Yahoo Sports SEC basketball final: No. 6 Kentucky 95, No. 14 Mississippi State 90
Hoping to rebound from an 82-69 loss at Georgia on Tuesday, the Kentucky Wildcats return to the road on Saturday to face the Mississippi State Bulldogs at Humphrey Coliseum in Starkville. Start time is set for 8:30 p.m. The SEC Network will provide the television coverage with Dave Neal and Jon Sundvold.
Ben Roberts, Ryan Hermens, Mark Story, Cameron Drummond and yours truly will be providing updates and observations. You can follow Ben on Bluesky at @benrobertshl. You can follow the rest of us on X/Twitter at @ryanhermens, @markcstory, @cdrummond97 and @johnclayiv.
Follow a dedicated Kentucky men’s basketball X/Twitter list featuring updates from various sources.
Final: Kentucky 95, Mississippi State 90
Huge road win for the Cats.
The box: https://t.co/pue7ngZ26Z— John Clay (@johnclayiv) January 12, 2025
Kentucky clinging to a 91-86 lead over Mississippi State with 3:53 left.
UK is 16-of-30 from 3.
MSU is 12-of-34 from 3.#BBN #ukbasketball— John Clay (@johnclayiv) January 12, 2025
Mississippi State jumps back in front of Kentucky 80-78 with 7:59 left.
Turnovers: Kentucky 12, Miss State 5#BBN #ukbasketball— John Clay (@johnclayiv) January 12, 2025
Jaxson Robinson now with 25 points and Kentucky leads Mississippi State 64-51 with 15:55 left. Robinson hit 7 of his first 8 attempts from 3. #BBN #ukbasketball
— John Clay (@johnclayiv) January 12, 2025
At the half, Kentucky leads Mississippi State 49-44.@KentuckySports @heraldleader pic.twitter.com/qn0kuH33O6
— Ryan C. Hermens (@ryanhermens) January 12, 2025
https://t.co/bpWZCaMnie pic.twitter.com/dqssC7p0nK
— Kentucky Men’s Basketball (@KentuckyMBB) January 12, 2025
Halftime: Kentucky 49, Miss State 44
Big 3 by Butler at the buzzer after he had fouled Hubbard on a 3-pointer.
The box: https://t.co/ylVdPPkiND— John Clay (@johnclayiv) January 12, 2025
Kentucky-Mississippi State at 34 with 3:43 left in first half. UK shooting 44.0 percent. State shooting 48.3 percent. UK 6-of-15 from 3. State 2-of-13 from 3.
— John Clay (@johnclayiv) January 12, 2025
Jaxson Robinson off to a good start, which is a good sign for Kentucky. Robinson has 8 points and UK leads Mississippi State 20-18 at the 11:11 mark of the first half. #BBN #ukbasketball
— John Clay (@johnclayiv) January 12, 2025
Nice lift from Travis Perry, who buries a 3-pointer to pull Kentucky within 11-10 of Mississippi State at the 1H 14:46 TV time. #BBN #ukbasketball
— John Clay (@johnclayiv) January 12, 2025
Scouting report: Mississippi State
Coach Chris Jans has the No. 14 Bulldogs off to a 14-1 start overall, including a 2-0 record in the SEC. Mississippi State whipped South Carolina 85-50 in its league opener, then recorded a 76-64 road win over Vanderbilt. Ken Pomeroy has MSU ranked No. 17 in adjusted overall efficiency. State is 17th in adjusted offensive efficiency and 26th in adjusted defensive efficiency.
Sophomore guard Josh Hubbard is Mississippi State’s player to watch. As a freshman last season, he was 1-for-11 shooting from the floor, including 1-for-9 shooting from 3-point land in the Bulldogs’ loss at Kentucky. He rebounded in the rematch in Starkville, however, scoring 34 points on 11-for-24 shooting, including 7-for-14 from beyond the arc.
This season, the 5-foot-11 guard from Madison, Mississippi, native is averaging 17.1 points per game. He’s shooting 38.2% from 3-point range. He’s scored 20 or more points in six of MSU’s games. He was held to nine points in the win at Vanderbilt on Tuesday.
Mississippi State men’s basketball roster
Mississippi State men’s basketball schedule
Scouting report: Kentucky
Coach Mark Pope’s Wildcats dropped to 12-3 with the loss to the Georgia Bulldogs in Athens. The Cats are 1-1 in SEC play, having beaten Florida 106-100 in their league opener. UK is 22nd in the KenPom adjusted efficiency rankings. It ranks ninth in adjusted offensive efficiency but 89th in adjusted defensive efficiency.
After making 14 of its 25 attempts from 3-point land while beating the Gators in Rupp, Kentucky made only six of 25 in the Athens loss. Koby Brea was 7-for-9 shooting from 3 against Florida but just 2-for-9 shooting from 3 against Georgia. Jaxson Robinson was 1-for-5 shooting from 3 versus Georgia.
Kentucky must also do a better job on the boards than it did Tuesday. The Cats are currently 157th in the country in offensive rebound percentage. Mississippi State ranks 32nd in that category. KeShawn Murphy, a 6-10 junior, leads State in rebounding at 7.7 per game.
Kentucky men’s basketball roster
Kentucky men’s basketball schedule
Where to watch and how to follow the UK men’s basketball game at Mississippi State
Mark Pope, friend of the refs? Why the UK basketball coach rarely argues with officials.
Kentucky basketball’s first two SEC games came with a warning. Expect more to come.
Three takeaways from sixth-ranked Kentucky basketball’s loss to the Georgia Bulldogs
