STARKVILLE — Mississippi State men’s basketball coach Chris Jans can’t remember the last time he didn’t review film from a game with his players.
That is, before MSU’s Jan. 3 game at Tennessee.
The Bulldogs were embarrassed by the Volunteers in Knoxville, falling behind 16-0 and never catching up en route to an 87-53 loss.
“We just dug ourselves such a deep hole on the road against such a good team that we had no chance to actually win the game at that point, as you look back and watch it,” Jans said Monday.
It was a rare instance in which Jans chose not to show clips from the lopsided contest at the time. But now, he has had no choice.
With MSU (12-5, 1-4 Southeastern Conference) facing No. 9 Tennessee (14-3, 4-1 SEC) at 6 p.m. Tuesday at Humphrey Coliseum, the Bulldogs have finally rewatched their first matchup with the Vols in order to be prepared for the second.
And this time around, Mississippi State will have to play a whole lot better against a Tennessee team that comes to Starkville under inauspicious conditions for Jans’ team.
“We’re not getting them at the right time, if you will,” Jans said.
That’s because the Vols are coming off a 63-56 home loss to Kentucky on Saturday, their first loss in conference play and their first defeat since Dec. 17 against Arizona.
Jans said he’s sure coach Rick Barnes and Tennessee will come out fired up to avenge the setback, but that might only mean so much come game time.
“It is what it is,” Jans said. “In the end, that kind of stuff dissipates pretty quickly. That’ll probably help with the focus and the preparation, but the rah-rah, motivation stuff kind of goes away, in my opinion, after the first few minutes of the game, and then you play and execute and compete and fall back on your training.”
Despite a winless week for the Bulldogs on the road at Georgia and No. 16 Auburn, Jans came away impressed with his team’s “fight” and “togetherness.”
Those two characteristics, he said, can go a long way in competing in the SEC.
“In order to win games in this league, regardless of whether you’re home or away, you’d better have that — unless, of course, you have superior talent,” Jans said.
Tennessee just might have enough talent to render the Bulldogs’ competitiveness irrelevant. The Vols boast the nation’s No. 1 defense — a bad matchup for an MSU offense ranked just 182nd nationally by KenPom.com — and present a balanced scoring effort.
Six Volunteers — Santiago Vescovi, Olivier Nkamhoua, Julian Phillips, Zakai Zeigler, Tyreke Key and Josiah-Jordan James — all average between eight and 13 points a night, making it hard for any defense to keep Tennessee completely at bay.
That said, it has been done. Ole Miss held the Vols to 63 points in December despite a loss in Oxford; Tennessee was just 3 of 21 from deep in the loss to Kentucky.
An MSU defense that checks in at No. 7 in the nation could hold the Volunteers to enough points for the Bulldogs to be competitive.
The crowd could play a role. Jans saw how loud Mississippi State fans got during the Bulldogs’ big run late in their Jan. 7 win over Ole Miss — enough to “change the mood of the game.”
And even though Jans’ team is off to a 1-4 start in conference play, Jans hopes for a third straight home sellout crowd Tuesday night.
If the Bulldogs get that, it could make the difference should they keep it close with the Vols.
“We’ve obviously lost some games recently, but hopefully the community and our fan base will continue to support these guys who are playing and competing at such a high level,” Jans said.
Theo DeRosa reports on Mississippi State sports for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter at @Theo_DeRosa.
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