STARKVILLE — Mississippi State’s rotation will be one player short for an extended period of time, as head coach Chris Jans said Tuesday that guard Kanye Clary is out “indefinitely” with a lower leg injury.
Clary joined the No. 25 Bulldogs via the transfer portal from Penn State after leading the Nittany Lions with 16.7 points per game last season. He started four of MSU’s first seven games with mixed results, then missed both games last week against Pittsburgh and Prairie View A&M.
His continued absence should open up more playing time for Claudell Harris and Shawn Jones in the backcourt. Jones started for the fourth time Sunday against the Panthers and had a season-high 11 points. Harris has made three starts, and although he came off the bench Sunday, he still played 31 minutes and had 21 points to help the Bulldogs (8-1) overcome an early 15-point deficit.
“Our offense is much better in terms of efficiency, in terms of effectiveness, but our defense has lagged behind if you compare it to the first two teams that we’ve had,” Jans said. “I like that challenge on a personal level. We’re going to see if our players like that challenge. I thought maybe we had made some big strides with the Pittsburgh game in how we rallied and played so well.”
MSU’s defense, like it had in the loss to Butler, left a lot to be desired against Prairie View. The Panthers shot 56.4 percent from the field and were 10-for-19 from behind the arc, making the Bulldogs work hard to tie the game by halftime and pull away in the second half.
“We weren’t in solid positioning off the ball,” Jans said. “We either overhelped and gave up a corner 3, or we weren’t strong enough in our help when the ball got driven from the sides of the floor, and so we were late. Without being able to take charges if you’re late in those situations, the ball handler has the advantage and he just splits you.”
A defensive performance like that will not be enough against most teams in the Southeastern Conference. The SEC went 14-2 against the ACC in last week’s challenge and has nine teams ranked in the latest AP Top 25, including three of the top five and five of the top 10.
The NET rankings tell a similar story, with Tennessee at No. 1, Auburn at No. 2 and Kentucky, Florida and Alabama also in the top 10. MSU is in good shape at No. 21, but the conference is strong from top to bottom. Missouri, which finished 0-18 in SEC play last year, upset then-No. 1 Kansas on Sunday.
“I haven’t been around the SEC long enough to be making bold statements, but I just can’t imagine a deeper SEC than (this year),” Jans said. “People are starting to compare it to some of the best non-conference records and analytics and metrics, and I think it’s awesome. I love that our league is performing the way it is. I enjoy rooting for the other programs, because it’s all about the opportunities that you have or don’t have once you get into league play.”
Scouting McNeese
MSU heads an hour north to Tupelo on Saturday for a game against McNeese (5-4), which finished 30-4 last year in its first season under head coach Will Wade. Wade was fired from LSU due to alleged recruiting violations but led the Tigers to three NCAA Tournaments, also reaching the Big Dance in both his seasons at Virginia Commonwealth before that.
This year’s Cowboys played then-No. 2 Alabama close in Tuscaloosa, losing by eight on Nov. 11. Their leading scorer, Alyn Breed, has played in just two games, but sixth man Sincere Parker is right behind him with 15.6 points per game. Starters Javohn Garcia and Christian Shumate are also averaging double-figure scoring.
“They have a lot of medium-sized, good-looking athletes, strong guys who have been around and are experienced,” Jans said. “They’re very physical, they play really hard, they’re a well-coached basketball team. They get to the (free throw) line, they rebound the ball and they play a lot of guys. They’ve been prepared. They’ve played good competition, they’ve played really good other programs, so they’ve seen and been there and done that already.”
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