What Chris Jans Expects From Murray State

Mississippi State men's basketball went back on the right track after setting multiple season-highs against Tulane, but now they must further that momentum against Murray State tonight.

The Bulldogs may have nine wins compared to the Racers' three, but Mississippi State head coach Chris Jans is a big believer in Murray State head coach Steve Proehm. Jans mentioned during Tuesday night's Dawg Talk radio show that the two of them have "a really good relationship" and explained what he expects on both ends from the "very well-schooled" Racers.

"Defensively, they stick to their principles," Jans said. "They're going to play man, I'd be shocked if they play zone. We anticipate them primarily playing half-court man defense, but we're prepared if they play zone. They play what we like to call a 'packed line' where they don't get too extended, they're going to guard the ball pretty square to try to keep us in front the best they can."

Jans also detailed what he expects from Murray State's defense when they don't allow the Bulldogs much space to move.

"They're not going to go out and deny a bunch off the ball, they're going to just primarily try to protect the paint at all times and try to force you to shoot contested jumpers off the bounce as much as you can," Jans said. "They'll press you some and we anticipate that, as they have some press looks that have given us some problems throughout the year."

Basketball of course is a two-way game, and Jans previewed Murray State's offense as well, stating that "they don't give the ball away often."

"They don't try to hurt themselves but they run a multitude of sets, probably more than anybody other than Northwestern that we've seen all year long," Jans said. "When you have that, you really got to be careful and pick-and-choose the ones you feel like you're going to go over and show the team to game plan for."

Jans and his team have learned many of Murray State's sets throughout the week, but as of Tuesday night, the defensive blueprint is yet to be finalized.

"We're in the middle of trying to put the game plan in and we're preparing ourselves for a tough and hard-fought game against a well-coached team with kids that have been around, so playing an SEC school isn't going to phase them at all," Jans said.

The Mississippi State Bulldogs will host the Murray State Racers tonight at 6:30 p.m. CT on SECN+/ESPN+.

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