Chris Jans expects Rutgers to be 'quite the challenge' for Mississippi State

Mississippi State head coach Chris Jans expects quite the challenge when the Bulldogs take on Rutgers in the Gotham Classic at the Prudential Center in Newark (N.J.).

Jans and company aren’t in the AP Top 25 this week, but were in and out of the rankings throughout the year, sporting a 9-2 record. But they don’t want to overlook a well-coaching Rutgers (7-3) that seems to be getting healthier.

Jans knows it’ll be a fight from the opening tip Saturday.

“Yeah, it’s gonna be quite the challenge,” Jans said. “We knew that when we scheduled it. Coach (Steve) Pikiell has done a tremendous job there for seven or eight years and he’s built a brand of basketball that people that follow the game respect. They’re tough top to bottom. You know, they play together, they’ve got a core group of guys that have been there, done that for him and he’s just really done a really good job with the program. 

“And, you know, they got great size, they protect the rim at an elite level. They got some dynamic scoring to go along with it and they’re getting healthy. And you know, they just got to kid back that hadn’t been playing and he was, you know, a core player for them in years past and they’re getting healthier, seems like every week.”

The player referred to by Jans was Mawot Mag, who’s played in two games this year returning from an ACL injury.

Mag made a difference for Rutgers, averaging seven points, six rebounds and two assists in those two contests. He averaged 7.8 points per game, to go along with six rebounds and two assists per game throughout 23 games in 2022-23.

Mississippi State gets a Rutgers team that is getting together after the first third of the season. It might match the off-court energy as the Scarlet Knights landed one of the best recruiting classes in the country with two of the top three players: Dylan Harper and Ace Bailey.

But Jans wants to go into the holiday break with a win. A Mississippi State win over Rutgers will send the Bulldogs into Christmas on a high note.

“We’ll part ways for the most part,” Jans said of the break after the Rutgers game. “Then we don’t play until the 31st. So we still have a chance to have a nice break, which I’m a big proponent of. I think that’s where they need to be, they need to be with their families celebrating Christmas and equally important from a basketball perspective is just to get away from it a little bit and get off their legs and just kind of rest their bodies and their minds and enjoy, you know, the holiday with their families. 

“But we’ll bring them back on the 27th, you know, that evening so we’ll still have, you know, three and a half full days of preparation for our game against Bethune Cookman.”