WATCH: Coach Jans Postgame Presser - No. 4 Alabama
January 30, 2025 | Men's Basketball
STARKVILLE - Mississippi State head coach Chris Jans met with the media following tonight's game with No. 4 Alabama.
2024-25 Mississippi State Men's Basketball Postgame Quotes
No. 14 Mississippi State vs. No. 4 Alabama - January 29, 2024
Mississippi State Head Coach Chris Jans
Q: Obviously, you can point to a lot of different factors, but what did you see in the final seconds? That's a tough miss for KeShawn Murphy.
CJ: "We're definitely not going to point to that. That was the first thing I told him [Murphy] in the locker room., 'This ain't on you'. There are multiple plays in a game like that. Even if he makes that shot, it doesn't necessarily mean we're going to win this game. He was distraught over it, but that's not why we lost this game."
Q: It seemed like Josh Hubbard was more intentional offensively, not just living behind the three-point line. What did you think about how he attacked offensively tonight?
CJ: "He had a heck of an individual performance. It's sad that it's going to come in a loss. We saw that in games, and certainly see it in practice a lot. Our guys understand that when he's in one of those modes, we all have to get involved. Get the ball in space and let him do what he does. I wish we could've done a better job on the pitch play when it felt like they weren't going to foul. That was my biggest worry, that we needed to get a shot off before they could set their defense, but they fouled us. I couldn't see it from where I was, but they obviously got a hand in there. We weren't able to complete it."
Q: What's it going to take to get your three-point defense to a level where you can win games like this?
CJ: "Yeah, we lost two high-level games at home to teams that basically beat us at the three-point line. Kentucky went 16-of-32, and Alabama was 15-of-31. It's also what Kentucky does to a lot of people. They beat Tennessee last night and went 12-of-24 I believe. Alabama, even though they haven't been shooting it as well as in years past, they're very capable of getting hot from three. We were intent on turning them over as much as we could. I felt like we were pretty impressive with two on the ball a lot, but credit to their handlers because they survived some tough traps. When we commit like that and don't get a tip or a steal, it's hard to rotate when you've got guys that can shoot from range. It's kind of picking your poison a little bit."
Q: This team hasn't been able to beat a top 10 team yet, what's it going to take to win some of those games moving forward?
CJ: "My deduction at this point is that we're not a top ten team. We've lost four games to top ten teams, and I don't like admitting that because I like this team. I'm confident in this team, I believe in this group. I told them that before the game, during and after the game, as well. We just have to stay the course. Would've, could've, should've, but it's a very hurt locker room from the top down. We expect them to be hurt. They poured their hearts out, and we didn't win. We've got more work to do."
Q: Dellquan Warren got some good minutes in due to foul trouble early. What are your thoughts about how he played?
CJ: "We actually planned to play him regardless of foul trouble for a number of reasons. Alabama is known for their pace and the number of possessions they have. We felt like we needed to make sure we were in position to be good with our cardio, and our legs down the stretch."
"He played well. He looked like he belonged out there. He had a couple of nifty passes that turned into buckets and was strong on defense. That should certainly boost his confidence going forward."
Q: What did you see from your bigs tonight?
CJ: "Both of them really battled. Murph [KeShawn Murphy] wasn't on-point early in the game. So, we were on him pretty well. He responded with some rebounds before the half and made it feel like we were in the game. He had a bunch of rebounds and buckets."
"Mike [Michael Nwoko] is continuing to play with more of an edge. He's such a wonderful kid, and we've been trying to get him to play with a different on-court personality. In the end, what people don't talk about, is Alabama's rebounding prowess. They put a lot of pressure on you when the ball is shot. They come at you in waves and have great depth. That was as big of a reason that they won. That, and the free throw checkout late that we couldn't secure."
2024-25 Mississippi State Men's Basketball Postgame Quotes
No. 14 Mississippi State vs. No. 4 Alabama - January 29, 2024
Mississippi State Head Coach Chris Jans
Q: Obviously, you can point to a lot of different factors, but what did you see in the final seconds? That's a tough miss for KeShawn Murphy.
CJ: "We're definitely not going to point to that. That was the first thing I told him [Murphy] in the locker room., 'This ain't on you'. There are multiple plays in a game like that. Even if he makes that shot, it doesn't necessarily mean we're going to win this game. He was distraught over it, but that's not why we lost this game."
Q: It seemed like Josh Hubbard was more intentional offensively, not just living behind the three-point line. What did you think about how he attacked offensively tonight?
CJ: "He had a heck of an individual performance. It's sad that it's going to come in a loss. We saw that in games, and certainly see it in practice a lot. Our guys understand that when he's in one of those modes, we all have to get involved. Get the ball in space and let him do what he does. I wish we could've done a better job on the pitch play when it felt like they weren't going to foul. That was my biggest worry, that we needed to get a shot off before they could set their defense, but they fouled us. I couldn't see it from where I was, but they obviously got a hand in there. We weren't able to complete it."
Q: What's it going to take to get your three-point defense to a level where you can win games like this?
CJ: "Yeah, we lost two high-level games at home to teams that basically beat us at the three-point line. Kentucky went 16-of-32, and Alabama was 15-of-31. It's also what Kentucky does to a lot of people. They beat Tennessee last night and went 12-of-24 I believe. Alabama, even though they haven't been shooting it as well as in years past, they're very capable of getting hot from three. We were intent on turning them over as much as we could. I felt like we were pretty impressive with two on the ball a lot, but credit to their handlers because they survived some tough traps. When we commit like that and don't get a tip or a steal, it's hard to rotate when you've got guys that can shoot from range. It's kind of picking your poison a little bit."
Q: This team hasn't been able to beat a top 10 team yet, what's it going to take to win some of those games moving forward?
CJ: "My deduction at this point is that we're not a top ten team. We've lost four games to top ten teams, and I don't like admitting that because I like this team. I'm confident in this team, I believe in this group. I told them that before the game, during and after the game, as well. We just have to stay the course. Would've, could've, should've, but it's a very hurt locker room from the top down. We expect them to be hurt. They poured their hearts out, and we didn't win. We've got more work to do."
Q: Dellquan Warren got some good minutes in due to foul trouble early. What are your thoughts about how he played?
CJ: "We actually planned to play him regardless of foul trouble for a number of reasons. Alabama is known for their pace and the number of possessions they have. We felt like we needed to make sure we were in position to be good with our cardio, and our legs down the stretch."
"He played well. He looked like he belonged out there. He had a couple of nifty passes that turned into buckets and was strong on defense. That should certainly boost his confidence going forward."
Q: What did you see from your bigs tonight?
CJ: "Both of them really battled. Murph [KeShawn Murphy] wasn't on-point early in the game. So, we were on him pretty well. He responded with some rebounds before the half and made it feel like we were in the game. He had a bunch of rebounds and buckets."
"Mike [Michael Nwoko] is continuing to play with more of an edge. He's such a wonderful kid, and we've been trying to get him to play with a different on-court personality. In the end, what people don't talk about, is Alabama's rebounding prowess. They put a lot of pressure on you when the ball is shot. They come at you in waves and have great depth. That was as big of a reason that they won. That, and the free throw checkout late that we couldn't secure."
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