Mississippi State basketball is off to its worst five-game start to a season in 10 years.
It’s a shocking development for the Bulldogs (2-3), who have been nothing but consistent in coach Chris Jans’ previous three seasons with three NCAA tournament appearances.
Advertisement
But after an 0-2 run through the Hall of Fame Classic in Kansas City, Missouri, with a 98-77 loss to Kansas State on Nov. 20 and 80-78 loss to New Mexico on Nov. 21, the early-season indications are that MSU will be fighting an uphill battle to get to the NCAA tournament.
“Nobody expected these results,” Jans said in his postgame radio interview after the New Mexico loss. “Nobody in our program expected these results, but it’s reality and it’s where we are at. We got to figure it out.”
Mississippi State’s other loss was to No. 14 Iowa State, an uncompetitive 96-80 game in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Even Mississippi State’s wins against North Alabama and Southeastern Louisiana haven’t come easily.
It is already the most nonconference losses in a season under Jans, with New Orleans next at Humphrey Coliseum on Nov. 24 (6:30 p.m., SEC Network+) followed by other games against SMU, Georgia Tech, Utah and Memphis.
Advertisement
“I talked about (to the team) you have to have ownership of your performance or your productivity from an individual perspective, including me and anyone else on our staff that influences what we do,” Jans said.
Is it too soon to panic? Let’s dive into what’s gone wrong for Mississippi State.
Mississippi State basketball’s 2 biggest issues
The Bulldogs hoped to get back to their defensive identity this season after regressing in 2024-25, but that hasn’t been the case.
They are allowing 80.8 points per game. That would’ve ranked 15th in the SEC last season. Two of the five most points allowed in the Jans era have already occurred this season with Kansas State’s 98 points and Iowa State’s 96.
Advertisement
“We’re going to continue to try to tweak it and get our guys to be better for all of us from the top down to do whatever we got to do to make sure that these results change,” Jans said.
Star guard Josh Hubbard has scored at least 23 points in four of the five games. Georgetown transfer Jayden Epps is also discovering a rhythm with back-to-back season highs in scoring. But outside of them, MSU isn’t getting much consistent production at all.
MORE: What Jeff Lebby said about Lane Kiffin coaching rumors before MSU vs Ole Miss in Egg Bowl
Hubbard scored 29 points with six 3-pointers against New Mexico. Epps had 21 points. No one else on the team scored in double figures, with starters Shawn Jones Jr. and Achor Achor combining for two points and three turnovers in 39 minutes. Montana State transfer Brandon Walker was MSU’s third-best scorer with eight points in 16 minutes off the bench.
Advertisement
Hubbard’s turnover with 35 seconds remaining led to New Mexico’s go-ahead layup. Then, Hubbard missed a step-back 3-pointer on Mississippi State’s next possession with 13 seconds remaining.
“That’s on me, we’re going to figure it out,” Hubbard posted on X after the game.
Sam Sklar is the Mississippi State beat reporter for The Clarion Ledger. Email him at ssklar@gannett.com and follow him on X @sklarsam_.
This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: Mississippi State basketball, Chris Jans are 2-3 after New Mexico loss
