Mississippi State men’s basketball head coach Chris Jans spoke on March 9 during his weekly media session ahead of the upcoming Southeastern Conference (SEC) Tournament in Nashville. The Bulldogs are set to face Auburn at 2 p.m. on Wednesday, with the game broadcast on SEC Network and available through the ESPN app.
The session addressed how the team is preparing for the high-stakes environment of postseason play. Jans said, “Well, we’ve obviously already talked about it. Certainly, a lot of our older transfers have played in various conference tournaments and even postseason opportunities. So, they’ll experience with what we’re talking about. Some of our younger, obviously freshmen that have never played in these situations, but like most programs it just is what it is. It’s part of the growing process. They now have 31 games under their belt. They’ve traveled and played in neutral site games. They’ve played in obviously some rough away environments with all sorts of starting times. So, it’s just another step in gaining experience in that way.”
Jans also discussed junior guard Josh Hubbard’s development as a leader and key contributor to the team: “Yeah, it’s been fun to watch his maturation as a player from his freshman year where he early in the season had a breakout game or two… Now, as he’s finishing his junior year, he’s had a remarkable career thus far both individually and as a team.” He added that while this season has not met all expectations for team success, Hubbard remains one of the top scorers nationally and is expected to be recognized when All-SEC teams are announced.
Reflecting on their previous matchup against Auburn, Jans said he expects adjustments from both sides: “I’d imagine you can’t find a brighter red pen available to circle him [Josh Hubbard] on the scouting report for Auburn… We’ll have to adjust to whatever they decide to do.” He emphasized that familiarity between teams at this stage can be both beneficial and challenging.
Jans also commented on Tee Bartlett’s physical transformation over the season: “Yeah, physically like you said, he’s done a tremendous job in transforming his body to be closer to where it needs to compete at this level… It will be a big offseason for him.” On defensive performance against Auburn previously, he noted strong execution but acknowledged areas for improvement.
As Mississippi State aims for continued success in tournament play under his leadership, Jans reflected on maintaining winning streaks: “I’ve thought about that too. That’s certainly a streak that we want to keep going… I just really want for our team to have that feeling again of what it feels like to put the work in…and be rewarded for it when the lights are on of winning.” He concluded by thanking media members for their coverage throughout the season.
