Mississippi State basketball's rally efforts drained the Bulldogs vs. Florida Gators
By Ethan Lee
It's generally never a good idea to get behind in anything. It doesn't matter what sport you're playing, you don't want to be trailing your opponent. And as Chris Jans pointed out following the Mississippi State basketball loss to the Florida Gators, trying to erase a double-digit second half deficit against the Florida Gators proved to be pretty difficult.
Jans acknowledged how his Mississippi State Bulldogs essentially ran out of steam when facing the Gators. When the Bulldogs had trimmed Florida's lead to just six points, things may have seemed to be in a pretty decent spot, but it's hard to continue that sort of momentum.
That said, the Bulldogs did have a fair bit of momentum at one point in this game.
"You get in a situation like that, and you play desperate," Jans said. "You play with urgency, and the other team tends to get on their heels a little bit. You think you’re good. Then, you start making a run at them. You can feel the vibe changing a little bit.”
Mississippi State just about got into striking distance. But, unfortunately for Jans and folks who love Mississippi State basketball, the Bulldogs just weren't able to keep moving in that direction.
Mississippi State basketball's rally effort vs. Florida Gators exacted a physical toll
"When you have to do all that, then press every single possession, have a lot more traps and then fly around, certainly it takes a lot out of you,” Jans explained.
It's fair to argue that Mississippi State expanded an immense amount of energy trying to get stops and slow Florida's impressive offense all while generating points to cut into the sizable deficit that had been built on the scoreboard.
"If we would have gotten it to four or three when it was at six, I thought maybe that could have been really interesting at that point," Jans stated.
Mississippi State absolutely has to find a way to avoid these sorts of situations moving forward. The Bulldogs' offense has been inconsistent and proved to be a bit of a problem against the Florida Gators. There are even tougher teams left in the SEC that the Bulldogs will face. MSU will need to be better.