Chris Jans on Ole Miss win: 'No one wants to get swept by your rivals'

Mississippi State defeated Ole Miss 83-71 in Starkville on Wednesday night, splitting the season series between its in-state rival and improving to 18-8 on the season.

The two teams met in Oxford on Jan. 30, where the Rebels bested the Bulldogs 86-82. Mississippi State head coach Chris Jans explained the importance of defending home court on Wednesday, especially when they were facing a series sweep with a loss at home.

“No one wants to get swept by your rivals. Our only chance was to split this year after getting beat at their place,” Jans said postgame. “It’s something we talked about. One of the three things that we talked about, from a program perspective was, it was a rivalry game. Everybody talks about it. I’ve been here long enough to really understand how meaningful it is to both fan bases. It’s a big deal.

“Certainly, I’ve coached long enough to be in a bunch of rivalries in series and I get all that, but it was important. We have a bunch of Mississippi kids on our roster and for them to be able to have that for the rest of their lives is a big deal.”

Tolu Smith, a Bay Saint Louis native, led the way for Mississippi State off the bench with 24 points. The total was good for his fifth 20+ point performance of the season and has only been able to suit up for the Bulldogs since Dec. 31.

Forward Cameron Matthews and guard Shakeel Moore were the only two starters to end in double figures and combined for 23 points on the night. KeShawn Murphy rounded out the main scoring efforts with 12 points. DJ Jeffries also contributed two 3-point baskets to the win.

While the rivalry aspect of the game raised the game’s drama at times, that’s only one of the three things Jans wanted his team to consider throughout the matchup.

“But the other [two] parts were, hey, we’ve got to move up in the SEC standings. We’ve got to try to improve our seeding every chance we get,” Jans continued. “The third thing — and I don’t know, right now it may not be as meaningful — in March is to keep improving our resume. We don’t have that many opportunities left and you got to take advantage of them because they’re going to be gone here soon.”

Next up for the Bulldogs is a road trip to LSU, which is coming off back-to-back wins over ranked South Carolina and Kentucky teams. The opening tip is scheduled for Saturday night at 8:30 p.m. ET live on the SEC Network.