Mississippi State’s bad first-half habit popped up again in College Station on Wednesday.
After an 18-15 lead at the 11:30 mark of the first half was flipped, Texas A&M rallied ahead with a 19-5 run over the next five minutes of action to establish an 11-point lead, a margin that they maintained going into the locker room with a 44-33 lead at halftime and expanded in the second half to take an 88-68 win over the visitors.
“We were within striking distance, obviously, at halftime, and even in the first, 10, 15 minutes,” MSU head coach Chris Jans said postgame, “but as the game got under five, six minutes, it just didn’t look like we were gonna have the fight to get back into this one.”
The Bulldogs (10-9, 2-4) came into the game with a plan to combat an Aggie team that rotated at a high rate. Jans utilized several players off the bench for longer stretches, including the team’s top scorer on the night, Brandon Walker. His 16 points, along with 13 from freshman King Grace proved to be the biggest positive from the game.
Josh Hubbard and Jayden Epps, the team’s leading scorers on the season, had another off night offensively, shooting 5-14 and 3-10, respectively, from the floor. The press from A&M created 13 turnovers, which alone didn’t condemn MSU, but it stacked possessions for an already energetic team playing with home court and plenty of bodies ready to rotate in.
“I thought we did an okay job against the press, and that’s the thing about them, the prep is just different than any other team that we play, or will play the rest of the year, and it’s just a lot,” Jans said. “And if you don’t spend the time to get organized and worry about the press on the made shot, the missed shot, the made free throw, the missed free throw… it’s just unique that way.”
Too much to handle
Jans spoke highly of the A&M approach on Monday, noting the roster’s reliability across the board, and the Aggies’ depth delivered in the win over the Bulldogs. Nine players were on the court for at least 15 minutes, with four scoring in the double digits.
Rashaun Agee had a powerful performance in the paint, scoring 23 to lead his team on 7-14 shooting from the field and a perfect 9-9 from the free throw line. The aggressive approach put three MSU players in foul trouble and proved a fruitful way to build the lead, with the Aggies as a whole shooting 23-24 from the line.
Agee’s disruption was anticipated, but the forward’s level of play and experience was beyond what the Bulldogs prepared for.
“Well, he’s an older player, he’s been in college basketball for seven years, so he’s picked up a lot of nuances,” Jans said of Agee, “and he knows the game inside and out. He knows how he needs to play it as an undersized five-man, and he plays bigger than he is.”
Agee started his career playing under Jans at New Mexico State, but transferred to Bowling Green in 2022, where he got his first taste of regular action. He transferred again to USC in 2024 for one season before joining the Aggies in 2025.
At 6-7, he isn’t exactly a small guy, but for the position he plays down low, he certainly punches above his height.
“They got us right out of the chute there when they ran a play that they haven’t run, at least from our film study, all year long. And they expected us to trap it, and we did, and then they got the three to start the game,” Jans said. “That caused us to start going back and forth, and how we were gonna defend him in terms of doubling him or not. He’s a very veteran player, and we’ve seen it all by this point. He’s played in a lot of programs, a lot of levels, and he’s certainly learned and grown, and got it on the floor tonight. He was a key part of them winning the game.”
Regroup and go again
The job ahead for MSU and Jans is a difficult one, and certainly the most troubling position the team has been in since before the coach’s arrival in 2022.
The season isn’t close to over. There are still 12 regular season games left to play, and despite the bad run of form there isn’t any escaping going back out for the next contest.
“It’s a challenge, and what I just talked about with them is I’m gonna do what I do, and I’m gonna try to do the best job that I can for them individually, and then certainly as a team, to put them in the best position, to win the next game,” Jans said, discussing the mood and the approach to moving on after another bad loss. “And just like we’ve done since we’ve arrived, my promise to them is, I’m not gonna get discouraged by it. I’m gonna keep my nose to the grindstone and keep trying to tinker with this and that.”
Jans seemed to acknowledge the toll of losing to Ole Miss in the way that they did before having to quickly shift gears for a tough road trip, but he expressed belief based on the team’s preparation ahead of the A&M game.
He also didn’t shy away from the situation, but spoke clearly in regard to what’s next: the only way out is through, and the Bulldogs have to regroup and prepare again for a visit from No. 15 Vanderbilt.
“I mean, I say this a lot: I get it. The bottom line is winning and losing, and I understand that more than anybody, and that’s just the business that we’re in,” he continued.
”But from my perspective and my chair, that’s what I told them. The expectation is that it would be the same for them on an individual basis, and certainly as a program.”
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