Chris Jans previews Mississippi State's senior night

Mississippi State looks to defend homecourt for the final time this season Tuesday night against South Carolina. Prior to the game, Bulldogs head coach Chris Jans warned his team about senior night festivities and how it can take over a game.

“Senior Nights are interesting. It’s a great way to celebrate families, players, their accomplishments. That’s the awesome part of it. I am looking forward to being a small part of it and like you said, it’s not as if I’ve been with any of these players that we are celebrating tomorrow night very long,” Jans said Monday. “But I’m looking forward to it. At the same time, I’ve seen a lot of crazy stuff happen on Senior Night with emotions running wild and focus being off.

“As the head coach, certainly I am going to talk about that and make sure we are all on the same page in terms of what’s most important about tomorrow night.”

Senior night is a tradition every program follows, but Jans isn’t a fan of the pregame festivities. He thinks that it could prove to be a distraction for his team and take away from the game.

To Jans, where Mississippi State is in regards to the NCAA Tournament — there can’t be anything getting in the way of his team’s focus on the task at hand. The Bulldogs are the last team in the tournament as of Monday, according to ESPN Bracketology expert Joe Lunardi.

“For me, celebrating these kids that will eventually be done playing here, I would much rather do it when the season is complete and we don’t have to play a game following the reading of their accomplishments and the pictures with their families,” Jans said. “Obviously, that is a big part of it and I understand that and get that. But at the same time, there’s a lot of basketball that’s left to be played. We just have to make sure we move on after the festivities.”

Still, Jans will be looking forward to leading his team to victory during the final game at Humphrey Coliseum this season. Tip-off between the Bulldogs and Gamecocks is set for 9 p.m. ET Tuesday night live on the SEC Network.