Chemistry Coming To Life
February 13, 2023 | Men's Basketball, Joel Coleman
Bulldogs have been boosted by trust in each other.
STARKVILLE – It was three or four hours before last Saturday's critical contest at Arkansas and Mississippi State head coach Chris Jans had something to share with his team.
This wasn't Jans' typical pregame message, but he felt the moment was right.
"I told them how good I felt about where we were at," Jans recounted on Monday. "You could feel the energy in the room kind of uplift a little bit. I said, 'Who knows what the outcome of [this game's] going to be, but I feel really good about where you're at and how the group has come together and the vibe that we have. I feel like, because of your work, you deserve to win.'
"That was a constant theme throughout our timeouts. That was kind of our rallying cry is to believe in the confidence that we have in one another."
Jans' belief in his squad and the Bulldogs' belief in each other was rewarded. MSU topped Arkansas 70-64 on the Hogs' home floor. It was an impressive victory to say the least, made even more notable by where and when it happened.
Arkansas thrives at home. It's seemed like an annual certainty for years and Razorbacks head coach Eric Musselman has continued that trend over his time in Fayetteville.
Since Musselman assumed the role as the boss Hog in 2019, Arkansas had gone 58-7 at Bud Walton Arena coming into Saturday. Throw in the fact that Musselman was 13-1 in the month of February over the last two seasons entering the MSU game and it's easy to see how the deck was stacked against the Dawgs.
No one in Maroon and White blinked. Mississippi State led for over 35 minutes of the game on the way to notching its fifth-consecutive victory and placing itself firmly back in the NCAA Tournament conversation.
To fully appreciate that fact, it bears remembering where MSU has been. This is a Bulldog group that started conference play by dropping seven of its first eight. There were many almosts and could-have-beens in that stretch, but the fact remained that MSU was digging itself quite a hole.
Some teams might've imploded. Not this team.
The same chemistry that Jans sensed ahead of the Arkansas game carried the Bulldogs through the darkest of times.
"If we didn't feel the way we do about each other, this season would be going differently," guard Dashawn Davis said. "We'd be pointing fingers. You know how it can go when teams start losing. So, it's good we've got that chemistry."
One on-court sequence in the Arkansas game perhaps perfectly illustrated the behind-the-scenes closeness of the Bulldogs.
The Razorbacks had trimmed the State lead from 16 down to seven with just under seven minutes to play. MSU was in need of a boost.
Arkansas looked to continue its momentum by trapping MSU's Shakeel Moore in hopes of forcing a turnover. Eric Reed, Jr. was left wide open on the wing. Moore dished the ball to Reed, who caught it outside the arc. Reed immediately drained the long-distance shot.
State's bench erupted in joy and not just for the three points. They were excited to see their brother deliver.
Reed hadn't sank a trey in nearly a full month. He'd missed 16 straight 3s. When the basketball tickled the twine in Fayetteville, it set off a celebration for everyone – for Reed, as well as the teammates that'd had his back through his struggles.
"The team, I overheard them [at practice] talking to [Reed], giving positive encouragement," Jans shared.
Added Moore: "I kept telling [Reed] every day, 'Keep shooting. You're a 43 percent shooter over your career. Don't lose sight of that.'"
All the support carried Reed through his drought and enabled him to deliver a decisive blow against the Hogs. This type of thing isn't uncommon with the Bulldogs either. It's been that way all year.
Some teams hope to be tight. They'll talk about closeness and wish for it. Meanwhile these Bulldogs actually ARE.
"We all like each other and really like to be around each other," Davis said. "We really do everything together."
Jans has been around the block a time or two. The veteran coach knows how special all this is.
"Every year, you've always got raised eyebrows wondering, 'How is this team going to come together?' Because you never know," Jans said. "People throw [the words] chemistry around and camaraderie. You do what you do as a coach to have a hand in [creating] it. But at the end of the day, it's about the time they're spending together when I'm not around. What are those relationships like?
"I've had really tight teams and not so tight. You just never know how it'll unfold. But I definitely think this group has come together nicely. They root for one another. They care for one another."
And the results are showing it.
By the time the tilt against the Razorbacks concluded on Saturday, Jans was inside a celebratory locker room surrounded by his team – a close-knit group of guys with a common goal of securing a berth in the NCAA Tournament.
Jans lived in the moment. He danced with his players as the music blared loudly. The scene has since been shared hundreds of times on social media.
"Isn't the saying, 'Dance like nobody's watching?' Isn't that what you're supposed to do when you let your hair down?" Jans said.
If State can continue to stick together as it has so far, Jans and the Bulldogs just might get the chance to attend another dance – a big dance – very, very soon.
