Everything coach Chris Jans said after loss to Ole Miss

Mississippi State lost a third-straight SEC game Saturday night against its biggest rival, Ole Miss in a 68-67 contest. Afterwards, Bulldogs' coach Chris Jans spoke to reporters about the loss. Here's everything he said:

On difference between Saturday and previous games...

Tonight’s game unfolded much differently than the previous two you’re referring to. In those games, I didn’t think we handled the opponent’s runs very well. Tonight, I thought we did a much better job. Our guys stood their ground.

We even found ourselves down four late in the game and stayed together. We got the stops we needed defensively, we just couldn’t put the ball through the basket in the final possessions. From where I sat, the feel in our huddles was completely different than it had been in the last two games.

As far as Josh and Epps go, it wasn’t an efficient night. They didn’t shoot the ball the way they’re capable of. Everyone who follows our team knows how big of a part they are in our ability to score the basketball.

On takeaways from Hubbard's missed free throws and layup at the end...

At the end of the day, all that matters is who won and who lost. I understand that. But when you talk about situational basketball, those moments get magnified because time runs out.

I wouldn’t change anything about those possessions. Even going back to the three we generated earlier, the way we created those looks, getting to the line, getting to the rim—I’ll take that scenario 100 out of 100 times. Given the score, the time remaining, and the players involved, that’s exactly what you want.

For whatever reason, the ball just didn’t go through the net.

On Hubbard's free throw shooting...

That’s not something I’ve really pondered at length. I believe in Josh. He’s always been a good free-throw shooter. Maybe missing his first one tonight got in his head a little bit, but again, I’ll take that situation every single time.

On atmosphere at Humphrey Coliseum...

We expected that atmosphere—it’s a rivalry game, and it’s always been that way. I think both coaches would say the same thing.

What’s tough is walking out of here without that winning feeling, especially given how much this game means to so many people. That’s been the part that’s different for us at home since we got here, and tonight felt different.

With it being alumni weekend, we had a lot of former players back. I got to meet several former Bulldogs and hear their stories. That part was really fun. I’m sure some of those stories got a little better with age, but it was still great to hear them talk about their experiences.

And then with the 19p6 team recognition, I know Coach Williams was really excited about that. I wasn’t directly involved with that part, but hopefully it was well received.

On team's inefficient shooting...

I don’t think teams are guarding us drastically differently. I think a lot of it is SEC length. That’s what this league is built on. Teams recruit length for a reason.

Late in the game, they went to bigger guards, hunted matchups they wanted, and tried to get the ball closer to the basket and shoot over us. We changed coverages—man, switching, trapping—and that threw them off some. The zone, in particular, gave us a chance to come back and win the game.

But to your point, we’re not shooting the three very well right now in SEC play. Given how we’re built, for us to be successful on most nights, that can be the case.

On team's reliance on three-point shooting against Ole Miss...

They clogged the lane like a lot of teams do. Depending on the ball handler and the length of the defender, it’s hard to get all the way to the rim in the half court.

You can do it more out of sets or in transition, when the floor is spread. But Ole Miss is one of the best shot-blocking teams in the country. They protect the rim extremely well. They wall up, they gap well, and they do a great job shielding the basket.

I did think we took a few questionable shots throughout the game. One in particular under two minutes comes to mind that we’d like to have back. But it’s a fine line when you’re a scorer and a shooter. You want confidence—your own, and from your coaches and teammates.

It’s easy to look back and say you want a shot back. We do that, we learn from it, and we try to grow so the next time we’re in that situation, we handle it better. That’s all part of the process.