and started 27 games headlined by both NCAA Tournament games last season.

Reed Jr., a 2022 All-Ohio Valley First-Team and NABC All-District 18 Second-Team pick, earned 51 starts in two seasons at Southeast Missouri. He was the only OVC player to rank among the league's top 10 in points (16.1 – 6th), free throw percentage (81.5 – 3rd) and three-point percentage (36.2 – 10th). Reed Jr. drained multiple triples in 38 games and had 36 games in double figures.

Stevenson registered 74 starts over four seasons where he notched 2021-22 All-Conference USA Honorable Mention and was a Bailey Howell Trophy finalist at Southern Miss. He was one of three USM players to pile up over 1,200 career points and 600-plus rebounds during the 2000s. Stevenson finished 2021-22 a fixture among the C-USA leaders in points (14.5 – 13th), rebounds (7.5 – 5th) and blocks (1.1 – 10th).

5. Mississippi State freshmen class includes redshirt freshman KeShawn Murphy coupled with true freshmen Kimani Hamilton, Martavious Russell and Shawn Jones Jr.

Hamilton and Murphy are ESPN top 100 prospects for their respective classes. Hamilton's father, Tang (1998-99-2000-01), sits among MSU's top 20 in points (1,307 – 20th) and rebounds (677 – Tied for 16th).

Visit www.HailState.com for the latest news and information on the men's basketball program. Fans also can follow the program on its social media outlets by searching 'HailStateMBK' on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.