WATCH: Head coach Chris Jans talks Ole Miss matchup and atmosphere at The Hump

Riding a season-long SEC three-game winning streak, Mississippi State returns to action Wednesday and each game holds a lot of importance from here on out. The Bulldogs will play host to rival Ole Miss on Wednesday with an 8 p.m. (ESPN2) tipoff at Humphrey Coliseum.

State is 17-8 overall and 6-6 in the SEC, which puts the Bulldogs in a seventh-place tie in the SEC standings. Ole Miss is 19-6 overall and also 6-6 in the league, and the Rebels defeated State 86-82 in Oxford back in January.

On Monday morning Mississippi State head coach Chris Jans met with media to discuss the matchup with Ole Miss among other topics:

Q: Going into Wednesday’s rematch with Ole Miss, what can you take away from that first meeting this year?
Jans: Certainly you go back and review that game like everybody does and try to figure out what we can do better in terms of planning and practicing, both ways with the good and the bad. I am sure they are doing the same. We just didn’t defend well enough. We scored enough points, I think, to win a game on the road. We just had some breakdowns and we got to try to clean them up.

Q: This time of year every game is crucial. But with a rivalry game, is there a thin line from being focused and not being too emotional?
Jans: I haven’t been with them since Saturday afternoon and we were off yesterday. We haven’t done anything as a group yet today. But we’ve got a veteran group. We’ve got mature guys and we’ve handled situations all year long like you would expect them to do. I think they will do the same this week. They understand what’s at stake. There’s a lot at stake with the big picture, not just because it’s a rivalry game but because there’s six games left in the season. Time is running out and every game matters.

Q: With both teams being 6-6 in the SEC, does that play a role in the intensity in Wednesday’s game?
Jans: I think the game will be very intense regardless of it being a rivalry or not. Coach (Chris) Beard’s team is playing really, really hard and they are always going to be well prepared. I am sure they are talking about the same things that we are talking about now and the importance of each and every game. It’s like what I say about the actual games and the way they unfold. Every game matters, every possession matters. Down the stretch they’re more important because there’s only a few left. You don’t have time left and time runs out.

I’ve been talking about opportunities all year long and that we were going to have a bunch of them, especially when the SEC play got here, and we have. Just like a tell the team, there are wasted opportunities if you don’t take advantage of them. And you don’t want to have down the stretch a bunch of must-win games in order to get to where we are trying to go.

So the rivarly is what it is and we understand the importance of it. We understand what it means to this state. We understand what it means to our fanbase and we understand that we lost the first game on the road. That is certainly going to add to what’s going on this week.

Q: Your thoughts on Shawn Jones since he entered the starting lineup?
Jans: He’s done well. He’s playing hard like he usually does. He is one of our better check-out guys that we’ve got. He’s consistently shielding his man from getting offensive rebounds and he is really consistent that way. What I like about him is he’s working on everyone’s game all the time, tryig to focus on the positives or staying away from the negatives or trying to improve the negatives when we are not out in front of everybody so when they get in the games they can do other things.

And with Shawn, just driving in that lane and playing off two feet and making others better, understanding that if he doesn’t have a clear path to the goal, there’s other people open because the help has come over and slid over. If you pay attention he is doing much better when it comes to that. Before he kind of had a one-track mind when he drove the ball and he was trying to score on each and every opportunity. So he has really improved that way and making good decisions.

Then with his shot selection, I know he is not shooting a percentage that he would like from 3 but he has really been working on it and he’s taking the right ones.

Q: How much does the return of DJ Jeffries change that rotation and lineup?
Jans: Well, we are going to welcome DJ back with open arms as soon as he is ready to go. Overall he is one of our better players. Obviously, he does so many things for our basketball team and he has for two years. Like I said Saturday night, the fact he tried to go and obviously wasn’t 100 percent, he convinced me to give it a shot. The trainer said he would not have a setback. Certainly you can always get hurt but it wasn’t like by playing he was going to hurt that injury any worse than he already was. So we decided to give it a shot. But after his first run he said he just couldn’t go. So hopefully by Wednesday he will be ready.

Q: Since it’s been three weeks almost since you played Ole Miss, do you feel like they ae playing different now?
Jans: I would say they are a different team. They’re getting better in different areas like you would expect them to, like everybody tries to. But they are certainly a team that has gotten better as their season has unfolded. We know each other very well and it will be about who plays better on Wednesday. That’s the bottom line, who executes better, who is more productive, who plays better when the lights are on.

Q: KenPom listed Mississippi State as having a Top 10 homecourt advantage this year. What are your thoughts on the environment that has been built here?
Jans: Yeah I am excited about the crowds. We had three sellouts last year if I am not mistaken and we’ve already surpassed that with a few games left this season. We certainly appreciate them being our sixth man. They certainly helped us down the stretch against Arkansas. That place got pretty loud the last few defensive possessions and kind of got us over the hump to be able to bring it home.

In terms of homecourt advantage, I don’t know anything about that. But I would imagine it is probably because we must play better at home in terms of point differential, maybe some efficiency metrics that are out there. Part of that is probably because we stunk a lot on the road this year. So therefore the numbers are probably better at home this year.

But don’t get me wrong. Our fans have grown and we appreciate it and love it. Hopefully they continue to like our style of play and that are kids compete every single night and leave everything on the floor.

Q: Do you think the SEC is tougher and deeper this year?
Jans: Yeah I thought it was going to be before the year started, just following recruiting and who everyone was retaining and signing. And you didn’t have as many first-year coaches as you did the year before. Everybody kind of had their footing from a staff perspective and for the most part, it has unfolded that way.

I do think it is stronger from top to bottom with a little more depth than it was last year. Everybody talks about it and everybody talks about their own league that way. But the numbers prove it. Every single night if you are not ready to go you are going to get beat. It doesn’t matter who you are playing, even the teams that don’t have as good of a record as everybody else. They are still fighting, scratching and clawing to put themselves in position to win games. But I agree. Just from my two years, it is a little bit deeper than it was last year.

Q: What is your relationship like with Ole Miss coach Chris Beard and how well do you know him?
Jans: Yeah I’ve known Coach Beard for a long time. He came up in a similar fashion in terms of where we coached when we were younger at smaller colleges, junior colleges. Got to know him just from the business back in the late ’90s. So I have known him for quite a long time and always respected his work. He’s always won everywhere he’s been. He gets after it and he is known for that. His teams play the right way with a ton of passion and desire. We have a ton of respect for those guys but Wednesday night we will both be trying to beat each other’s brains out.

Q: Just your thoughts on Josh Hubbard and his approach on and off the court?
Jans: I like every-day guys. I like guys that show up for practice or film or weights that are ready to work. Certainly, nobody’s perfect. There’s days you don’t feel as well as others. Other things may distract you and life gets in the way of what we are trying to do. But Josh is an every-day guy. I don’t think he’s ever had a bad practice since he’s been here. He’s had better ones than others but it is never where he wasn’t focused or wasn’t coachable.

He gives effort every single day. I love that about him and about players that have that mindset. For him to come in as a newbie and be able to do that is impressive. Then the two-foul deal (early in the Arkansas game), we were just a little thin out there and I do trust him. I haven’t done that this year with him but it was so early in the game, I told myself that we are going to play him. I told one of my staff members, as well, that we were going to have to play him. We didn’t ‘have to’ and probably could have played other guys. But when DJ had his situation that was going to be a little more difficult to do that. But he continues to get better and better, and keeps earning our trust.