Mississippi State Men's Basketball Wins First Game Under HC Chris Jans
Mississippi State head coach Chris Jans is now 1-0 with the Bulldogs after defeating Texas A&M-Corpus Christi by a score of 63-44 in the team's opening game of the season on Monday night.
Tolu Smith led all scorers with 19 points and pulled down 11 rebounds to record his first double-double of the year. The redshirt senior started the season off strong and is looking to do big things after struggling to remain healthy last year.
"I'm just really happy, not because I had a good game, but just because I'm starting the season," Smith said. "Trying to just play the full season is a blessing."
Smith was flanked by strong performances from Shakeel Moore and DJ Jeffries. Moore came off the bench for the Bulldogs and lit up Humphrey Coliseum, sinking five field goals and a free throw for 11 total points and notching three steals. In his second season since transferring from Memphis, Jeffries had seven points, five rebounds and two assists with no turnovers.
Mississippi State saw its fair share of struggles in the first half. The Bulldogs looked shaky against an A&M-Corpus Christi team that won the Southland Basketball Tournament and reached the NCAA Tournament last season. The Islanders pushed their lead to 12 midway through the first half after scoring 10 unanswered points. Even at halftime, the visitors led by a score of 30-25.
The Bulldogs came out barking in the second half, starting the frame off strong with five quick points by Jeffries. Smith served as the tying layup, and the home squad dominated from there. MSU limited A&M-Corpus Christi to just 14 points in the entire second half while scoring 38 points.
Jans uses a much different style of play than the program has used in previous years, but it seemed to work. He ran a fast-paced offense and defensively used a full-court press for the majority of the game. Although there are still plenty of things to correct, Jans can now see how his players perform in true game action and work to improve in the coming months.
"I guess this is our starting point," Jans said. "Fortunately for us, there's a big ceiling left for us."
Mississippi State will hit the road to face Akron in the first-ever Barstool Sports Invitational on Friday. Tipoff is set for 6 p.m. CT at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
