STARKVILLE — Historically speaking, the Mississippi State men’s basketball team has had very little success against college basketball blue blood Kentucky.
The Bulldogs are far from alone in that regard, of course. But that’s probably not going to make MSU fans feel any better.
Kentucky owns a 85-18 record all-time against the Bulldogs and has won the last 13 matchups. MSU hasn’t beaten the Wildcats since the 2008-2009 season, when it capped off a three-game winning streak against Kentucky with a 66-57 victory in Lexington.
Tuesday night, the current Bulldogs face their Southeastern Conference foe in what has traditionally been a house of horrors for most colleges that don’t have the word Kentucky printed on the front of their jerseys: Rupp Arena.
“At the end of the day, it’s a basketball court,” MSU coach Ben Howland said. “They’ve got a great home court advantage. You’ve got to play really well to beat anybody on the road, much less Kentucky which has the best home court advantage in our conference. It’s just a great atmosphere for basketball on a national level. I don’t know if there’s any better home court in the entire country.”
Long losing streak to UK aside, MSU enters its latest clash with Kentucky with perhaps its best opportunity to upset the Wildcats that it has had in the last decade. The Bulldogs come to Lexington riding a hot streak, winning their last five conference contests and boasting the early favorite for SEC Player of the Year in Reggie Perry, the only athlete in the league averaging a double-double (17 points, 10 rebounds per game).
“We’re preparing for their team. They’re obviously a great team and really well-coached,” Howland said. “A hall of fame coach [in John Calipari], and an excellent backcourt.”
In its last three contests, MSU (14-7, 5-3 SEC) has faced halftime deficits of eight, 10 and six points, respectively. The Bulldogs won two of those three games, and had a chance to win the third on the final possession. Howland said a victory won’t be in the cards if his team gets off to a slow start against the Wildcats, though.
“We’ve got no chance unless we play 40 consecutive minutes of really good basketball,” Howland said. “That’s what we’ve got to do as a team moving forward.”
Meanwhile, No. 15 Kentucky (16-5, 6-2) has put together an NCAA tournament worthy season to this point, but not necessarily an elite campaign like its fans expect on a yearly basis. The Wildcats sit in a tie for second in the SEC with Auburn after dropping a 75-66 road matchup to the Tigers Saturday. With a win, the Bulldogs would move into a tie for at least third place in the league, depending on what Auburn does on the road against Arkansas Tuesday.
As Howland said, the Wildcats are a guard-heavy team, relying on the contributions of Immanuel Quickley (14.3 points, 4.3 rebounds per game) and Ashton Hagans (12.8 ppg and seven assists per night), who Perry said is the conference’s hardest defender to score on at SEC Media Days in October.
Quickley has notched 10-plus points in 10 straight games and in 16 of 20 contests overall, while sporting a 91.3 percent free-throw shooting clip.
“I think Hagans is really special,” Howland said. “He’ll be up for defensive player of the year. His hands are just lethal. He’s so good at anticipating and creating havoc with his defense on and off the ball. Quickley is playing unbelievably. He’s shooting 48 percent from three in the conference which is mind boggling.”
While the depth in the front court has been shallower than a typical Calipari-led team, UK’s best player down low is a good one. Kentucky forward Nick Richards has been one of the most efficient post players in the nation, shooting 65.9 percent from the field, which ranks eighth nationally. Like Quickley, Richards (14 ppg, 8.2 rebounds per night) has scored 10-plus points in his last 10 contests.
“Nick Richards has been an unbelievable story in terms of his growth as a player and how dominant he’s been over the course of the last dozen games or so,” Howland said. “He’s a special talent and obviously a huge factor for them offensively. Both not only on the block, but he can face up and make 15-17 foot-shots which I didn’t know he could do until this year. He looks really good doing it.”
Hodge is the former sports editor for The Dispatch.
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