Chris Jans provides injury update on D.J. Jeffries after loss against Alabama

Mississippi State forward DJ Jeffries left the Bulldogs’ 88-67 loss to Alabama on Saturday during the first half with a leg injury. After the game, Mississippi State head coach Chris Jans pulled back the curtain on Jeffries’ injury.

“He went down right in front of our bench. Then, it was a timeout,” Jans recalled. “He didn’t ask to be taken out and the trainer didn’t tell me that he was out. Then, when I looked up and saw the next play where he was limping around, I was like, ‘Man, what is he doing?’

“They gave him the opportunity because of the injury to get out of the game. At that point, the trainer told that [Jeffries] was done for the night. They haven’t examined it yet or anything like that. So I don’t have any further update.”

Before leaving due to injury, Jeffries played 11 minutes and recorded three rebounds and one assist. DJ Jeffries is averaging 28 minutes, 6.3 points, 6.0 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game this season while shooting 36.4% from the field and 23.6% from deep.

Tolu Smith speaks on Mississippi’s State blowout loss

While Jeffries’ absence didn’t help Mississippi State, he couldn’t have saved his Bulldogs from Alabama. Tolu Smith was honest about the game during his postgame press conference, noticing Alabama’s massive offensive rebounding advantage.

“Twenty offensive rebounds, it’s hard to win any game like that,” Smith said. “They just gave us an old fashioned ass-whooping.”

Smith was one of the bright spots for Mississippi State. He recorded a game-high 23 points and added five rebounds. However, he did struggle from the charity stripe, making just seven-of-his-13 free-throw attempts.

Mississippi State has not been blown out all season. The only double-digit loss on the team’s résumé came earlier in the season at Rupp Arena against Kentucky, losing by 13 points, a respectable loss.

Alabama took things to a new level though, pulling away in the first half. It was a 13-point difference heading into the halftime break and only expanded in the final 20 minutes. Getting huge wins, especially in Tuscaloosa, has become quite routine under Alabama head coach Nate Oats.

Mississippi State will look to bounce back on its feet quickly. On Wednesday, MSU will square against Georgia at 9 p.m. ET. The game will be broadcast on the SEC Network.