KANSAS CITY, M.O. – Mississippi State men’s basketball has faced two Big 12 opponents through four games this regular season, and has suffered mightily to keep up on both occasions.
On Thursday, Kansas State put the Bulldogs to the sword with a prolific 54-point second half, led by guard PJ Haggerty’s 37-point performance in a 98-77 throttling of MSU.
For the second time in as many weeks, MSU head coach Chris Jans sat down for a post-game interview with Neil Price and offered a somber analysis of a humbling performance.
“I don’t know,” Jans said with a tired voice when asked about the snowballing momentum. “We just weren’t the better team tonight. That’s the bottom line, they were better than us, and we didn’t play well enough for long enough spurts.”
The Wildcats thrived in transition, scoring 17 on fast breaks and 17 points off of turnovers. They also shot 46% from beyond the arc to help boost the scoring pace.
One notable difference between the teams was the speed with which the Wildcats could switch into attack, especially once they had settled into the game. The Bulldogs had their own offensive uptick in the second half, but simply couldn’t keep up.
“They’re 11th fastest tempo offensively, meaning their possessions are the 11th shortest because they get to the shots that they want quickly. Certainly, we knew that… we worked tirelessly at it and thought we had a good plan, and it’s one thing to try to replicate the other team as best you can, but certainly we had the principles down.”
Jans emphasized the need to run against a team like the Wildcats, and stressed the point at halftime again when it was just an eight-point game, but the team talk didn’t appear to work against a K State team with a ruthless collection of players to set the pace.
“If you don’t sprint back against a team that pushes the ball, you’re gonna have a hard time. Especially when they got a guy like Hatterty and Nate Johnson, who are just bullies. Strong fullbacks playing basketball. They can get downhill and get momentum, and it’s hard if you’re not in the perfect position as you transition back to defense.”
The Bulldogs, now 2-2 on the season, will play New Mexico in a quick turnaround game on Friday before returning home for a test against SMU at home next week.
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