Report: Mississippi State to hire new basketball coach

Mississippi State is expected to hire New Mexico State head coach Chris Jans to be the Bulldogs next head coach. Both sides are expected to move quickly; a deal could be finalized soon, according to ESPN’s Pete Thamel.

The Aggies were just bounced from the NCAA Tournament on Saturday afternoon by Arkansas 53-48, ending New Mexico State’s season after going 27-7 and winning the WAC. Despite not making a Sweet 16 berth, Jans led New Mexico State to an upset of UConn in the NCAA Tournament’s Round of 64 last week, which was the school’s first NCAA tournament win since 1970.

Jans has gone 122-32 in five seasons at New Mexico State, which includes four regular-season WAC championships and three NCAA tournament appearances. He will be filling in for Ben Howland, who served as the Bulldogs’ head coach since 2016. In seven seasons in Starkville, Howland failed to win an NCAA Tournament game, compiling a 134-98 overall record.

Overall, Jans has gone 143-44 (77 percent) over five years as a head coach, including four seasons at New Mexico State and one at Bowling Green. His winning percentage ranks top five in all of college basketball among active coaches.

On top of that, Jans has won four conference championships thanks to building his roster up with transfers and junior college players. With a history of attracting successful transfers to Las Cruces, imagine the potential players he could land at an SEC program, which is quickly becoming to premier conference in college basketball.

Jans was in contention for other Power Five coaching jobs as well, namely Kansas State following the Aggies’ NCAA Tournament berth. Ultimately, Jans landed in Mississippi State, which is coming off an 18-16 season that saw its season come to an end at the hands of Virginia in the NIT’s first round.