Chris Jans explains how he's approaching SEC Tournament with NCAA bid on the line

Bubble teams across the country are running through the scenarios of what they need to make the NCAA Tournament. However, while Mississippi State is among that group, Chris Jans still isn’t worrying about any of that.

Jans spoke about his team’s resumé in a media session on Tuesday heading into the SEC Tournament. In his opinion, though, it’s of little value for him to make a case for his Bulldogs. It’s not worth it to him since it’s not something that the selection committee would take into consideration.

“You know I get asked that a lot – about what I think of where we’re at and what we need. I see other coaches get in these environments, have platforms, and vouch for their team. Go drill down on why they should be included in the NCAA Tournament,” said Jans. “I got to believe that the committee members don’t pay any mind to that. I don’t think they really care what an individual coach thinks about his team and why it should be included. If that was part of the process then I think we’d all have some sort of avenue to go through to preach our case, if you will.”

With that being his approach, Jans is more so thinking about how to ensure that Mississippi State will be ready for their matchup in the SEC Tournament with LSU. Regardless of how that game goes, he will then leave it up to the committee to let the cards fall however they may.

“My answer is always the same. How I feel about our team and why we should be included, right now or with whatever scenario comes next, is irrelevant,” said Jans. “My focus probably needs to be more on how can I get my team better, how can I prepare them better rather than spending a bunch of time on talking about why we should be in and comparing myself and our team’s resume to others.”

“These folks in that room, obviously, are there for a reason. They’ve got all the tools that they need at their disposal,” Jans said. “I know they’ve already, for weeks, been working on teams and evaluating teams. I know the process fairly well.”

At 19-12 overall, Mississippi State currently finds itself on the right side of the bubble. On3’s James Fletcher III has them in among the field in his Last Four Byes. ESPN’s Joe Lunardi also has them in a win-and-in scenario against the Tigers on Thursday.

Still, if they were to not advance to the quarterfinals, it could potentially leave their postseason fate up to chance.

The last thing that any team on the brink wants to endure is the feeling of their bubble burst. That’s why, ahead of their trip to Nashville, Jans is putting everything into ensure that his team is ready at tipoff in Bridgestone Arena. After that, their case to be in March Madness will be what it will be.

“At the end of the day, we’re just trying to win the next game and then try to put ourselves in the best position possible,” Jans said.