WATCH: Coach Jans Media Session

STARKVILLE - Mississippi State men's basketball head coach Chris Jans met the media leading into Thursday's practice to preview this weekend's matchup versus Memphis at Humphrey Coliseum.

2025-26 Mississippi State Men's Basketball Quotes
Media Session – December 18, 2025

Mississippi State Head Coach Chris Jans
Q: You've talked often about your defense being able to guard the ball out front. What have you seen from your defense so far and more so recently from that aspect of things?
CJ: "Yeah, we can talk about that for days. I've always said that, and I still believe that it's true that you can have all sorts of schemes with your ball screen coverage, with your post entry d coverage or with what kind of gap strength or deny strength you do or don't have. I don't care if it's man or zone, at that point of attack where the ball is colliding with the defender or two people in a ball screen situation are colliding with two defenders. What's behind them, again it's what your system is. But, if you're not very good at point of attack or if you're not very good at guarding the ball over and over, then you're always going to be behind. You're always going to be in a tougher situation."

"Big picture, can you win games from behind? Yeah, of course, but it's easier and better to play with elite, just like defensively. You don't want to play from behind and rely on the guys behind you, the gap strength and the shot blocking or shielding, or whatever the case is, your help situation. I think we're better than maybe we were at it, but it's something that we constantly talk about. That we constantly drill. Hopefully, we'll get better and better at it."

Q: Memphis has a very different roster from last year, but do they play similar stylistically?
CJ: "No, it's entirely different if I'm not mistaken. I don't think they have anybody back from last year that is playing or in their rotation. I could be wrong about that, but I'm pretty sure that if it's not entirely new, then maybe there's one guy back."

"It's different. They've got different strengths and weaknesses than their team did last year. Playing them last year won't have anything to do with playing them this year on both sides. For us too, we've obviously got a completely different look and feel as a team. Like I said, they certainly do. We played them there last year, and we play them here this year. So, it's a whole new team."

"The things that jump out at first glance about them is just their depth. They've got to be one of the leading programs in the country in terms of how many guys they play on a consistent basis and how many double-digit minute averages they have. They've got so many guys that can hurt you. So, it's difficult to prepare for in that way. The personnel scouting will be the longest one that maybe we'll have all year long. Then, you look at their numbers. Defensively, they're a top-40 defensive team in the country with their athleticism and their length. On the offensive glass, that's probably one of their best attributes is how they attack the offensive glass and create second and third opportunities for their team. Certainly, there's a lot to get ready for, but those things stick out."

Q: You've mentioned that it's frustrating at times not knowing who to play from a rotation standpoint. What does the process look like deciding who plays from a minutes standpoint?
CJ: "Yeah, the process is the same. I've been saying it forever internally and externally. Everybody wants to play. Normally, if you ask someone before the season started with how many minutes they think they should play, it's usually a bigger number than they actually play. That's not just at Mississippi State, that's everywhere in the country. This year is no different. Then, you do the math, and it doesn't add up. You've only got 200 minutes and it's like we've got a problem here."

"In terms of how you earn your minutes, obviously in the summer and the fall, it's about practice. It's not about what you did last year here or anywhere else. It's a fresh start for us. You earn them in practice and in the scrimmages or closed-door situations that your team has, that certainly has something to do with it. Then, as your productivity gets in the games or not, that usually determines going forward if you get more minutes for the same or less. At this point in the year, certainly, practice still has a lot to do with it, especially the guys who aren't playing at all or very little. That's their time to show us that I deserve more, and I'm still bought in and going to work to carve out whatever role that could be for this particular team. We've got a handful of guys that are in that boat."

"Fingers crossed for me and our staff, you've got two days before the game to take someone's minutes, right? Show us that we're screwing up. Then, get in the game and be productive. It isn't about scoring points. It's about everything else. That's what we need is more of everything else from a couple more guys to give us more consistency, to give us more quality depth and to show us this is what our rotation should look like."

Q: Have you seen the growth you have been looking for after winning three of the last four games during the month of December?
CJ: "You know, it's nice that we've been able to win some close games. We lost some close games prior to winning three out of four. If we had won those close games, the narrative would be slightly different or more than slightly, but it's not."

"So, I'm glad we've been able to learn from those mistakes because, like I keep telling them and everybody else, we're going to be in a lot of close games. We've got to use our experiences. We've got to play smart and timely basketball. It all matters, but the obvious is that towards the end that time runs out. You don't have any more time to make up for earlier mistakes."

"So, that's certainly a positive. I would hope that our team's confidence, I haven't met with them as a group yet until later this afternoon. We gave them yesterday as a day off because we haven't had one in a while with the travel and the timing of finals and just who we played where. So, we felt like everybody needed a 24-hour period to just get right and lock in and focus on this last game before Christmas, which is what we're trying to do."

Q: Does this feel like another opportunity where you can use it as a springboard into some momentum as you get further into the season?
CJ: "They're all big games. But, certainly right now, it's the biggest game of the year. You could say that because it's our next game on our schedule, but it's more than that. It's Memphis. It's right up the road and a storied program. Like you said, that was last year and a heck of a way to go into Christmas break, and we played awfully well that afternoon. It doesn't have any bearing on Saturday's game, but I'm hopeful that our community and our fanbase will come out and support these guys and be looking forward to having a program like this come to Humphrey Coliseum. It's hard, certainly SEC teams have no choice, you get the schedule and then you play it. But it's difficult to get 'Power 5 teams' to play in your home arena sometimes. It's difficult for a lot of people to do that. So, we're excited that we were able to get some quality programs to come in here. I'm just hopeful for our kids that there's a good environment. It's an ESPN game right before Christmas. We've won three out of four, and it would be just a really good shot in the arm for us to win the game and play well."

Mississippi State University Athletics

WATCH: Coach Jans Media Session

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