Following a tough defeat in College Station against Texas A&M, the Kentucky Wildcats will return to Lexington to play a tough Mississippi State team. While unranked and suffering some bad losses early this season (Southern, 203rd in KenPom), the Bulldogs are analytically the fifth-best team in the SEC and are a borderline Top 25 team.

The 12-4 Bulldogs recently returned their best player, preseason All-American pick Tolu Smith, and just beat a top-5 Tennessee squad last week. With a full roster, with plenty of experience, they could cause some fits in the SEC. Their defense has been the calling card for this Mississippi State team, ranked 9th in defensive efficiency in KenPom.

Under John Calipari, Mississippi State has only beaten Kentucky once, in the 2021 SEC Tournament. However, of the last four games in the series, two have gone into overtime and the other two have been decided by one possession.

I expect another close one on Wednesday. Let’s dive into the matchup.

Protect the Paint

If you look at the season stats, it would appear that Mississippi State shoots a fair amount of threes, averaging more than 23 per game, but at just a 32 percent clip, the third lowest in the SEC. However, since Tolu Smith has been added back to the lineup, the Bulldogs are averaging just 16 attempts per game. It is a small sample size, but shows a different offensive approach, and for good reason, Smith is one of the most efficient bigs in the SEC in the paint shooting better than 58 percent from the field.

Aaron Bradshaw and Ugonna Onyenso’s length could prove bothersome to Smith, but they must be smart and stay out of trouble. Even outside of Smith, the duo has shown improved rim protection, specifically Onyenso who had five blocks against Texas A&M, and who is also daring opponents to bring it into the paint. “If you think you can make a basket, if you think you can go get a layup on us, good luck with that,” he said last week.

Let’s also see if the guards have started to embrace the “desperate” mentality Calipari is trying to instill in them and stay in front of the ball.

Take Advantage of Turnovers

The biggest weakness of this Mississippi State team is their inability to take care of the ball. In fact, averaging more than 13 per game, they are third third-worst team in the SEC in turnovers. These turnovers primarily come from poor entry passes, poor drives, or pressure in the paint. If Kentucky can force the same turnovers the Bulldogs have committed all season, this will allow Kentucky to get some easy transition opportunities and push the pace a bit.

Rebound

It is no coincidence that since Smith has returned, Mississippi State has reached double-digit offensive rebounds in three of the four games, something they had only done in three of the previous twelve games. This is an area that Kentucky has struggled against.

The Wildcats are coming off allowing 25 offensive rebounds to Texas A&M, the most of the John Calipari era. Last Saturday’s performance didn’t fall on any one player, as everyone got outworked for rebounds, but it’s disappointing given this team’s athleticism. Has Onyenso said previewing the matchup, it is an effort thing and the effort must be better.

Opposing Players to Watch

F Tolu Smith, 6-11, 245 lbs

• 16.8 PPG (8th in SEC)
• 6.8 RPG (T-10th in SEC)
• 58.3% FG (Doesn’t qualify, but would be 2nd in SEC)

G Josh Hubbard, 5-10, 185 lbs

• 15.1 PPG (15th in SEC)
• 38.8% 3P
• WATCH ON/OFF BALL SCREENS!

G Shakeel Moore, 6-1, 190 lbs

• 8.0 PPG
• Best perimeter defender, Top 15 in steals in SEC back-to-back seasons.
• 3rd time playing Kentucky

Kentucky Basketball vs. Mississippi State Bulldogs

• Date: January 17th, 2024
• Time: 7:00 pm ET
• TV Channel: ESPN2
• Announcers: To be announced.
• Location: Central Bank Center in Lexington, KY.
• Online Stream: Stream the game online with WatchESPN and the ESPN app.
• Radio: Tom Leach and Jack Givens have the UK radio call on the UK Sports Radio Network.
• Replay: WatchESPN and the SEC Network (check local listings).
• Rosters: UK | MISS ST
• Stats to Know: UK | MISS ST
• KenPom: UK | MISS ST
• Team Sheets: UK | MISS ST
• Odds: DraftKings has yet to release the odds of this game. ESPN’s matchup predictor basically gives the Cats a 3 in 4 chance to win at 73.7%. Both Bart Torvik and EvanMiya are less confident in Kentucky, still projecting them to win at 63% and 65.2% respectively.
• Predictions: Bart Torvik and Haslametrics are nearly identical in their projections, picking Kentucky to win 80-77 and 81-77. EvanMiya is still picking the Cats but in a slightly less scoring game, 77-73.