Looking ahead, Dontaie Allen has a message for UK fans: ‘Stay with us’
After Kentucky lost to Mississippi State in the SEC Tournament on Thursday in Nashville, Dontaie Allen was asked what message he would deliver to UK fans.
“I’d say just stay with us for the following seasons. …,” he said.
“If you really look at the team, you can say they didn’t have the best of records. You could say they weren’t good. … The team fought every single game. That’s something you can’t say we didn’t do.”
When asked to appraise his season, Allen spoke of the 74-73 defeat making for a poor ending to the UK season.
“I just hate me and the team had to go out like this,” he said. “I’m still kind of stuck on that.”
Ask me later
If UK’s season is done, graduate transfer Davion Mintz finished it with a flurry. He made four of seven three-point shots against Mississippi State. That made him 29-for-63 from beyond the arc (46 percent) in the last eight games.
Mintz also had eight assists and no turnovers, which helped UK post an 18-to-five assist-to-turnover ratio. In the last three games, Mintz had 23 assists and three turnovers.
When asked if he might take advantage of the COVID-related extra year of eligibility and play again for Kentucky next season, Mintz said, “No idea. We just lost so I’m just processing that right now.”
Plus/minus
Mississippi State outrebounded Kentucky 46-30 in Thursday’s game. That was the worst beating on the boards suffered by UK since 2017 (a 54-29 deficit at Florida on Feb. 4, 2017).
State became the third opponent in the last four games to beat Kentucky on the boards. That included a 42-28 advantage by Ole Miss.
Mississippi State outscored Kentucky 46-22 in points from the paint.
UK Coach John Calipari cited a failure to execute the plan, which was to have the defender stand in front of State’s player posting up.
State’s advantage in size with Abdul Ado and Tolu Smith was too substantial to simply station a defender behind the offensive player.
On the plus side, Kentucky met the goal of not giving Mississippi State too many opportunities to shoot free throws.
In the regular-season game, State made 16 of 23 free throws. UK made three of eight.
“They’re not beating us at the foul line,” Calipari said of the plan.
State made nine of 11 free throws. Kentucky made 10 of 17.
Allen again
Ben Howland did not need reminding that Allen scored 23 points in each of the two games his Mississippi State team played against Kentucky. Allen made 13 of 28 three-point shots in those games.
“Dontaie Allen has something to do with Mississippi State,” State’s coach said. “I don’t know what it is. Whenever we play against Kentucky, he gets to be the best player on the court. He was phenomenal again.
“Going to the last shot of the game, my heart was all the way down in the pit of my stomach watching that shot go up.”
Insufficient desire?
Kentucky outscored one opponent in the final four minutes of a game since Jan. 16.
When asked about Mississippi State outscoring UK 8-2 in that span, Mintz said, “It just felt like they wanted it more than us.”
This came after Kentucky outscored State 41-22 in the first 16 minutes of the second half.
“We were at a level eight,” Mintz said of the final four minutes. “They took it to 10.”
Respect I
After a victory over then-No. 13 Missouri, Abdul Ado said that Mississippi State’s program was not respected. A preseason media poll picked State to finish 12th.
“One thing I’ve learned is we are very underrated no matter what we do,” he said. “No matter the progress we’ve made, we just don’t get the credit we deserve.”
Said Howland: “I’m glad he feels that way because we’re always … trying to prove naysayers and doubters wrong. If he thinks like that, I want him to continue to think like that.”
Respect II
Although confident, Alabama Coach Nate Oats said earlier this week that the winners of Thursday’s second-round would present a challenge in Friday’s quarterfinals. The Tide will play Mississippi State.
“The teams that are going to be playing on Thursday have a great shot of winning the whole tournament,” Oats said. “With the parity, some of the teams that don’t have the best records have a ton of talent and are now starting to come together. And you’re seeing what they hoped they could be.
“Well, that’s a dangerous team.”
Etc.
Calipari had never lost against Mississippi State. Until Thursday, his record was 16-0 against the Bulldogs. … State had lost 15 straight games against Kentucky dating back to 2009. … Calipari’s record in SEC Tournament games slipped to 23-5. … Kentucky’s all-time victory total remained at 2,327. Kansas, which is second with 2,321 victories, played Oklahoma on Thursday night in the Big 12 Tournament.
This story was originally published March 11, 2021 at 5:48 PM.
