Mississippi State basketball vs. Kentucky: Score prediction, scouting report in SEC game
Knowing Mississippi State basketball was next on Kentucky’s schedule, coach Chris Jans admits he was hoping the Wildcats would prevail at Texas A&M on Saturday. Instead, the Aggies came out on top in overtime.
“I wasn’t rooting for the outcome, to be honest with you,” Jans said Monday. “That wasn’t ideal for us, but that’s just the way it goes. At the end of the day, we certainly know how that feels when you’re coming off a loss and you get an opportunity to maybe get the players’ attention even more than normal. I’m sure their staff is rallying them up.”
Kentucky (12-3, 2-1 SEC) hasn’t dropped back-to-back games this season. It happened just twice last season, and the season before, it didn’t occur until postseason play. As was often said with Nick Saban’s teams at Alabama, coaches don’t want to play John Calipari’s Wildcats off a loss.
Mississippi State (12-4, 1-2) will face that challenge Wednesday (6 p.m., ESPN2) at Rupp Arena.
Can Mississippi State slow down Kentucky’s offense?
Mississippi State was tasked with slowing down Alabama, the SEC’s No. 2 scoring offense, its last time out – an 82-74 loss for the Bulldogs on Saturday. Jans’ squad now takes on the SEC’s top-scoring offense, with Kentucky averaging 90.8 points per game.
The Wildcats own the nation’s No. 8 offense in terms of adjusted efficiency, according to KenPom. Their guards are a big reason.
Antonio Reeves ranks second in the SEC with 18.9 points per game while Rob Dillingham adds another 14.4 points off the bench. Against the Aggies, UK had four guards – Reeves, Dillingham, D.J. Wagner and Reed Sheppard – account for 68 of 92 points. They were the lone Wildcats in double figures.
“They’re very high-octane on offense,” Jans said. “It’s very similar to Alabama in terms of their transition baskets, their ability to get it downhill, multiple playmakers on the floor at one time and then they shoot the ball really, really well.”
Kentucky’s 39.8% clip on 3-pointers ranks eighth in the country.
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Score prediction
Kentucky 83, Mississippi State 70: Mississippi State’s defense deserves as much praise as the Kentucky offense. However, when teams have sped it up against MSU – whether it be Alabama or Tennessee in the second half – the Bulldogs have struggled to keep up. Mississippi State will return to Starkville on a two-game losing skid.
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 score prediction vs. Kentucky in SEC basketball
