STARKVILLE — As Mississippi State basketball looks to regain momentum after losing back-to-back road games, the Bulldogs will be without starting forward D.J. Jeffries due to a knee injury suffered Saturday at Alabama.

"He will be out for a while," coach Chris Jans said Monday. "I'm not exactly sure, but it won't be long-term. He definitely will be out, though."

Jeffries landed awkwardly while defending on a first-half possession about the Crimson Tide. The teams went into the under-8 media timeout after the play, and Jeffries took the court out of the break. However, he was limping on the following offensive possession and was removed.

Jeffries has started 55 games during Jans' two-year tenure. He is averaging 6 points this season, though his contributions are felt mostly on the defensive side. In SEC play, Jeffries ranks 11th in defensive rebounding percentage, 24th in block percentage and 19th in steal percentage, according to KenPom.

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Jans expects Shawn Jones Jr., who took most of Jeffries' minutes in the loss at Alabama, to earn a bigger role moving forward for MSU (14-8, 3-6 SEC). Mississippi State's next game is Wednesday (8 p.m., SEC Network) against Georgia (14-8, 4-5).

The return of forward KeShawn Murphy could also be a, "shot in the arm" for Jans. Murphy hasn't played since a Jan. 6 loss at South Carolina due to personal reasons.

Last week, Jans said Murphy was unavailable but was working his way back toward playing again. On Monday, Jans said Murphy remains "day-to-day," although he was in uniform at Alabama.

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

This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: D.J. Jeffries injury update: Mississippi State forward out 'a while'