This article has been updated to include new information.STARKVILLE — Mississippi State basketball was in striking distance to slay one of its demons. The Bulldogs trailed Kentucky by one point with two minutes remaining Saturday night at Humphrey Coliseum. A win would’ve snapped an 18-game regular-season losing streak to Kentucky dating back to 2009. Five of the previous losses in Starkville were all by seven points or fewer. Saturday’s result extended that streak to six gut-wrenching, last-minute losses.No. 13 MSU (14-2, 2-1 SEC) was held scoreless in the final two minutes, falling 95-90 to the No. 7 Wildcats (13-3, 2-1).The 90 points are the most Mississippi State has scored against an SEC opponent in coach Chris Jans’ three seasons, but one aspect of the offense still bothered him afterward.“I thought early in the game, we were a little uncharacteristic of this team,” he saids. “Talking here a lot about how unselfish our team is and how we share the basketball and how we work together offensively, and I just was a little surprised by some of our shots that we took.“None of them were like, 'Oh, my gosh, what is he doing?' They just were almost like they were surprised they were open, 'so I should shoot it.' I thought we had multiple guys take some shots that were like, 'We don't need that.'”Jans didn’t single out players by name whom he thought should have made better shot choices, but some can be inferred. KeShawn Murphy attempted two 3-pointers in the first half and he’s 4-for-19 from 3 this season. Starting center Michael Nwoko also attempted a 3-pointer, dropping him to 1-for-4 on the season. The Bulldogs shot 44.1% from the field in the first half and 18.8% from beyond the arc.When asked specifically about Josh Hubbard’s shot selection — he was 5-for-16 from the field and 3-of-11 from 3 for 15 points — Jans did say he was part of the group that could’ve made better decisions.Saturday was the seventh time this season MSU’s leading scorer has shot below 35% from the field. He's shooting 36.3% from the field and 30.8% from 3 in the last 12 games.“Shot selection is very fluid throughout games in the course of seasons, and I've got unbelievable confidence in Josh,” Jans said. “I'm sure the rest of our team does, too. He's proven over the course of a year and a half that he's a prolific scorer and he shoots shots that sometimes wouldn't be a great shot for someone else just because of his stature and his power and his game.”MORE:Former Mississippi State WR Jamire Calvin says house burned down in California wildfiresThe Bulldogs launched 40 3-pointers against Kentucky. It’s the most of the Jans era. Twelve of them went in for a 30% rate. Meanwhile, Kentucky connected on 16-of-32 3-pointers. It’s the most MSU has allowed in a game since Liberty drained 19 in 2020.“We just got to understand that everything matters,” Jans said. “Every possession matters. It's not, 'Oh, I'll get it back.' A lot of players say that 'I'll get it back.' No, you won't. You can't count on that. So I just think they need to understand that there's going to be a lot of challenging games and opportunities, and you got to play your best.”Sam Sklar is the Mississippi State beat reporter for the Clarion Ledger. Email him at ssklar@gannett.com and follow him on X @sklarsam

What Chris Jans called 'uncharacteristic' of Mississippi State basketball loss to Kentucky

This article has been updated to include new information.STARKVILLE — Mississippi State basketball was in striking distance to slay one of its demons. The 90 points are the most Mississippi State has scored against an SEC opponent in coach Chris Jans’ three seasons, but one aspect of the offense still bothered him afterward.The Bulldogs launched […]

This article has been updated to include new information.STARKVILLE — Mississippi State basketball was in striking distance to slay one of its demons.

The 90 points are the most Mississippi State has scored against an SEC opponent in coach Chris Jans’ three seasons, but one aspect of the offense still bothered him afterward.The Bulldogs launched 40 3-pointers against Kentucky. It’s the most of the Jans era. Twelve of them went in for a 30% rate. No. 13 MSU (14-2, 2-1 SEC) was held scoreless in the final two minutes, falling 95-90 to the No. 7 Wildcats (13-3, 2-1).The Bulldogs trailed Kentucky by one point with two minutes remaining Saturday night at Humphrey Coliseum. A win would’ve snapped an 18-game regular-season losing streak to Kentucky dating back to 2009. Five of the previous losses in Starkville were all by seven points or fewer. Sam Sklar is the Mississippi State beat reporter for the Clarion Ledger. Email him at ssklar@gannett.com and follow him on X @sklarsam_.“None of them were like, ‘Oh, my gosh, what is he doing?’ They just were almost like they were surprised they were open, ‘so I should shoot it.’ I thought we had multiple guys take some shots that were like, ‘We don’t need that.’”Jans didn’t single out players by name whom he thought should have made better shot choices, but some can be inferred. KeShawn Murphy attempted two 3-pointers in the first half and he’s 4-for-19 from 3 this season. Starting center Michael Nwoko also attempted a 3-pointer, dropping him to 1-for-4 on the season. The Bulldogs shot 44.1% from the field in the first half and 18.8% from beyond the arc.When asked specifically about Josh Hubbard’s shot selection — he was 5-for-16 from the field and 3-of-11 from 3 for 15 points — Jans did say he was part of the group that could’ve made better decisions.Saturday was the seventh time this season MSU’s leading scorer has shot below 35% from the field. He’s shooting 36.3% from the field and 30.8% from 3 in the last 12 games.“Shot selection is very fluid throughout games in the course of seasons, and I’ve got unbelievable confidence in Josh,” Jans said. “I’m sure the rest of our team does, too. He’s proven over the course of a year and a half that he’s a prolific scorer and he shoots shots that sometimes wouldn’t be a great shot for someone else just because of his stature and his power and his game.”MORE:Former Mississippi State WR Jamire Calvin says house burned down in California wildfires

Saturday’s result extended that streak to six gut-wrenching, last-minute losses.“We just got to understand that everything matters,” Jans said. “Every possession matters. It’s not, ‘Oh, I’ll get it back.’ A lot of players say that ‘I’ll get it back.’ No, you won’t. You can’t count on that. So I just think they need to understand that there’s going to be a lot of challenging games and opportunities, and you got to play your best.”Meanwhile, Kentucky connected on 16-of-32 3-pointers. It’s the most MSU has allowed in a game since Liberty drained 19 in 2020.“I thought early in the game, we were a little uncharacteristic of this team,” he saids. “Talking here a lot about how unselfish our team is and how we share the basketball and how we work together offensively, and I just was a little surprised by some of our shots that we took.