Chris Jans sends message to KeShawn Murphy after late missed layup: 'This ain't on you'

On Wednesday, Mississippi State forward KeShawn Murphy missed a wide-open layup with 13 seconds left in the game that would’ve given the Bulldogs a one-point lead. Alabama rebounded the miss and, after making a couple of free throws, walked away with the win.

It was a grueling loss for the Bulldogs, who are now 4-4 in conference play. While many outsiders didn’t hesitate to blame Murphy for the loss, Mississippi State head coach Chris Jans emphasized that the missed layup wasn’t the reason the Bulldogs lost.

“We’re definitely not going to point to that,” Jans said. “It’s the first thing I addressed when I walked in the locker room. This ain’t on you. There were a million plays in a game like that. There were plays after that.

“Even if he makes that shot, it doesn’t necessarily mean you’re going to win the game. He obviously was distraught over it, and that’s not why we lost this game.”

Although Murphy wasn’t able to put in the go-ahead bucket for Mississippi State, he had an excellent performance. The 6-foot-10 junior recorded 18 points and six rebounds off the bench for the Bulldogs while shooting 8-13 from the field.

For reference, Murphy is only averaging 10.9 points per game this season. It was a heroic effort from Murphy even if he didn’t find a happy ending. Jans wasn’t the only one who defended Murphy from the critics after the game.

“A lot of people are going to say that he lost us the game, but that’s not true, man,” Mississippi State star Josh Hubbard said. “He competed at a high level. We were in that game because of him, actually. It was the possessions before that, the reason why we lost that game, in the first half especially.” 

The Bulldogs’ first-half performance was their downfall. In the first half, they allowed Alabama to rack up 10 offensive rebounds compared to their mere six. The Crimson Tide capitalized on their efforts, racking up 11 second-chance points, nearly three times as many as Mississippi State.

In contrast, Mississippi State recorded just as many offensive boards as Alabama in the second half and scored more second-chance points than the Crimson Tide. Unfortunately for the Bulldogs, they can’t change the past but they can certainly learn from the game and improve moving forward.

They’ll have no shortage of opportunities to show off their growth. Four of the Bulldogs’ next five games are against ranked opponents. On Saturday, MSU will square off against No. 20 Missouri at 1 p.m. ET. The game will air live on the SEC Network.