Today at 1 p.m. on ABC the Kentucky Wildcats, the SEC East 1 seed, will take on the Mississippi State Bulldogs, the SEC West 1 seed, in the 51st edition of the SEC Tournament Championship game. On Saturday, the Wildcats defeated the East 3 seed Tennessee Volunteers 74-45 and the Bulldogs beat the East 2 seed Vanderbilt Commodores 62-52 to set up the final. Here are some numbers and facts of interest headed into today’s game:
East 1 Seed vs. West 1 Seed In The SEC Tournament Championship Game
Since the current format of the SEC Tournament of East and West divisions, which began in 1992, this will be the 5th time in which the 1 seed from the East division will play the 1 seed from the West division for the SEC Tournament Championship. Ironically, Kentucky has been involved in all 4 of those games, and 2 of them have been against Mississippi State. Here’s how the first 4 games went:
March 12th, 1995
Georgia Dome, Atlanta, Georgia (Attendance: 30,067)
Kentucky – 95
Arkansas – 93
Overtime
Antoine Walker led the Wildcats with 23 points
Corliss Williamson led the Razorbacks with 22 points
March 10th, 1996
Superdome, New Orleans, Louisiana (Attendance: 24,462)
Kentucky – 73
Mississippi State – 84
Tony Delk led the Wildcats with 16 points
Dontae Jones led the Bulldogs with 28 points
March 11th, 2001
Bridgestone Arena, Nashville, Tennessee (Attendance: 20,225)
Kentucky – 77
Mississippi – 55
Tayshaun Prince led the Wildcats with 26 points
Jason Harrison led the Rebels with 12 points
March 16th, 2003
Superdome, New Orleans, Louisiana (Attendance: 22,054)
Kentucky – 64
Mississippi State – 57
Keith Bogans led the Wildcats with 22 points
Timmy Bowers led the Bulldogs with 13 points
So, the East 1 seed, or in this case just Kentucky, is 3-1 when facing the West 1 seed in the SEC Tournament Championship game.
First SEC Tournament Championship Game
Along with the 1996 and 2003 SEC Tournament Championships between the Wildcats and Bulldogs, they faced off against each other in the very first SEC Tournament Championship game, all the way back in 1933. It was Adolph Rupp’s 3rd season at Kentucky. Here’s how that game played out:
February 28th, 1933
Atlanta Memorial Auditorium, Atlanta, Georgia
1 Seed Kentucky – 46
12 Seed Mississippi State – 27
Forest Sale led the Wildcats with 16 points
Frank Waits led the Bulldogs with 10 points
UK’s Various Records vs. Mississippi State
UK’s overall record vs. Mississippi State: 85-20 (.810) (won last meeting, 7-3 last 10 meeting)
UK’s record vs. Mississippi State at a neutral site: 8-2 (.800) (lost last meeting)
UK’s record vs. Mississippi State when UK is ranked and Mississippi State is unranked: 50-4 (.926) (won last 3 meetings, 9-1 last 10 meetings)
UK’s record vs. Mississippi State in the month of March: 7-4 (.636) (lost last meeting, 7-3 last 10 meetings)
UK’s record vs. Mississippi State in the SEC Tournament: 7-2 (.778) (lost last meeting)
UK’s record vs. Mississippi State in the SEC Tournament Championship: 2-1 (.667) (won last meeting)
UK’s last meeting vs. Mississippi State in the SEC Tournament:
March 9th, 2007
Quarterfinals
Georgia Dome, Atlanta, Georgia (Attendance: 17,068)
East 4 Seed Kentucky – 82
West 1 Seed Mississippi State – 84
Overtime
Randolph Morris led the Wildcats with 29 points
Jamont Gordon led the Bulldogs with 26 points
Other Various Records
UK’s record playing on March 14th: 11-5 (.668)
UK’s record playing in the SEC Tournament Championship game: 26-8 (.765) (lost last Championship, 8-2 last 10 Championships)
UK’s record playing a team from the SEC West in the SEC Tournament Championship game: 6-1 (.857) (won last 3 Championships vs. the SEC West)
UK’s record playing in the SEC Tournament on March 14th: 4-0 (1.000)
UK’s record playing in the SEC Tournament Championship on March 14th: 2-0 (1.000)
UK’s 2 SEC Championship Games played on March 14th:
1993
Rupp Arena, Lexington, Kentucky (Attendance: 23,589)
East 2 Seed Kentucky – 82
West 2 Seed Louisiana State – 65
Travis Ford led the Wildcats with 18 points
Jamie Brandon led the Tigers with 13 points
2004
Georgia Dome, Atlanta, Georgia (Attendance: 22,024)
East 1 Seed Kentucky – 89
East 2 Seed Florida – 73
Chuck Hayes led the Wildcats with 23 points
Matt Walsh led the Gators with 17 points
RPI Rankings (As Of March 13th)
Kentucky: 2nd
Kentucky’s Strength Of Schedule: 45th
Mississippi State: 54th
Mississippi State’s Strength Of Schedule: 101st
Pomeroy Ratings (As Of March 12th)
Kentucky: 9th
Kentucky’s Strength Of Schedule: 64th
Kentucky’s Non-Conference Strength Of Schedule: 189th
Mississippi State: 46th
Mississippi State’s Strength Of Schedule: 82nd
Mississippi State’s Non-Conference Strength Of Schedule: 232nd
Sagarin Ratings (As Of March 12th)
Kentucky: 4th
Kentucky’s Strength Of Schedule: 64th
Mississippi State: 51st
Mississippi State’s Strength Of Schedule: 76th
Kentucky In The Top 30 In Team Statistics (As Of March 12th)
Blocks Per Game: 4th (7.2)
Field Goal Percentage Defense: T-5th (38%)
Field Goal Percentage: T-16th (48%)
Rebound Margin: 4th (+8.7)
Rebounds Per Game: 5th (41.5)
Offensive Rebounds Per Game: T-15th (14.5)
Defensive Rebounds Per Game: T-10th (27.1)
Opponents’ Defensive Rebounds Per Game: T-14th (20.4)
Scoring Margin: 8th (+14.2)
Scoring Offense: 17th (79.4)
Opponents’ Fouls Per Game: T-24th (21)
Points Per Possession: T-16 (1.12)
Opponents’ Points Per Possession: T-18th (.92)
Mississippi State In The Top 30 In Team Statistics (As Of March 12th)
Blocks Per Game: T-2nd (7.7)
Field Goal Percentage Defense: T-9th (38.4%)
Fouls Per Game: 4th (14.2)
3 Point Field Goals Made Per Game: 6th (9.2)
Rebounds Per Game: T-22nd (39.3)
Defensive Rebounds Per Game: 3rd (28.5)
Opponents’ Turnovers Per Game: T-20th (11.4)
Kentucky Players In The Top 50 In Individual Statistics (As Of March 12th)
Field Goal Percentage: Patrick Patterson, 6th (58.4%) DeMarcus Cousins, T-33rd (53.8%)
Points Per 40 Minutes: DeMarcus Cousins, 9th (26.7)
Rebounds Per Game: DeMarcus Cousins, 20th (10)
Offensive Rebounds Per Game: DeMarcus Cousins, 7th (4.3)
Assists Per Game: John Wall, 4th (6.3)
Turnovers Per Game: John Wall, 11th (4)
Mississippi State Players In The Top 50 In Individual Statistics (As Of March 12th)
Field Goal Percentage: Jarvis Varnado, 12th (57.6%)
3 Point Field Goal Percentage: Ravern Johnson, 28th (40.7%)
Rebounds Per Game: Jarvis Varnado, 18th (10.4)
Defensive Rebounds Per Game: Jarvis Varnado, 7th (7.5)
Blocks Per Game: Jarvis Varnado, 2nd (4.8)
Assists Per Game: Dee Bost, 34th (5.2)
Kentucky Individual Game Records vs. Mississippi State
Points: 34, Jim Andrews (1/10/1972)
Rebounds: 21, Jim Andrews (2/12/1973)
Assists: 13, Dirk Minniefield (1/23/1980)
Steals: 8, Rajon Rondo (2/19/2005) (tied for most ever by a UK player)
Blocks: 6, Marquis Estill (1/5/2002)
Free Throws Made: 18, Dwight Anderson (2/12/1979) (most ever by a UK player)
Field Goals Made: 15, Dan Issel (1/5/1970)
3 Point Field Goals Made: 6, Derek Anderson (1/7/1997)
Mississippi State Individual Game Records vs. Kentucky
Points: 37, Bailey Howell (2/11/1957)
Rebounds: 18, Herb Biggs (2/11/1967)
Assists: 9, Al Perry (2/28/1977) Butch Pierre (2/25/1981) Chuck Evans (2/19/1992) Marcus Bullard (3/10/1996)
Steals: 5, Greg Lockhart (3/4/1989) Greg Carter (1/31/1990) Timmy Bowers (1/5/2002) Barry Stewart (2/16/2010)
Blocks: 10, Jarvis Varnado (1/15/2008)
Free Throws Made: 14, Chuck Evans (2/19/1992)
Field Goals Made: 14, Jack Bouldin (2/8/1971)
3 Point Field Goals Made: 6, Darryl Wilson (1/22/1994) Marcus Grant (2/14/1995) Timmy Bowers (1/13/2004)
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