WATCH: Coach Jans Postgame Presser - Georgia
March 07, 2026 | Men's Basketball
2025-26 Mississippi State Men's Basketball Postgame Quotes
State vs. Georgia – March 7, 2026
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State Head Coach Chris Jans
Q: What went wrong in the second half after having the lead going into halftime?Â
CJ: "Well, they made 17 three's for the game, eight in the first half and nine in the second half. We had back-to-back halves with eight turnovers. Turnovers have become a bigger issue for us the last four or five games than it was prior. It's just hard to beat good teams when you're not getting a shot on goal and giving them multiple opportunities."
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"They did what they've been doing this year. There are turning people over. They're pressing, and they're playing up and down. They're really high on three and rim rate. That's what happens when you get to the rim usually you get to the [free throw] line a little more often than the other team. They shot a lot of three's, and they made way too high of a percentage on them. So, those were the factors that I thought played a huge part in the outcome of the game."
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Q: What do you think gave Georgia the edge in the final minutes of this game?
CJ: "It's something that we talked about before the game. The biggest messaging that we had was when it's senior day, it's different. Your routine is different, and the [pregame] itinerary is different … The things that we talked about towards the end were trying to give this group of men that are close to expiring their eligibility a good memory of their last home game."
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"That's what we talked about. They all had all families here, some more than others. We talked about that, and that they're all watching you. Let them feel really proud of you, not that they're not going to win or lose, but with your compete level. That's what we focused on was that we tried to make a memory of their last game, which obviously we didn't do. It was very disappointing this way."
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"I did feel like for the most part that the compete level was pretty good. We certainly made mistakes. We talked about turnovers. We were down 6-1 in offensive rebounding at halftime, but we did a much better job in the second half to try and almost even that. I thought the compete level was not why we didn't win the game which for me that's the standard that we have. That's something that at times for different games where it wasn't at the level we're used to. That's been disappointing, but I didn't think that was the case today."
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Q: What has this group of seniors brought to the table for your team?
 CJ: "They've all been good in terms of being a part of the program and trying to insert themselves into the fabric of Mississippi State basketball. Certainly, in the era that we're coaching in now, it's just different. We had six seniors, but five of them were first year guys. Shawn Jones [Jr.] is a unicorn right now. He's a four-year player and kept coming back which every year now that every player does for the most part now they have a choice if they want to return or not. It's reciprocal at times now. Shawn has stuck with us, and we stuck with him. I'm really proud of him that he played today. He hadn't practiced since he got hurt. He hasn't practiced at all, and he didn't even do a shootaround today. He had to do a lot of things with our trainers and our doctors to get him in a position just to play … I'm proud of him for that. It would've been easy for him to duck out because he has a real injury. He did it for the team, for the program and certainly for himself … It was nice to have him with his length and his activity. I'm glad he was able to play on his senior night. It would've been a sad deal [if he didn't]."
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Do you feel like you can take any momentum or progress into the SEC Tournament?
CJ: "I mean at this point, I don't look at it as progress. Five or six games ago, we would still be talking about that. At this point with 31 games under our belt now, it's either win or not. We don't have 6-to-8 games left that we know we're going to play. Hopefully, the platform and the lights, we talked a lot about that already. It's (the SEC Tournament) as close to playing in the NCAA Tournament as I've ever been. I've certainly been to the NCAA Tournament a lot as an assistant and as a head coach. The SEC Tournament, my first year I remember thinking, 'Wow, it's really really close to how it feels' with the bright lights and the platform and what's going on around it. So, we're going to treat it that way as well."
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State vs. Georgia – March 7, 2026
Â
State Head Coach Chris Jans
Q: What went wrong in the second half after having the lead going into halftime?Â
CJ: "Well, they made 17 three's for the game, eight in the first half and nine in the second half. We had back-to-back halves with eight turnovers. Turnovers have become a bigger issue for us the last four or five games than it was prior. It's just hard to beat good teams when you're not getting a shot on goal and giving them multiple opportunities."
Â
"They did what they've been doing this year. There are turning people over. They're pressing, and they're playing up and down. They're really high on three and rim rate. That's what happens when you get to the rim usually you get to the [free throw] line a little more often than the other team. They shot a lot of three's, and they made way too high of a percentage on them. So, those were the factors that I thought played a huge part in the outcome of the game."
Â
Q: What do you think gave Georgia the edge in the final minutes of this game?
CJ: "It's something that we talked about before the game. The biggest messaging that we had was when it's senior day, it's different. Your routine is different, and the [pregame] itinerary is different … The things that we talked about towards the end were trying to give this group of men that are close to expiring their eligibility a good memory of their last home game."
Â
"That's what we talked about. They all had all families here, some more than others. We talked about that, and that they're all watching you. Let them feel really proud of you, not that they're not going to win or lose, but with your compete level. That's what we focused on was that we tried to make a memory of their last game, which obviously we didn't do. It was very disappointing this way."
Â
"I did feel like for the most part that the compete level was pretty good. We certainly made mistakes. We talked about turnovers. We were down 6-1 in offensive rebounding at halftime, but we did a much better job in the second half to try and almost even that. I thought the compete level was not why we didn't win the game which for me that's the standard that we have. That's something that at times for different games where it wasn't at the level we're used to. That's been disappointing, but I didn't think that was the case today."
Â
Q: What has this group of seniors brought to the table for your team?
 CJ: "They've all been good in terms of being a part of the program and trying to insert themselves into the fabric of Mississippi State basketball. Certainly, in the era that we're coaching in now, it's just different. We had six seniors, but five of them were first year guys. Shawn Jones [Jr.] is a unicorn right now. He's a four-year player and kept coming back which every year now that every player does for the most part now they have a choice if they want to return or not. It's reciprocal at times now. Shawn has stuck with us, and we stuck with him. I'm really proud of him that he played today. He hadn't practiced since he got hurt. He hasn't practiced at all, and he didn't even do a shootaround today. He had to do a lot of things with our trainers and our doctors to get him in a position just to play … I'm proud of him for that. It would've been easy for him to duck out because he has a real injury. He did it for the team, for the program and certainly for himself … It was nice to have him with his length and his activity. I'm glad he was able to play on his senior night. It would've been a sad deal [if he didn't]."
Â
Do you feel like you can take any momentum or progress into the SEC Tournament?
CJ: "I mean at this point, I don't look at it as progress. Five or six games ago, we would still be talking about that. At this point with 31 games under our belt now, it's either win or not. We don't have 6-to-8 games left that we know we're going to play. Hopefully, the platform and the lights, we talked a lot about that already. It's (the SEC Tournament) as close to playing in the NCAA Tournament as I've ever been. I've certainly been to the NCAA Tournament a lot as an assistant and as a head coach. The SEC Tournament, my first year I remember thinking, 'Wow, it's really really close to how it feels' with the bright lights and the platform and what's going on around it. So, we're going to treat it that way as well."
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Monday, March 09
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Sunday, March 08
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Saturday, March 07
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