Game Day Links: Kentucky Wildcats vs Mississippi State Bulldogs

Mandatory Credit: Mark Zerof-USA TODAY Sports

The Kentucky Wildcats head to Starkville, Mississippi to take on the Mississippi State Bulldogs for the second time this season. The game can be seen on SEC TV at 1:30pm or heard on UK IMG Radio.

The Kentucky Wildcats are 17-5, 7-2 in the SEC while the Mississippi State Bulldogs are 13-9, 3-6 in the SEC. In the last meeting against the Bulldogs, the Wildcats only had a four point lead at the half, but managed to walk away with a 85-63 win on January 8th. The Wildcats lead the series 90-20 against the Bulldogs.

Ken Howlett, writer for Coachcal.com gives three keys for victory for the Wildcats.

"Defend with purpose — After allowing a combined 51.8 percent field-goal accuracy against LSU and Missouri on the road, UK’s defense bounced back nicely at home by holding Ole Miss to 38.5 percent shooting from the floor and 28.6 percent from beyond the arc. Kentucky must continue muster the effort and execution, especially in the paint, to continue showing steady improvement on the defensive side of the floor. The length of the UK roster implies a team dominant on the defensive end, and that implication must come to fruition if the boys in blue expect to do real damage against elite competition. Dominate the paint –  With MSU boasting only three players 6-7 or taller who receive regular floor minutes, and with the trio of 6-8 Borchert, 6-9 Ware, and 6-7 Johnson accounting for 33.9 of MSU’s 68.1 points per game (49.8 percent) and 15.9 rebounds of MSU’s average of 33.4 boards per game (47.6 percent), Kentucky’s domination of both lanes will go a long way toward ensuring a road victory.Willie Cauley-Stein — Against Ole Miss on Tuesday night, Cauley-Stein came to life after five-of-six subpar performances where UK’s man in the middle averaged only 2.3 points and 3.2 rebounds per game. In those six contests, WCS made only 5 of 22 shots (22.7 percent). Historically, Cauley-Stein does well when playing a team with limited length in the paint, and after playing his best game as a Wildcat against the Rebels, posting 18 points, 11 rebounds and six blocks, a dominating follow-up performance will help re-establish his confidence as a rebounder and scorer."

Howlett, for Coachcal.com, also mentions the key match up for the Wildcats to keep a close eye on,

"Wildcat guards vs. Bulldog guards — With the late December transfer of  6-5 redshirt freshman guard Andre Applewhite, who had earned a starting nod in the MSU lineup, supplanting Fred Thomas, the Bulldogs now rely on Sword, Ready, Thomas, and 6-foot junior Trivante Bloodman (13 points against UK in earlier game) to fill the perimeter spots on the MSU roster. Playing into UK’s hands, three of the four MSU guards are 6-3 or shorter (Thomas is 6-5), giving the Kentucky guard trio of the Harrison twins and James Young a very real size advantage on the perimeter. Additionally, the Bulldogs’ guard contingent struggles when shooting from distance. The four combine to make 32.1 percent of their 3-point shots, but if one removes Ready’s 43.8 percent long-range accuracy, the remaining three Bulldog guards make only 29.9 percent from beyond the arc. Conversely, the MSU guards are steady ball handlers, as the four combine to turn the ball over only 7.5 times per contest; a number which suggests Kentucky could be challenged in regards to creating easy buckets off of defensive pressure.The Wildcats’ guards, not unlike their MSU counterparts, have not kept the 3-point ticker consistently clicking all season, displaying a tendency to be alarmingly streaky from long range. But UK’s perimeter players are able to mitigate that circumstance, at least partly, by finding other ways to score the basketball via drives to the tin or with midrange jumpers."

This should be a good game for the improving Kentucky Wildcats. If they play with the same mentality they’ve played with lately, they should be able to walk out of Starkville with a win.