Wednesday night felt like déjà vu for Mississippi State basketball fans. Bulldog basketball dropped another heartbreaking contest at home with a highly-ranked opponent, falling 88-84 to #4 Alabama despite having a near perfect look to grab the lead in the closing seconds.
It was the second gut-wrenching home loss for State this season against a Top 10 team, as #6 Kentucky defeated them 95-90 just a few weeks back. And painful losses to those squads in particular are nothing new for the Bulldogs.
State has yet to beat either program under Chris Jans, and six of their last eight games against Alabama and Kentucky have been single-digit defeats. For some reason, the Bulldogs cannot seem to get over the hump in those matchups despite having teams that should be good enough to get the job done.
Of course for this season as a whole, Top 10 teams beyond the Cats and Tide have been kryptonite for an otherwise strong Mississippi State team. They're 0-4 against Top 10 opponents, the other two losses being uncompetitive road trips to Auburn and Tennessee.
When asked why his team continues to struggle in these matchups, Chris Jans had a very simple but somewhat hard to swallow answer...
"My deduction at this point is that we're not a Top 10 team. We've lost four games to Top 10 teams, and I don't like admitting that because I like this team. "Miss State HC Chris Jans
The Bulldogs are good. They're ranked in the Top 15 with some good wins to their name and, as discussed, could have more if a few more shots had fallen. But they ultimately haven't been able to make the winning plays to put them in that upper-tier of teams.
Still, Chris Jans believes his squad is capable of getting to that point.
"I'm confident in this team, I believe in this group...We've got more work to do. "Chris Jans
Bulldogs' guard Claudell Harris echoed Jans' words. At their best, State can win matchups like this one. They've got to continue to fight through the grind that is the SEC and trust their efforts will soon pay off.
"We've just got to stay the course...know we're a team that can still beat those teams...We're going to get right back."Miss State Guard Claudell Harris
More opportunities to take down Top 10 opponents remain on the schedule. State will host #5 Florida on February 11, and they'll head to Tuscaloosa for a rematch with Alabama on February 25. They've got more Top 25 matchups left as well, including their very next game against #20 Missouri on Saturday.
The SEC gives you no time to regroup following a tough loss, as the Bulldogs already saw earlier in the season. They'll need an emphatic response this weekend.