Early foul trouble caused big problems for Mississippi State basketball vs. Florida Gators
By Ethan Lee
There's no way that Mississippi State men's basketball coach Chris Jans isn't frustrated with the way that foul trouble led to a momentum swing roughly halfway through Mississippi State's loss to the Florida Gators.
Following the Bulldogs' loss to the Gators, Jans was asked about a critical stretch that began just before halftime and ended in the midst of the third quarter. During this timeframe, MSU struggled with fouls and Florida was able to build a sizable lead over the Bulldogs.
That ultimately resulted in a 79-70 Mississippi State basketball loss Wednesday evening.
Mississippi State basketball must avoid early foul trouble in key SEC games
When he was asked about the last few minutes of the first half, Jans addressed State's foul trouble which ultimately limited his ability to get ideal matchups on the court.
“Yeah, we were battling foul trouble in the first half," Jans said. "I had D.J. [Jeffries] and Cameron [Matthews] both with two. We were playing them because it was so early, and we had to. Shawn Jones had two as well. We got to about the three-minute mark. At that point, I’m like, ‘Can we even get to halftime and not get a third [foul] of those guys?'”
That's a tricky situation for Jans to be in. It's not exactly the sort of situation any head coach wants to be in.
Florida Gators take advantage of Mississippi State Bulldogs' foul trouble, build momentum around halftime
Mississippi State wasn't able to avoid foul trouble before halftime and Florida quickly dashed any comeback hopes by jumping on the Bulldogs early in the second half. That allowed the Gators to build a sizable (and insurmountable) lead over MSU.
"Then, for whatever reason, we just didn’t start off very well in the second half," Jans said. "All of a sudden, it was a 15, 16, 17-point game, and we were playing from behind for the rest of the evening.”
The loss drops the Bulldogs to 13-6 overall and 2-4 in SEC play. This weekend, Mississippi State returns to the Hump and will host the Auburn Tigers, who are currently at the top of the Southeastern Conference. The Bulldogs can't replicate these kinds of mistakes in that game.