WATCH: Coach Jans Postgame Presser - New Orleans
November 24, 2025 | Men's Basketball
2025-26 Mississippi State Men's Basketball Postgame Quotes
Mississippi State vs. New Orleans – November 24, 2025
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Mississippi State Head Coach Chris Jans
Q: Take us through that game-winning shot by Amier Ali. I saw you jumping up and down there. Was it drawn up the way you hoped?
CJ: "Actually, it was what I was trying to get them to do. I was jumping up and down to try and get them into the positions that I wanted them. With them just basically doubling Hubb [Josh Hubbard] as he came across halfcourt towards the end of the game. You're just thinking, one, that it would be difficult to get him the ball back when he didn't have it in the front court. I didn't want to risk turning the ball over. Sometimes, that's hard. Then, the way they were positioned, we have a little term that we use across the court where we use Josh as a decoy and kind of ghost the ball and get Amier [Ali] going to his right hand. So, it was definitely looking hap hazard, but they did what we wanted them to do. I can't tell you that I told Amier to bank it in [the three-pointer] though."
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Q: Did you see your players taking more accountability on the court in the type of situations they were in late during the game?
CJ: "Certainly, we went down 13 with five [minutes] and some change left. The building wasn't jazzed up and deservedly so. It doesn't look good. But, what I am most proud of is, that we kept fighting. Those kids kept fighting, and we got a little bit of momentum. Then, the huddles obviously picked up, and the crowd picked up. I thought those [fans] that were there really helped us in the last couple minutes of the game, and then even overtime. It felt like it was double the actual people in the arena because of how loud they were."
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"But again, coming off the Kansas City weekend, I didn't know exactly where we would be because that's just the way it goes sometimes. I thought at the start of the game, pretty good, but it wasn't so good for a long stretch of the game after. I mean, if we can hold our hat on anything, is that there was zero quit in them [the players]. There was zero splintering. There was a lot of energy in the huddles, and there was a lot of encouragement with one another. At the end of the day, they just scratched, clawed and just found a way to get themselves back in the game."
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Q: What did you see from Amier Ali, and how he battled for minutes throughout the season?
CJ: "Yeah, I mean when he's in the game, it's pretty evident that he's going to shoot the ball. That's what he does, and the guys know it. So, when he's in the game, his shot attempts per minute are probably really high. It was again tonight. He played 20-plus minutes and had nine shots. He didn't make his free throws, which isn't like him."
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"We trusted him down the stretch. He was in there for some pivotal moments, and he came up big for us. I think he really read the defense a couple of times when they were doubling Josh, and he slipped there to the basket and got a couple of dunks that were big plays for us as well."
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Q: Are you impressed with Jamarion Davis-Fleming's defensive abilities and starting to trust what he's shown early on?
CJ: "He keeps earning our trust, that's the right word. He keeps doing what we ask him to do. He play 30 minutes tonight. His stat line wasn't gaudy, but we trusted him in the game to rebound, defend, protect the rim, play hard and set good ball screens. His skill development will come with time because he's a hardworking kid, but he has earned our trust more than I ever imagined at this point in a young career. I'm happy for him, and I'm proud of him."
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Q: Amier Ali didn't play in the home opener or the Southeastern Louisiana game. What was it that you were looking for in him to be apart of the rotation and get more minutes?
CJ: "He's been awesome in practice since then. Certainly, he was disappointed. Everyone is if they don't play, or they don't play the minutes that they think they deserve. That's just college basketball in general, but he didn't pout. He's as energized as anybody on the bench in the games."
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"In practice, he worked on the things that we told him he needed to work on to get himself more minutes and get in the rotation. Now that he's in there, he's trying to take advantage of it. He had seven rebounds against New Mexico, and he had five rebounds tonight. I don't remember him having any major breakdowns defensively from just watching it from where I sat. Certainly, it might be different looking at the film. The guys have a lot of confidence in him to shoot and score the ball. Everybody needs more scoring."
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Mississippi State vs. New Orleans – November 24, 2025
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Mississippi State Head Coach Chris Jans
Q: Take us through that game-winning shot by Amier Ali. I saw you jumping up and down there. Was it drawn up the way you hoped?
CJ: "Actually, it was what I was trying to get them to do. I was jumping up and down to try and get them into the positions that I wanted them. With them just basically doubling Hubb [Josh Hubbard] as he came across halfcourt towards the end of the game. You're just thinking, one, that it would be difficult to get him the ball back when he didn't have it in the front court. I didn't want to risk turning the ball over. Sometimes, that's hard. Then, the way they were positioned, we have a little term that we use across the court where we use Josh as a decoy and kind of ghost the ball and get Amier [Ali] going to his right hand. So, it was definitely looking hap hazard, but they did what we wanted them to do. I can't tell you that I told Amier to bank it in [the three-pointer] though."
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Q: Did you see your players taking more accountability on the court in the type of situations they were in late during the game?
CJ: "Certainly, we went down 13 with five [minutes] and some change left. The building wasn't jazzed up and deservedly so. It doesn't look good. But, what I am most proud of is, that we kept fighting. Those kids kept fighting, and we got a little bit of momentum. Then, the huddles obviously picked up, and the crowd picked up. I thought those [fans] that were there really helped us in the last couple minutes of the game, and then even overtime. It felt like it was double the actual people in the arena because of how loud they were."
Â
"But again, coming off the Kansas City weekend, I didn't know exactly where we would be because that's just the way it goes sometimes. I thought at the start of the game, pretty good, but it wasn't so good for a long stretch of the game after. I mean, if we can hold our hat on anything, is that there was zero quit in them [the players]. There was zero splintering. There was a lot of energy in the huddles, and there was a lot of encouragement with one another. At the end of the day, they just scratched, clawed and just found a way to get themselves back in the game."
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Q: What did you see from Amier Ali, and how he battled for minutes throughout the season?
CJ: "Yeah, I mean when he's in the game, it's pretty evident that he's going to shoot the ball. That's what he does, and the guys know it. So, when he's in the game, his shot attempts per minute are probably really high. It was again tonight. He played 20-plus minutes and had nine shots. He didn't make his free throws, which isn't like him."
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"We trusted him down the stretch. He was in there for some pivotal moments, and he came up big for us. I think he really read the defense a couple of times when they were doubling Josh, and he slipped there to the basket and got a couple of dunks that were big plays for us as well."
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Q: Are you impressed with Jamarion Davis-Fleming's defensive abilities and starting to trust what he's shown early on?
CJ: "He keeps earning our trust, that's the right word. He keeps doing what we ask him to do. He play 30 minutes tonight. His stat line wasn't gaudy, but we trusted him in the game to rebound, defend, protect the rim, play hard and set good ball screens. His skill development will come with time because he's a hardworking kid, but he has earned our trust more than I ever imagined at this point in a young career. I'm happy for him, and I'm proud of him."
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Q: Amier Ali didn't play in the home opener or the Southeastern Louisiana game. What was it that you were looking for in him to be apart of the rotation and get more minutes?
CJ: "He's been awesome in practice since then. Certainly, he was disappointed. Everyone is if they don't play, or they don't play the minutes that they think they deserve. That's just college basketball in general, but he didn't pout. He's as energized as anybody on the bench in the games."
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"In practice, he worked on the things that we told him he needed to work on to get himself more minutes and get in the rotation. Now that he's in there, he's trying to take advantage of it. He had seven rebounds against New Mexico, and he had five rebounds tonight. I don't remember him having any major breakdowns defensively from just watching it from where I sat. Certainly, it might be different looking at the film. The guys have a lot of confidence in him to shoot and score the ball. Everybody needs more scoring."
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Players Mentioned
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/ Men's BasketballMEN'S BASKETBALL | Amier Ali & Ja'Borri McGhee Postgame Press Conference vs. New Orleans - 11/24/25
Monday, November 24
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Monday, November 24
MEN'S BASKETBALL | Chris Jans Postgame Press Conference vs. New Mexico - 11/21/25
Saturday, November 22
MEN'S BASKETBALL | Chris Jans Postgame Press Conference vs. Kansas State - 11/20/25
Friday, November 21