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Men's Basketball

Kentucky vs. Mississippi State: TV/Streaming Info and Keys to the Game

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2 years ago

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© Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports

After back-to-back losses, the Kentucky Wildcats are back to where they found themselves just over a month ago, outside of the tournament bubble. However, in their remaining six games, they have four quad-one opportunities – and potentially five if Auburn can move back into the top 30 of the NET rankings.

The first of those opportunities comes on Wednesday as Kentucky travels to Starkville to take on a tough Mississippi State team. Led by new head coach, Chris Jans – who previously coached New Mexico State to four conference titles in five seasons – the Bulldogs are winners of five in a row, beating Arkansas, Missouri, and a ranked TCU team.

According to ESPN’s Joe Lunardi, both teams are on the bubble, so expect a tough-fought game. With that said, history is in favor of Kentucky as they have lost to Mississippi State just one time in the John Calipari era in seventeen matchups. The lone loss came in the SEC tournament of a COVID shortened 2020-21 season, 74-73.

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The Wildcats could be shorthanded for the third game in a row, as CJ Fredrick or Savhir Wheeler have yet to practice this week. Yet, the selection committee does not make exceptions for injury and the Wildcats need to win, with or without them.

On his weekly call-in show, John Calipari mentioned that the team came together on Sunday to take responsibility for how they have been playing and to recommit to each other as they enter the final stretch of the season. It’s up to this team to write their story.

Let’s look at the keys to Wednesday’s matchup.

Keep Them Out of Transition and the Paint

Mississippi State has one of the best defenses in the country. In fact, they are ranked 4th in the KenPom defensive efficiency ratings. However, as strong as they are on the defensive end, they are nearly as poor on the offensive end. Ranked 175th in offensive efficiency, they are the second-worst offensive team in the SEC, behind South Carolina.

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Expect a low-scoring game, as the Bulldogs have not scored more than 70 points in conference play, which coincidentally came against Arkansas this past weekend. To get their points, they rely on transition offense and points in the paint.

To defend this, the Wildcats will need to spring back on defense and be physical in the paint. Two things, that they have not been consistent at doing this season.

Crash the Defensive Glass

One of Mississippi State’s biggest strengths is their offensive rebounding. Averaging 11.8 per game, the Bulldogs are statistically better than Kentucky by 0.2 rebounds.

The rebounding battle will be headlined between Oscar Tshiebwe and Mississippi State’s Tolu Smith. Just as Tshiebwe is Kentucky’s leading scorer and rebounder, Smith is the same for Mississippi State. Given that Tshiebwe has struggled to lesser players recently, a big effort will be needed to neutralize Smith.

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Yet, Smith isn’t the only Bulldog that can rebound, as they have size and strength in their frontcourt. Their rotation consists of six guys that are at least 6-foot-7 and 22 pounds. For that reason, each Wildcat will need to do their part, matching the physicality and box out.

Make Smart Decisions

As Arkansas’s Eric Musselman said of Mississippi State earlier this season, they are “a high-steal, high-gamble team.” Averaging 9.4 steals per game, the Bulldogs steal the ball at the sixth-highest rate in the country.

Without Sahvir Wheeler in the last two games, errant passes have occurred too often, hurting themselves. This will have to change on Wednesday, as the Mississippi State defense will try to use steals to get themselves scoring opportunities in transition, to counter their poor offense.

If Kentucky can take care of the ball, it will force the Bulldogs to make plays within their half-court offense, which they have struggled to do.

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Kentucky Wildcats (16-9) vs. Mississippi State Bulldogs (17-8)

Time/Date: 8:30 pm ET on Wednesday, February 15th, 2023
Location: Humphrey Coliseum in Starkville, Mississippi.
TV Channel: SEC Network
Online Stream: WatchESPN, ESPN+, SEC Network+ or ESPN app
Radio: Tom Leach and Jack Givens have the UK radio network call on the UK Sports Radio Network.
Replay: WatchESPN and SEC Network (check local listings).
Rosters: UK | MSU
Team Sheets: UK | MSU
Stats To Know: UK | MSU

Odds: DraftKings Sportsbook has yet to release the odds for the game, but expect Kentucky to be an underdog. Given their recent loss, ESPN’s matchup predictor has lost confidence in the Cats, giving them just a 40% chance to win. Bart Torvik’s computer model continues to be low on the Wildcats and gives them a slimmer chance at 32%.

Predictions: Bart Torvik picks the Wildcats to lose in a close defensive battle, 65-61.

Also published on A Sea of Blue.

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Men's Basketball

Kentucky Basketball Players Say They Think About Winning National Championship “Every Second”

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4 days ago

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November 18, 2024

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Kentucky basketball players celebrate after their big over Duke.
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The expectations at Kentucky are the highest of any school in the country, and there is good reason why. The winningest college program ever. Eight national titles, under five different coaches. Seventeen Final Four appearances. You get it, a lot of success.

Fans want the players to have those same expectations. Despite not having the elite talent or preseason hype of great Kentucky teams past, this year’s team still has their eyes set on doing something “people will remember forever”, winning a national championship.

Asked on social media, if hanging banner #9 was all the players thought about “every second”, Ansley Almonor had a response.

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“We do.”

It takes a lot to win a national championship, including some luck, but this team is certainly going to be loved for their desire to live out their dream of playing at Kentucky and their unselfishness. Those two things can take them a long way this season .

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Kentucky AD Mitch Barnhart Seemingly Takes Shot at John Calipari, “Anybody Can Recruit”

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6 days ago

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November 16, 2024

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Mitch Barnhart sitting next to basketball coach John Calipari.
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John Calipari and Kentucky Athletic Director Mitch Barnhart had their differences over fifteen years, but success can hide a lot of things. Not that they hated each other, but they each had vastly different personalities. As that success weaned towards the end of Calipari’s tenure, those issues started to be noticed publically.

If you need evidence of that, despite their efforts to dispute it, there is the infamous press conference where Barnhart talked about “entitled” coaches, shortly after Calipari publicly called for a new practice facility. Then, there were multiple times when Calipari expressed that the administration was not on the same page and that he was facing “headwinds”.

That said, Calipari is now at Arkansas, but those differences and some disdain remain. During an interview on the Kentucky Football pregame show, Barnhart seemingly took a shot at Calipari when asked about Mark Pope’s recruiting philosophy and prioritizing fit.

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“I tell people all the time, ‘Anybody can recruit, not everybody can evaluate,’” Barnhart said. “You can recruit. You can be phenomenal at bringing people to your program. But if it does not fit you, it’s really not helpful.”

Of course, Calipari is one of the best, if not the best, recruiters in college basketball history. At times, he prioritized talent and athleticism over fit.

Quite the coincidence.

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Men's Basketball

ESPN’s Jay Williams Gives Message to Kentucky Fans, “You’re Not Going to Like It…”

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7 days ago

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November 15, 2024

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ESPN college basketball analyst Jay Williams gives a message to Kentucky fans after the Wildcats win over Duke. "You won't like it."
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Back in April, opposing fanbases like Duke, told Kentucky fans to “cope with Pope” following the hire of Mark Pope and the corresponding initial shock. On Tuesday, those same fanbases had to watch as Mark Pope outcoached Jon Scheyer and Duke in the final minutes of the Champion’s Classic to get his first marque win in just his third game at Kentucky.

Of course, shortly after the game, Duke fans began to rationalize the loss by highlighting their team’s youth. While true, it sounded like an echo chamber of what Kentucky fans said for years under John Calipari. One notable example was former Blue Devil Jay Williams.

At halftime, while Duke was leading 46-37, Williams called this year’s Duke team the most talented since the 2001 team that he was a part of at halftime. To his credit, he complimented Kentucky on the comeback victory, specifically on their offense and maturity, but then 36 hours later he posted a message to Kentucky fans on social media.

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“Let me put you on to something,” Williams started. “Whether you like it or not, networks are going to sell Cooper Flagg. He’s going to be the number one pick in the draft. You’re going to talk about whether he won the or whether he lost the game, regardless of the outcome.”

“You’re not going to like it. There should be more kudos to Mark Pope and Kentucky,” Williams continued. “Regardless of whether you won the game or not, they’re still going to sell Cooper Flagg because he is selling the sport. Sorry.”

William’s statement is true. That said, it comes off as ‘sour grapes’ about losing. Cooper Flagg is a great talent and will likely be the first pick in the NBA Draft, but most Kentucky fans would say they would much rather have the win than the marketing.

Futhermore, Kentucky and its ‘brand’ has raised the level of multiple players and coaches, and will continue to do so. A deeper impact than Cooper Flagg will have on Duke in just one season.

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