CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Jimmy Bell Jr. was on the bench with a towel over his head. Shakeel Moore sat in the locker room, shaking his head in disbelief. Tolu Smith sunk into his locker as tears filled his eyes amid the realization of his collegiate career ending.

Throughout the Mississippi State basketball roster, there was a struggle to grasp the reality of what Thursday’s 69-51 loss against No. 9 seed Michigan State in the first round of the NCAA Tournament meant.

As will be the case with 32 teams across the country between the first two days of March Madness, No. 8 Mississippi State (21-14) didn’t envision it ending like this – an uncompetitive showing against the Spartans (20-14).

"It's hard to put into words,” Smith told reporters afterwards at the Spectrum Center. “I've been here a while. (Mississippi State) means everything to me. Wearing that jersey for the last time, it kind of hit home."

That level of disappointment − which was shared from the departing players such as Smith to the freshman such as Josh Hubbard – comes from a place of promise, though.

Mississippi State left the SEC tournament five days ago disappointed to only reach the semifinals. The Bulldogs leave March Madness with a similar sentiment, upset to have not strung together the wins they believed they could.

For a program that has only reached the NCAA Tournament 13 times in school history, hearing its named announced on Selection Sunday is usually enough. Under coach Chris Jans, the standards are higher.

“Coach Jans does a tremendous job with his players and does a tremendous job coaching,” Smith said. “The things I've seen him do, just beyond belief. I’ve seen him do a lot of things that I haven’t seen in a lot of coaching staffs. To be able to witness that and be part of greatness like that − it's a great thing to be part of. I can firmly say that I’m a better player than when I was two years ago. He’s a big contributor, a big reason why.”

According to Jans, the veteran players deserve credit for getting the program to the place it’s at.

The transfer portal era has made it common for players to depart after a coaching change. That wasn’t the case for Smith, Moore, D.J. Jeffries and Cameron Matthews. They stayed put, helping win 42 games in two seasons.

That’s the most successful two-year stretch for MSU since the 2018-19 and 2019-20 seasons. It’s the winningest two-year stretch for a new coach in program history.

“I just see the program in the future just continuing to excel even after all of us are gone,” said Matthews, who has another season of eligibility remaining. “I just feel like it’s going to go to another level.”

WOMEN'S HOOPS: Why star Jerkaila Jordan is returning for final season at Mississippi State

While retaining players helped Jans start his Mississippi State career in a successful manner, the transfer portal will play a key part in continuing the upward trajectory.

The veteran core got Mississippi State dancing. A new core, led by Hubbard, will look to take it to the next step with MSU seeking its first NCAA Tournament win since 2008.

“I’m sure as we get through with our obligations and get back to the hotel, the staff will be raring to go with getting me more on the phone than we have and trying to figure out where we go from here,” Jans said. “We’re going to want quality people. We’re going to want, obviously, good players. We’re going to try to be better, in a better position next year than we are right now.”

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: Mississippi State: Can Chris Jans build off March Madness foundation?