Chris Jans, Mississippi State bracing for Kentucky's "high-octane" offense

Tomorrow will be Chris Jans’ first time coaching in Rupp Arena; while previewing Mississippi State’s trip to Lexington, the Bulldogs’ second-year coach admitted he wished it wasn’t coming after a Kentucky loss.

“Yeah, I wasn’t rooting for that outcome, to be honest with you,” Jans said when asked about Kentucky’s loss at Texas A&M on Saturday. “That wasn’t ideal for us but that’s just the way it goes.”

Mississippi State is coming off a loss too. After upsetting then-No. 5 Tennessee on Wednesday, the Bulldogs lost to Alabama by eight on Saturday. The game was tied at 74 with 2:42 remaining before the Crimson Tide went on an 8-0 run to clinch the win. Jans said he’s preparing his team to see a similar offense tomorrow night.

“They are very high-octane on offense, very similar to Alabama in terms of their transition baskets, their ability to get downhill, multiple playmakers on the floor at one time,” Jans said of Kentucky. “And they shoot the ball really, really well. They shoot the ball much better than last year’s team.”

Kentucky (No. 8) and Alabama (No. 1) are both in the top 10 of KenPom’s offensive ratings. The Crimson Tide rank third in average possession length, at 14.3 seconds; the Cats aren’t far behind at 15.2. Both teams also rank in the top 15 of effective field-goal percentage (Kentucky 57.0%, Alabama 58.3%), which takes into account the extra value of a made three-pointer. By contrast, Mississippi State is No. 72 in offensive efficiency and No. 123 in effective field-goal percentage (51.7%).

Like Texas A&M, the Bulldogs are a veteran, physical team, with an average of 2.5 years of D1 experience to Kentucky’s 1.9 years. They’re not great at three-point shooting (32.0%) but are on the cusp of the Top 50 in offensive rebounding, grabbing 33.8% of their misses. Jans declined to share exactly what his team will do differently vs. Kentucky than they did vs. Alabama but said defense, especially on ball screens, must improve.

“I just hope that we execute the game plan better. I’m not going to give away what we’re going to do, but we’ve got to execute better on that end of the floor [defensively] after watching the tape. It wasn’t just the ghost screens; we had some ball screen breakdowns defensively. We’ve got to shore that up. We’re just going to have to be better.”

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Jans on “Uber-Talented” Kentucky

Mississippi State has one of the best players in the SEC in big man Tolu Smith, a preseason All-SEC First Team selection. Smith only recently rejoined the Bulldogs after recovering from a foot injury he suffered in the offseason. He leads the team in scoring at 16.8 points per game. The only other Mississippi State player averaging in double figures scoring is Josh Hubbard, who won SEC Freshman of the Week yesterday.

Smith and Hubbard have been on a roll recently, combining for 87 points in the Bulldogs’ games vs. Tennessee and Alabama last week; however, Jans knows Kentucky will have the edge in talent tomorrow night.

“It will be a heck of a challenge. At first glance, they are uber-talented. Obviously, they have a lot of young guys this year but they are very, very talented. They don’t play like freshmen. They seem very seasoned already.”

“From what I have read and seen, their coaching staff seems really happy about the vibe they have and the culture this particular team has. They feel really good about themselves.”

While overall, the vibes are still good about this Kentucky Basketball team, Saturday’s loss at Texas A&M showed us the Cats still have plenty of work to do to reach their ceiling. Poor rebounding, defensive breakdowns, and freshman moments got the best of the Cats in overtime. On his call-in show last night, John Calipari said he was more aggressive with his team during practice and the film sessions, pointing out each error and warning the players that if it continues, playing time is on the line. Jans knows that could make for a long night in Rupp, but is hoping to provide similar motivation for his squad.

“We know how that feels, coming off a loss and getting an opportunity to get the player’s attention maybe more than normal,” he said. “I am sure their staff is rallying them up right now to try to defend their home court. But Wednesday night when they tip the ball we know that will have no relevance when it comes to the game we are going to play with them.”

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