STARKVILLE — On Tuesday, Mississippi State basketball faced Kentucky for the 20th time since coach John Calipari was hired by the Wildcats ahead of the 2009-2010 season. The result resembled a familiar one for the SEC foes.
Kentucky, for the 19th time in the Hall-of-Fame coach’s tenure, walked out with a 91-89 win.
For Mississippi State coach Chris Jans the defeat snapped a five-game winning streak that propelled the Bulldogs up the conference standings and the NCAA Tournament picture.
The game featured a battle of marquee freshmen, with MSU guard Josh Hubbard posting 34 points − marking his second straight game with at least 30 points scored. With less than 10 seconds to go, Hubbard nailed a 3-pointer to tie the contest.
However, he was countered by UK’s Reed Sheppard who posted 32 points − including a floater in the final second to win.
Mississippi State (19-9, 8-7 SEC) led by as many as 13 points in the second half. But behind a 38-19 run, the Wildcats (20-8, 10-5) were able to flip the deficit into a lead as large as eight.
Mississippi State controls paint in first half
MSU All-SEC forward Tolu Smith returned to the starting lineup after coming off the bench the previous two games. Behind his lead, the Bulldogs established a strong interior presence in the first half en route to a 43-35 lead at the break.
Mississippi State out-scored Kentucky 22-12 in points in the paint in the first period. The Bulldogs also had a 20-13 edge on rebounds, including a six to two edge in offensive boards.
Smith sparked Mississippi State’s offense, scoring 11 of his 21 points in the first half.
Kentucky kept the game tight by countering with 3-pointers. The Wildcats hit seven of their 18 attempts from deep in the opening period. The Bulldogs only attempted nine first-half 3-pointers, but they made five of them.
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Mississippi State’s upcoming test may be its toughest of the season. MSU plays at Auburn on Saturday (3 p.m., ESPN2). Inside Neville Arena, the Tigers are 13-1 with the lone loss coming against Kentucky.
MSU won its first meeting of the season against Auburn on Jan. 27. In the victory, Mississippi State got 17 points from Hubbard while two others scored in double figures. The Bulldogs held Auburn forward Johni Broome to 14 points.
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.
First appeared on www.clarionledger.com