It's been a difficult two-week stretch for Mississippi State. While the Bulldogs scored an overtime upset win over rival Ole Miss that bumped them up to No. 14 in the Associated Press Top 25, it's been sandwiched within three losses in four games.

Mississippi State lost at home to Kentucky, was routed at Auburn and after the Ole Miss win, lost Tuesday at Tennessee. Those losses were all to top 10 ranked teams, but still showed the Bulldogs have some work to do before they make a run closer to the SEC and NCAA Tournaments.

On Thursday, coach Chris Jans talked about the difficulty of the recent stretch for Mississippi State and where he sees the program. The Bulldogs take the floor next at noon CT on Saturday at South Carolina. Mississippi State routed the Gamecocks 85-50 in Starkville on Jan. 4.