SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – Mississippi State men’s basketball was served a rude awakening up north on Monday, falling 96-80 against No. 16 Iowa State. The Bulldogs, now 1-1, were boatraced in their first matchup against a Power Four opponent, coughing up possession 26 times to gift the Cyclones 29 points off of turnovers.
“I don’t remember a team that had 26 turnovers,” head coach Chris Jans said on the postgame radio show.
Jans didn’t assert that it’s never happened to his teams before, but from what he could remember it was a unique experience, and one the Bulldogs expected.
Jans said that before the game, his team knew to expect high pressure defensively and for the Cyclones to be right on top of them. What he may not have envisioned was nine different Iowa State players recording a steal on the night, or four reaching double digits to spur the team on just short of the century mark in points.
“We certainly knew that going into the game and thought we had prepared our guys better than that,” Jans said of the Iowa State defensive display. “At the end of the day, that’s what I told them in the locker room as well… I’m responsible for this program, this team. Certainly, we all have a hand in it, and we’ve got to do a better job of preparing for whoever the opponent is.”
Josh Hubbard led the Bulldogs in scoring with 25 points, making it back-to-back 20-point performances to start the season, but just as he was proud of his zero turnovers on Wednesday, his team-leading seven turnovers on Monday will be a humbling statistic moving forward.
The rest of the group didn’t fare much better. Shawn Jones Jr. had five turnovers, Dellquan Warren had four, and Sergej Macura had three. MSU was without guard Jayden Epps, who did not travel with the team, but the nature of the loss does not suggest that one player would have made too much of a difference.
For Jans, the experience was a frustrating one, but something that he can point to early in the season for areas of improvement and lessons to learn going forward. The schedule doesn’t lighten up at all. After returning home for a Saturday matchup with Southeastern Louisiana, the Bulldogs travel for the Hall of Fame Classic in Missouri, where they’ll face Kansas State and either Nebraska or New Mexico, and at the end of the month, they’ll have further P4 tests against SMU and Georgia Tech.
“College basketball is a marathon. Every game means so much to so many, and we understand that,” Jans said. “… The only thing we can do right now is get better from this. We’ve got to learn these lessons and apply them as coaches, and the players have to be receptive… Everybody learns when they lose. I’d rather win and learn, and that’s not an option for us right now. We have to have growth from this game and what just happened to us.”
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 34 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 34 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
