Young Teams Set for Rivalry Renewal on Tuesday
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Since John Calipari arrived in Lexington eight years ago, the Kentucky basketball program has annually fielded one of the nation’s youngest teams. But on Tuesday night, the 2016-17 Wildcats will face a team that actually has less experience than they do.
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| Kentucky at Mississippi State | ||
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Tue., Jan. 17 – 7 p.m. ET |
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| Coverage | ||
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TV: ESPN |
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| UK | 2016-17 Team Stats | MSU |
| 15-2 | Record | 12-4 |
| 5-0 | Conference Record | 3-1 |
| 93.6 | PPG | 74.4 |
| 71.7 | Opp PPG | 66.8 |
| .495 | FG% | .454 |
| .407 | Opp FG% | .424 |
| 41.6 | RPG | 34.9 |
| .355 | 3PT FG% | .375 |
| .307 | Opp 3PT FG% | .308 |
| .686 | FT% | .727 |
| 18.2 | APG | 12.7 |
| 6.6 | SPG | 8.1 |
| 6.2 | BPG | 4.5 |
There are 351 NCAA Division I men’s basketball programs in the NCAA this season, and Kentucky’s Tuesday night foe, Mississippi State, ranks 350th in experience according to KenPom.com. Kentucky is just a shade above the Bulldogs at number 347.
Despite the youth on both squads, these are two of the hottest teams in the SEC heading into Tuesday’s clash (7 p.m. ET, ESPN). Kentucky is 15-2 overall and a spotless 5-0 in league play. Mississippi State is 12-4 overall and 3-1 in the SEC, having won three in a row, including two on the road (at LSU and at Arkansas). The Bulldogs have won six of their last seven games and nine of their last 11.
“Ben’s doing an outstanding job,” Calipari said of Mississippi State head coach Ben Howland. “He’s got a young team like we do, but they fight, they defend, they create good shots, they’ve got skilled guys. It’s going to be a rough one.”
Mississippi State starts three freshmen and two sophomores. The Bulldogs have only one senior (I.J. Ready) and one junior (Drew Davis) on their roster, which includes eight freshmen and four sophomores.
It’s the two starting sophomores who lead the Bulldogs in scoring. Quinndary Weatherspoon, the reigning SEC Player of the Week, leads Mississippi State, and is fifth in the conference, in scoring at 17.9 points per game.
“He’s a tremendous player,” Kentucky assistant coach Joel Justus said of Weatherspoon. “He’s obviously in a little bit of the same role as maybe as what we were just talking about with Isaiah (Briscoe), with a group of inexperienced players. He’s a guy that is able to provide maybe some stability for that group with (I.J.) Ready coming off the bench.”
Sophomore big man Aric Holman, who led Owensboro (Ky.) High School to a KHSAA state championship in 2015, averages 10.4 points and a team-high 6.8 rebounds per contest for the Bulldogs.
Howland, who took UCLA to three straight Final Four appearances from 2006-08, knows talent when he sees it. The MSU head coach is impressed with the Wildcats.
“We’re excited about the opportunity to play the best team in our league (Tuesday) night in Kentucky, and what I think is one of, obviously, the very best teams in the entire country,” Howland said on Monday’s SEC teleconference. “So, that’ll be a great challenge and a great measuring stick for us as to where our team is at this point.”
Freshman Malik Monk continues to lead the Wildcats, and the SEC, in scoring at 21.8 points per outing. Fellow freshman De’Aaron Fox is second on the team, and eighth in the league, averaging 16.5 points per game. Sophomore Isaiah Briscoe is 10th in the SEC with a 15.4 per game average.
Kentucky has won nine in a row against Mississippi State, but games against the Bulldogs seem to always be tough, and many times memorable. For example, in 2004, fifth-ranked Kentucky went into Humphrey Coliseum to face No. 20 and unbeaten Mississippi State. And with the Cats trailing 66-65 and two seconds left on the clock, Erik Daniels caught a deflected pass intended for Chuck Hayes and laid it in ahead of the buzzer to give Kentucky a 67-66 win.
Calipari’s first two games against Mississippi State were also quite memorable. In the regular season, the Wildcats needed overtime, and a highly-motivated DeMarcus Cousins, who had allegedly been receiving cell phone calls from MSU fans all week, to get past the Bulldogs 81-75 in Starkville. The two teams met again in the SEC Tournament in Nashville, where a Cousins put-back at the end of regulation forced overtime, where the Wildcats won 75-74.
With two of the nation’s youngest teams going at it on Tuesday, perhaps this rivalry can produce another classic contest.
Kentucky’s Hot Shooting Helps the Wildcats Overcome Foul Trouble, Auburn
No. 6 Kentucky found a way to overcome a little foul trouble in its fifth straight win. A solid performance from long range provided a nice lift.
Malik Monk made four of Kentucky’s 11 3-pointers and finished with 24 points, leading the Wildcats to a 92-72 victory against Auburn on Saturday.
The balanced Wildcats (15-2, 5-0 Southeastern Conference) shot a season-high 57.1 percent from the field and placed five players in double figures. Bam Adebayo had 15 points, and De’Aaron Fox finished with 13.
The physical matchup included 49 fouls between the two teams, with Fox fouling out with 7:23 remaining. Kentucky connected on just 17 of 32 free throws, compared to 5 for 15 at the line for Auburn.
Leading comfortably for much of the first half, the Wildcats saw their second-half lead shrink to four points with 12:32 left in the game. Auburn hung around until Monk heated up and senior Mychal Mulder added a lift off the bench.
UK was coming off an 87-81 win at Vanderbilt that included an uncharacteristically poor performance from beyond the arc, with the Wildcats making just one of their nine 3-point attempts. They were much better against the Tigers.
Kentucky made eight 3s on its way to a 51-39 lead at the break. The Wildcats finished with 11 3-pointers in 19 attempts. Overall, UK shot better than 50 percent for the fifth straight game, the first time that’s happened since the 1991-92 season, and it’s the first time it’s been done five straight times in regular-season league play since doing it eight consecutive times during the 1983-84 season.
Mulder had 12 points — one shy of his career high — for Kentucky, and Isaiah Briscoe finished with 10. Wenyen Gabriel grabbed a career-high 16 rebounds and finished with six points. His 16 boards were the most by a Wildcat since Julius Randle had 16 on March 14, 2014. They are also the most in a league game in the John Calipari era.
Additional notes:
• It’s the third time in Calipari’s eight seasons at UK the Wilidcats have been spotless through their first five league games
• It was the eighth time this season Kentucky tallied at least 50 points in the first half
• The Wildcats have had a player score 20 or more points in eight straight games. For Monk, it was his 10th game with 20 points or more
• Adebayo increased his double-figure scoring streak to 14 consecutive games
• Gabriel made two 3-pointers in the first half. It was his first career game with multiple 3-pointers
Monk Tabbed SEC Freshman of the Week
Kentucky freshman guard Malik Monk was named the Southeastern Conference Freshman of the Week after leading the Wildcats in scoring with 21 points and 3.5 assists per game in wins over Vanderbilt and Auburn. Monk had 18 points against the Commodores and a game-high 24 with six assists in the win over Auburn.
He clinched the win at Vanderbilt by scoring UK’s final six points, including four free throws in the final 17 seconds to seal the win. He combined with guards Isaiah Briscoe and De’Aaron Fox to score UK’s final 27 points over the last 12 minutes of the game.
Monk dished out six assists in the win over the Tigers – just one off a career-high – the most against any SEC foe this season.
He hit five 3-pointers on the week, including the only one at Vanderbilt to keep UK’s nation-leading games with a 3-pointer streak alive. His four 3-pointers against Auburn helped UK shoot 57.9 percent from behind the arc, the highest output of the season.
Monk earned his fourth SEC honor of the season (third Freshman of the Week). His four overall honors ties teammate De’Aaron Fox for the most in the league this season.
Kentucky has had the SEC Freshman of the Week three weeks in a row. This marks the ninth weekly award of the season for the Wildcats, the most of any team in the conference. Monk is second in the league in Freshman of the Week honors (three) as Fox has earned the honor a league-high four times. Monk has reached double-figure scoring in every game this season, and topped 20 or more points 10 times.
Three Future Cats on McDonald’s All-America Rosters
The Kentucky men’s basketball team’s top-ranked recruiting class will be well represented during the 2017 McDonald’s All- American Game in March with the selections of Quade Green, Nick Richards and P.J. Washington.
Joining an elite list that features some of the greatest players to ever play for Kentucky, incoming Wildcats Green, Richards and Washington were selected to participate in the 40th annual McDonald’s All-American Game on March 29 in the United Center in Chicago.
Green, Richards and Washington will all suit up for the East team. UK can only publicize prospects who have signed a national letter of intent or a financial aid agreement. The next signing period is in April.
With the selections of Green, Richards and Washington, UK has signed 28 players during the John Calipari era who have been named to the prestigious high school event, more than any other school in the country during that time period.
