Mississippi State balances finals week while sorting lineup questions

Bulldogs pause for finals week while Chris Jans manages injuries, shifting rotations, realities of 4–5 start

Mississippi State Bulldogs guard Josh Hubbard (12) loses the ball as Kansas State Wildcats guard Abdi Bashir Jr. (1) defends during the second half of the game at T-Mobile Center. | Denny Medley-Imagn Images

Mississippi State basketball has reached the part of December that every coach pretends to enjoy: finals week.

It is the annual moment when practice schedules bend, players hunker down with textbooks, and coaches double-check the rulebook to confirm that, yes, academics still matter.

Coach Chris Jans said the Bulldogs are stepping back this week to give players space to handle their classwork.

“We’re trying to give them the time and the space to take care of their academic responsibilities,” Jans said. “And finish the semester strong that way.”

Translation: Good luck on the exams, see you when your heads stop spinning.

The Bulldogs enter this break with a 4–5 record, which reads like the basketball version of a shrug.

They picked up a respectable win at Georgia Tech, then followed it with a loss to San Francisco in Tupelo — a “neutral-site” game only in the sense that Tupelo exists on Earth.

Mississippi State’s defeat came with a larger concern. Leading scorer Josh Hubbard, the player who often rescues the Bulldogs’ offense from self-inflicted gridlock, exited early with an ankle injury.

That changed everything about the night — and may change much about the coming weeks.

Jans didn't offer a recovery timeline.

“I know they’re going to be working around the clock to try to get him back as soon as they can,” he said. “But I don’t have a timetable.”

This is classic mid-season coach language meaning: We’ll tell you when we know, and no, we don’t know yet.

Without Hubbard, Mississippi State’s scoring becomes a group project where everyone hopes someone else completed the important slides.

Jayden 3pps pic.twitter.com/cQhX3jwdJL

— Mississippi State Men's Basketball (@HailStateMBK) December 7, 2025

Jans shifts rotations as offense searches for stability

In Hubbard’s absence, Jans has begun tinkering with the rotation. Freshman guard Jamarion Davis-Fleming and transfer guard Brandon Walker played more minutes in recent games, while veterans Quincy Ballard and Achor Achor have seen their roles reduced.

Jans said the staff is trying to find combinations that work with what they currently have available. He noted that the newcomers earned their additional playing time through effort, particularly in practice settings where the Bulldogs have struggled to establish consistency.

The issues are not complicated. Jans said rebounding and offensive rhythm remain the primary concerns heading into the next stretch of the schedule.

Mississippi State’s rebounding effort often looks cooperative rather than competitive, while the offense occasionally resembles a pickup game in which no one arrived with the same plan.

The Bulldogs defend hard enough to stay in games. The question is whether they can manufacture enough offense — especially without Hubbard — to capitalize on those defensive stops.

Jans said he wants to see better flow and more balanced scoring.

He reiterated that message after the San Francisco loss, saying his group needs to “play together more consistently” and trust the system rather than relying on individual improvisation.

That is easy to say in December. It becomes harder when SEC defenses arrive in January.

Mississippi State Bulldogs coach Chris Jans reacts to play against the Kansas State Wildcats during the first half of the game at T-Mobile Center. | Denny Medley-Imagn Images

Utah road trip closes a week focused on academics and health

Once the Bulldogs finish finals, they head west for a late-night Saturday matchup at Utah. The Utes have already collected wins that suggest this will not be a relaxing evening.

It is the kind of road test that reveals either progress or depth problems — and Mississippi State carries a little of both.

The travel timing adds another layer. Games that tip off close to bedtime rarely bring out a team’s sharpest execution, especially one juggling schoolwork and an injury to its leading scorer.

Still, Jans said he believes the team can benefit from the break. He noted that the pause allows the Bulldogs to regroup physically and mentally while coaches evaluate what lineups they can trust.

“Finals week is always different,” Jans said. “It’s important for us to let them focus on academics, but we also want to stay connected and get better.”

Whether that improvement shows up in Salt Lake City depends on how the Bulldogs handle the week’s distractions — exams, rotations, recovery, and an offense still searching for a reliable identity.

Mississippi State has not yet played its best basketball. The Bulldogs have also not shown signs of giving in. For a program sitting at 4–5 with lineup uncertainty, that qualifies as relative optimism.

The next chapter begins once the last scantron is turned in. Until then, Mississippi State basketball is studying, healing, guessing at rotations and preparing for a very real test waiting in Utah.

Key takeaways

• Mississippi State adjusted for finals week while managing a 4–5 start and reduced practice time.
• Josh Hubbard’s ankle injury leaves the Bulldogs without their primary scoring threat as Jans evaluates new rotations.
• Rebounding and offensive rhythm remain the program’s top issues as Mississippi State prepares for Utah.