Chris Jans addresses likely fine from Mississippi State court storming

Mississippi State is waiting to hear word from the SEC about a potential fine after its fans stormed the court Tuesday evening. The Bulldogs pulled off a 70-54 win against No. 7 Texas A&M at Humphrey Coliseum and some of those in attendance celebrated in what has become a tradition in college sports.

Although storming the court has long been a part of the game, however, conferences are known to dole out fines to schools after the fact as it can also be a safety hazard for coaches and players. According to MSU coach Chris Jans, however, he believes there is a chance his team might escape a fine because it followed proper protocol.

“I heard something, I don’t know if it’s true, that since they waited for the other team to clear the court that it was gonna be ‘OK,'” he said. “Obviously, that’s above my pay grade, but I was a little surprised because it wasn’t right away. I didn’t really know what was going on, but that was my cue to get out of the floor and get with the team. But I’m sure we’ll deal with whatever we’ve got to deal with.”

The victory for Mississippi State marked its sixth this season against a quadrant 1 opponent. It was also their second straight after the Bulldogs defeated rival Ole Miss on Saturday.

The defense was stifling in the second half, holding Texas A&M to only 23 points as Mississippi State outscored them by 17 despite entering halftime down one. Josh Hubbard led the way in the win with 25 points, four assists and four steals.

As of Feb. 11, the SEC had levied $850,000 in fines for storming the court this season according to ESPN. The rule is that a school will be fined $100,000 for the first offense with the number increasing if it happens a second or third time.

Mississippi State has no other violations this season, so would receive the minimum fine if the SEC does in fact follow through. However, Jans is hopeful that won’t be the case as the Bulldogs fans at least had the self control to wait until the court was clear before taking it over.

Mississippi State improved to 19-7 (7-6 SEC) with the victory and will next face Oklahoma at 1 p.m. ET on Saturday.