No. 3/3 Kentucky Wildcats (19-3, 10-1 SEC)
vs.
Mississippi State Bulldogs (18-7, 6-5 SEC)
Sat., Feb. 19, 2005 – 9:00 p.m. ET
Rupp Arena – Lexington, Ky.
TV: ESPN
Following its first loss to an SEC opponent in 367 days, Kentucky returns home to Rupp Arena and hosts defending SEC champion Mississippi State. The Wildcats saw their nine-game overall win streak, 19-game SEC win streak, and nine-game SEC road win streak snapped Tuesday at South Carolina, 73-61. It was only UK?s fourth loss to an SEC foe in its last 49 league matchups.
A pair of Cat streaks remain, however. Kentucky has won its last 20 games against SEC West teams (18 regular-season games and two SEC Tournament contests) and 11-straight home SEC contests.
ESPN Spotlights the Bluegrass
Lexington is in the national spotlight this weekend when ESPN?s College Gameday visits Rupp Arena as part of its eight-week tour of college hoops hotbeds. Chris Fowler, Jay Bilas, Digger Phelps and Andy Katz will be on hand for three one-hour broadcasts Saturday (11 a.m., 8 p.m. and midnight) from the High Street lobby of Rupp Arena.
Fans will be allowed to watch the show in person at no charge. UK students waiting in line for the E-RUPPtion Zone will be allowed to go watch the 11 a.m. broadcast without losing their spot in line.
Scouting the Bulldogs
Mississippi State brings an 18-7 record to Rupp Arena and stands at 6-5 in SEC play after losing to LSU in Starkville Wednesday, 80-72. The Bulldogs have dropped five of their last nine games and are 1-4 on the road in SEC play this year.
All-American Lawrence Roberts leads MSU with 17.8 ppg and 11.3 rpg, while Winsome Frazier is next in scoring with 13.1 ppg. Frazier, who missed five weeks of action with a broken foot, returned to the court against LSU, scoring 11 points and grabbing five rebounds in 24 reserve minutes.
Rick Stansbury is in his seventh season as head coach at Mississippi State after eight seasons as an assistant in Starkville. He holds a 144-71 career coaching record and has taken the Bulldogs to the NCAA Tournament three times.
Series History
This is the 99th meeting between the two teams. UK leads the overall series, 81- 17, and has won eight of the last 10 meetings. Kentucky forward Erik Daniels tipped in a buzzer-beater last year in UK?s 67-66 win in Starkville.
The teams last met in Lexington on Feb. 23, 2003, a 70-62 UK victory. Kentucky is 41-4 all-time against the Dogs in Lexington, including a 20-1 advantage at Rupp Arena. MSU?s lone win in Rupp Arena came on Feb. 14, 1995 – a 76-71 upset by No. 21 MSU over No. 4 UK.
Tubby Smith is 8-3 all-time against the Bulldogs and 7-1 while at UK. Rick Stansbury is 1-6 all-time against the Cats.
Probable Starters
Pos. # Name Ht. Wt. Cl. PPG RPG Notes F 44 Chuck Hayes 6-6 242 Sr. 10.6 8.7 Just one point in 36 mins at USC F 24 Kelenna Azubuike 6-5 208 Jr. 14.2 4.7 Team-high 16 pts at USC C 33 Randolph Morris 6-10 266 Fr. 8.4 3.9 Double-figures in 2 of last 3 games G 4 Rajon Rondo 6-1 171 Fr. 8.5 *3.0 Shooting 50.4% FGs overall G 22 Patrick Sparks 6-0 180 Jr. 11.1 *4.2 Two assists in last three games MISSISSIPPI STATE Pos. # Name Ht. Wt. Cl. PPG RPG Notes F 4 Lawrence Roberts 6-9 240 Sr. 17.8 11.3 13 pts, 14 rebs vs. LSU F 31 Ontario Harper 6-5 215 Sr. 7.8 5.0 Has started last six games C 50 Marcus Campbell 7-0 270 Sr. 7.0 5.9 Played just 14 mins vs. LSU G 21 Shane Power 6-5 210 Sr. 11.1 4.0 Shooting 42 percent from 3FG G 11 Earvin Gary 5-11 170 So. 8.2 *5.1 Second in SEC in assists *assists per game
Location: –
TV: – Brad Nessler, Dick Vitale, Erin Andrews
Radio: ,
Online Coverage:
Mississippi State Bulldogs Information
