Chris Jans pushes back on question about NCAA Tournament loss being a letdown

When Chris Jans took over the Mississippi State Bulldogs basketball program in 2023, they were on a three-season NCAA Tournament drought and had made the field just once since 2010. Now, Jans has had the Bulldogs in the field three straight seasons but has failed to make it out of the Round of 64.

Jans has argued that simply making the NCAA Tournament isn’t good enough for Mississippi State anymore. However, he still hasn’t won a tournament game with the Bulldogs. Despite that, when asked about this season’s loss being a letdown, he did make sure to push back on the question.

“That’s a fair question,” Chris Jans said. “But let’s be clear, getting to the NCAA Tournament is still a goal for us every single year, and there’s a lot of teams out there that would trade places with us in a heartbeat for what we’ve accomplished this season and the last three combined.”

Since getting to Mississippi State, Chris Jans has a record of 63-40. He’s won 21 games overall and gone 8-10 in SEC play every single season in Starkville. In all three of those seasons, the Bulldogs either finished ninth or tied for ninth in the conference, which is widely regarded among the best in the sport.

After making the First Four as an 11-seed in his first season with the Bulldogs, Jans has now lost twice in a row as an eight-seed in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament. This season, the loss came at the hands of Baylor out of the Big 12.

“But at the same time, we’re disappointed. Our goals were higher this year than they’ve ever been. We talked about it in the summer. We talked about it in the fall with you folks,” Jans said. “And certainly with our internal meetings that we had. We felt like we had positioned ourself with the experience, with the success, that it was time for more. I just talked about it with the team. We’ll have a different perspective at some point, but right now we didn’t finish. We weren’t able to accomplish the goals that we had set for our team this particular year. So, it’s disappointing. It hurts.”

Even before his time at Mississippi State, NCAA Tournament success has been a challenge for Chris Jans. Previously, he led New Mexico State to the NCAA Tournament three times, only once winning a game. Now, as Jans enters another offseason, he’ll be looking for a pathway over the hump.

“I know our players, I know our program, I know our fans wanted it in the worst way,” Jans said. “And I hate the fact that we weren’t able to deliver it.”