WATCH: Coach Jans Media Session

2024-25 Mississippi State Men's Basketball
Media Session – March 10, 2025

Head Coach Chris Jans
Q: I noticed against Arkansas that you guys played a little more zone. It that something you may look at more, or does it depend on game flow and matchups?
CJ: "We've played some zone throughout the season. We probably have more possessions of zone in that particular game. It's a little more of a junk look than an actual old school zone not to get into the weeds on it."

"When you're down like that and on the road, you're looking for something to disrupt them and get them out of their rhythm. It almost worked. They struggled on a few possessions. But, in the end, they scored enough obviously to keep us at bay. Who knows if it will be required here down in Nashville or after that."

Q: Claudell Harris Jr. had a big game on Saturday. What have you noticed from him lately since he's moved into that bench role?
CJ: "Yeah, I think at this point in your career when you're in that position, he made a conscious move to go to a little higher level than he's experienced in the past. From talking to him and his parents during the process and even since, playing in the NCAA Tournament was a big reason why he made the change that he did. He wanted to have that experience, and I think he understood that because of moving up a level that maybe his numbers wouldn't be as glossy as they were in his previous three seasons."

"It's one of those things in life where it's easy to say, but it's a little more difficult when you're actually going through it because he's been used to basically being the leading scorer or one of the leading scorers. That's an adjustment for anybody to make, and he's not the only one in college basketball that's been going through it. He's definitely hit the reset button. You can see it with his approach in practice, and I'm happy for him. Certainly, he's not happy about the end result, but hopefully it's something that he'll continue doing where we're just a better team. We've got him and a couple other guys that are making baskets for us."

Q: Is there something with this particular group of players that have a beneficial trait or strength that you can go into a tournament like this and play a game every single day to possibly make a run and win the tournament?
CJ: "Yeah, I don't know. They're resilient. From what I see and hear in the time that I get to spend with them, they've got a good vibe. They like each other. We're all human. When things don't go the way we want them to go for us individually, unfortunately especially for young people, it stunts them a little bit. It gets them off track, and we've had some of that like I'm sure every team has had some of that. But, in the middle of games when we're all trying to achieve one singular goal at that time which is to win, that's popped up here and there throughout the season. We're certainly trying to learn and grow from that. We're trying to avoid those situations."

"But, like I've said all along, I've not lost any faith with this group. We're disappointed with some of the results that we've had down the stretch, but what everyone doesn't see is their attitude when they get back to work, when they get back together and when they get back on the practice court. I don't think they've lost any confidence in what we're doing. I don't think they've lost any confidence in themselves or our team. Now, we've just got to go prove it."

Q: How satisfying was it for you to see Josh Hubbard and Cameron Matthews made All-SEC, two leaders of your team being recognized that way?
CJ: "They're both very deserving in their own rights. Certainly, like you said, I'm happy for each of them and their families to be recognized for the awards and the honors that they received today."

"It doesn't surprise me. I don't think it probably surprised anyone in this room that both of them were acknowledged for their play this season. It's always fun at the end of the year to see the teams. I think it's a little bit of a different format this year than it's been in the past with the three teams of five instead of having two teams with seven or eight [players]. It's just that time of the year."

Q: What are your ambitions for looking beyond this week, or is Nashville an end in itself?
CJ: "Win games. Win games, that's the mantra. That's the goal and win as many games as we can. Does it mean we're playing on Sunday? I hope so, but we want to just focus on LSU and winning that basketball game. Then, we'll have plenty of time to prepare to win the next game against Missouri if we're successful in the first game, but it's tried and true."

"We're going to focus on what we can control and right now that's our preparation for LSU. Just to get that feeling back, we need that feeling back. We lost in overtime to Texas. Then, we go down to Arkansas and lose when the ball is in the air and the buzzer goes off. Those are hard. You win those games, and the mood, the vibe and the feel is completely different. That's just the way this game is."

"I've been on both sides of it where you get a bounce or a shot, and it changes everything. By how you're perceived, by how you feel and by how others around you feel. My job is to make sure that it doesn't just rip our hearts out, and that it doesn't make us not believe in who we are and what we've done."

"I feel good about where we're at going in. I don't feel good about some of the results, don't get me wrong, but you can't sit in it too long. You just can't. As much as maybe my personality is to bemoan it and be upset about it, I wouldn't be doing my team any favors by continuing to dwell on it and keep bringing it up. They know. We've had our discussions in film, and we finished practice today before we head down to Nashville tonight. We had a great and focused practice. That's exactly what I expected us to have."

Q: You haven't played many teams twice this year. How different is it preparing for a team twice, especially when you won the first matchup?
CJ: "It's nice to be honest with you. That was our third to last regular season game of the year. So, it's very familiar with all of us. There will be tweaks made since we played. I'm sure there will be some tweaks that we haven't seen as the game unfolds on Wednesday, but it is nice. I would imagine they feel the same way about not having to start over from scratch, especially since we played them so recently in terms of the time sensitivity and the amount of time you have to spend. Missouri will be a little different if we get to that point because it's been so long since we played them."

Q: Do you feel like LSU will throw out anything different at you than the last matchup? What have you seen from them since then?
CJ: "They played us very, very well in our barn. They had the upper hand for the majority of the first how many minutes. We finally went on a little bit of a run there in the middle of the second half and got some separation before we were able to close it out. I felt like they, like I said, were in control for a lot of the first half minutes in general. So, they've got to feel pretty good. That would be my sell. We played them head-to-head and toe-to-toe in their barn."

"Now, we're going to a neutral site. Obviously, at this point, they're not making the NCAA Tournament unless they go on a run and win the tournament championship. So, like I said earlier in the season, that's a different animal that you have to deal with. We have to understand that, but we've got to play better. I'm sure both of us feel the same way. They're going to learn from what worked last time and what didn't. Certainly, the chess match is what are they going to run, and what are we going to run."

Q: In terms of the defense, particularly the last three games away from the Hump, what are some of the issues you're seeing in that regard? What's the concern level that's carrying over now that you aren't playing any more home games the rest of the season?
CJ: "I mean our defense has been a concern for quite some time. It doesn't matter where we're playing. We've had some struggles, and it's a tough compare too. Our first year was 9th [in defensive efficiency], and our second year was 22nd [in defensive efficiency]. We knew we were going to take a dip. Certainly, we didn't want to have this big of a dip in terms of our numbers and metrics, etcetera."

"I remember a couple weeks ago saying, I think it was to the radio folks though and not in here, that I thought our defense was better than our numbers. Then, we went out. I don't know if it was before Ole Miss or after Ole Miss, but it was right in that span where we played really well and got those wins at Ole Miss and against Texas A&M at home. Then, for whatever reason, we didn't follow that up."

"This isn't coach speak. But, at the end of the day it's my responsibility. It's my job to figure it out, if you will. Equally important is to get them to play with the type of energy and motor that's required to play the way we want to play especially to play this particular defense. It hasn't been good enough. We can point fingers and talk about a lot of different factors on why. But, at the end of the day, it's a bottom-line deal. I'm trying my best to shore up as much as I can in a short time period before we play in Nashville and hopefully when we play in the NCAA Tournament so we'll be better on the court."

Mississippi State University Athletics

WATCH: Coach Jans Media Session

Related News

Players Mentioned

Cameron Matthews

Related Videos