How Mississippi State basketball coach Chris Jans is making The Hump bump again

STARKVILLE — Mississippi State basketball forward Tolu Smith was roaming on his own. Walking toward midcourt and over the banner M logo, Smith wore the exhaustion from his 25-point, 12-rebound performance in MSU’s 63-52 win against Missouri on Saturday.

But he found the last ounce of energy left to lift his arms and motion for the raucous crowd at Humphrey Coliseum to cheer once more. The maroon-and-white faithful responded, voicing their approval for their team and their star forward.

There haven’t been many moments such as these for Smith – who’s playing in his fourth season at MSU. There was the COVID-19 pandemic which limited capacity. There was also plenty of losing keeping the crowds away.

That’s not the case anymore. Mississippi State (15-8, 3-7 SEC), in its search for an NCAA Tournament bid under first-year Bulldogs coach Chris Jans, has made The Hump bump again.

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“Big shoutout to the fanbase,” Smith said postgame. “Big shoutout to coach Jans. He did an amazing job of getting the fans here. We love every second of it. It’s very electric. It’s like a sixth man out there.”

It doesn’t mirror the hours he put into assembling a roster and implementing a style of play, but Jans has been heavily involved in ensuring fans are aware of their importance.

He spent nights in the fall walking down Greek row and stopping by fraternities and sororities to encourage students to come to games. A day before last week's win against TCU, Jans stepped away from game preparation to meet with fans, sign autographs and shoot balls into an inflatable hoop on campus.

The reward has been six straight home games with crowds north of 8,000 − including a crowd of 8,494 against Missouri (17-6, 5-5). Mississippi State’s average attendance last season was 6,830 overall and 7,489 in SEC play. The averages are at 7,509 and 9,010 this season.

“I didn’t know what to expect when I arrived,” Jans said. “I’d never been here in terms of a game or a venue. (The fans) have been very receptive to us. I think our guys are good guys. … We have good people. They’re out there, they’re interacting and they’re building relationships, and we’re an advocate for them to be our biggest reason why people come and watch the games.”

Student have been the top priority. However, Mississippi State risks graduating a class with no NCAA Tournament appearance.

Smith feels his players' pain having never played in March Madness, but as The Hump becomes a tough place to play, a February run could change the fate.

“It gives us a real adrenaline boost,” forward Tyler Stevenson said of the crowds. “It makes us want to go even harder – make us go 10 ten times harder.”

Stefan Krajisnik is the Mississippi State beat writer for the Clarion Ledger. Contact him at skrajisnik@gannett.com or follow him on Twitter @skrajisnik3.

This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: How Mississippi State basketball, Chris Jans ignited Humphrey Coliseum