Bulldogs answer the call when needed the most

Since the Chris Jans era started nearly three years ago at Mississippi State, his team has taken on a toughness and determined approach. That approach seems to produce an overwhelming majority of the time when the Bulldogs have their backs against the wall.

Such was the case on Saturday in the 84-81 overtime win over rival Ole Miss at Humphrey Coliseum. So many times in the previous two-plus seasons, when a win is needed desperately, a win is achieved.

In Jans’ first season at the helm, the Bulldogs had their backs against the wall for nearly the entire second half of the SEC slate, especially after starting the league with a 1-7 record that year. Another slow start to SEC play was the case last season as well but like Jans’ initial season in Starkville, the Bulldogs collected ‘must wins’ en route to another NCAA Tournament invite.

No, Saturday wasn’t a matter of fighting for a postseason berth, although it did strengthen the tournament resume with another Quad 1 victory and put State at 15-3 overall and 3-2 in the SEC. But make no mistake, the win was needed at home, especially with the Bulldogs on a two-game slide entering Saturday.

“We just stayed focused on one game at a time,” KeShawn Murphy said. “We took two losses and had to learn from them, which we did. We got better as a team and as a group. We came out tonight, stepped up and got a big win.”

State wasn’t at its best by no means. Josh Hubbard was just 2 of 13 shooting and Claudell Harris was held to five points. Cameron Matthews had a double double (10 points, 11 rebounds) but had four turnovers and wasn’t at his best. RJ Melendez was just 2 of 8 from 3 point range and 4 of 12 overall shooting.

But whether it was Murpy or Riley Kugel (21 points) or Melendez, they came up with the plays needed to get the win.

“It is Jans’ trust in us,” added Murphy, who had 18 points and 11 boards. “And it is our trust in him. So it works out collectively and we trust each other. So we go out there and play for each other and it carries over.”

Mentally and physically it carried over until the final horn. Late in the game, Kugel suffered another injury to the same foot and had to sit for a couple of minutes. But there was no way he wasn’t going to return, which he did and then made a crucial 3 pointer in overtime to give State the lead for good.

“I knew I had to get back out there,” recalled Kugel. “I had twisted the same foot. But I was going to do whatever I could to get back out there on the floor. Really it was just a mental thing. I had to get back on the court.”

Coaches normally shy away from adding more pressure their players, and calling any game a ‘must win’, particularly for a game in January and early in the SEC schedule. But in the back of his mind, Jans knew it was just that – a must win.

“I told a couple of people but I didn’t tell the team that this was a must win for this team,” Jans remarked. “But it certainly was for me, internally, for a lot of factors. I don’t know if we had a bigger must win than going into the game today, in my opinion.”

Now the Bulldogs have to go on the road twice next week with trips to Tennessee and South Carolina ahead. And as the schedule grows longer, there will be more ups and downs, and more adversity to face in this rugged league. But we’ve seen this group of Dogs respond more times than not, and that needs to be the case moving forward.

“First year, second year, third year, we’re trying to make steps to where we are trying to put this program at,” mentioned Jans. “Lost two in a row, got to go on the road for two more. Obviously, it is a rivalry game and everything added up that this was going to be a big turning point for us one way or the other.

“But our guys didn’t play like that. Our guys came out of the gates loose and comfortable. Certainly the crowd had a lot to do with that and they were unbelievable. I was happy our guys had that kind of mentality coming out of the gates.”