WATCH: Coach Jans Postgame Presser - No. 2 Houston

HOUSTON, Texas - Mississippi State men's basketball head coach Chris Jans met with the media following Sunday's 61-52 defeat to No. 2 Houston during The Preview Exhibition.

2025-26 Mississippi State Men's Basketball Postgame Quotes
Mississippi State vs. No. 2 Houston – October 26, 2025 – The Preview Exhibition

Head Coach Chris Jans
Q: You played a lot of guys tonight, was that a part of the plan, or were you just adjusting on how the game went?
CJ: "It was. Everyone treats these opportunities differently. I'm a big fan of seeing what we have up and down the roster. We've got a lot of new players, like most people in the country. We only get a couple of these [exhibition] opportunities. We like to throw them into the deep end and just see how they react. See how they react and compete or don't, for that matter. That's definitely been the plan in our two [exhibition] opportunities thus far. I think we played 12 guys for eight minutes or more and 13 [players] total. It'll be great tape, and hopefully it'll be a great learning experience for us."

Q: How did you feel about the effort of your team, especially from the younger guys?
CJ: "If I'm being honest, I thought it would be like walking out into the cold when we started the game. You're so cold, and you think you're never going to recover. I think that's what it felt like for our team [at the beginning]. It was 9-1 if I'm not mistaken. We were having a hard time getting a shot off without turning the ball over. We were having a hard time securing a defensive rebound when the ball was shot."

"Certainly, when you play Houston, you know that's going to be the case. I was happy and proud that they took a big punch [early], and then they punched back. They punched back. Whenever you're going into these games, you're always curious. You know you're going to have some adversity, and we had some real adversity on the road. For the most part, I thought our guys handled it pretty well."

Q: Josh Hubbard only had two points in the first half but had 16 points in the second. What adjustment did he make?
CJ: "You'd have to ask him. We started and said that you can't even mess with ball screens when a team like Houston. We tried to run our stuff early and had to throw it out the window and did some stuff on the fly. We just try to act like we're presenting a ball screen, then dash out of it, but they've seen it all. Everybody's worried when you come in to play Houston and Coach [Kelvin] Sampson and their staff that they're going to get two on the ball and just make it a nightmare. They were as advertised. We really struggled, in the first half especially. I thought we were much better with attacking it and handling the pressure with two on the ball [in the second half]."

"Josh, I thought he missed some shots that he normally makes in the first half. Certainly, I didn't have any talks with him [at halftime]. He's a savvy veteran. Then, once he hit one and saw it go through the net, and anyone that's watched him or who follows this program knows that he's got a chance to make three or four more. Then, very uncharacteristic of him, he missed those free throws like that, which definitely hurt us a bit."

Q: Achor Achor picked up a couple of early fouls and had to sit early. What did you see from your interior defense with him out?
CJ: "Yeah, that wasn't ideal. We had him, and Delly [Dellquan Warren] with two [fouls quickly]. We played Achor and Delly a little bit, and they escaped the first half without getting a third foul. Then, it opened up an opportunity for Jamar [Jamarion Davis-Fleming] to get in there and compete. He's really been getting better since he arrived, he's a true freshman. It wasn't perfect, but he got out there and looked like a player. He moved like a player and looked like a player. He's got some athleticism into the game, and hopefully that will give him some confidence going forward."

Q: You just went down to the wire with a very talented team. What does that tell you about this team?
CJ: "I'm so grateful that we had this opportunity. Once we agreed to play, I was giddy about it since the spring. To play a program coached by Kelvin Sampson, Kellen Sampson and their whole staff. They're the gold standard for a lot of coaches in terms of their culture and how they go about their business. How they compete and how their kids act on the court."

"I wanted to see where we were with this particular team. Certainly, you can talk about those kinds of things until you're blue in the face. But, once you get out there and you're competing, you realize how intense it is. You realize how every loose ball is magnified. It's a street fight around the basket. Again, we'll see how we feel about it when we get on the plane and break the film down. But, firsthand, I thought we didn't back down. I thought we competed pretty well."

"We had a chance to make it a real game there down the stretch, but they ran one of their plays where they curled a guy [out of the timeout]. We had someone in the game that hadn't played for a minute or two, and he blew an assignment. It was a big play. But, overall, it was an awesome experience for us. I told coach after the game that we were grateful they agreed to play us down here because I really think we're going to get better from it."

Mississippi State University Athletics

WATCH: Coach Jans Postgame Presser - No. 2 Houston

Players Mentioned

Achor Achor

Jamarion Davis-Fleming

Josh Hubbard

Dellquan Warren

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