Three things to watch when Kentucky basketball plays at Mississippi State
Three things I’ll be looking for Tuesday night when Kentucky plays Mississippi State at Humphrey Coliseum in Starkville:
1. Can Justin Edwards build on his Saturday performance?
It took a while but Justin Edwards finally broke through during Kentucky’s 117-95 romp over Alabama last Saturday. Did he ever. Edwards was a perfect 10-of-10 from the floor, including 4-of-4 from three-point range. He made four of his five free throws to finish with 28 points.
Actually, Edwards had been shooting the ball a bit better of late. He took only three shots in UK’s 70-59 win at Auburn, but made two of those. He was 3-of-4, all of them three-pointers, in the Cats’ 75-74 loss at LSU. Then Saturday, he caught fire against the Tide.
Can Edwards keep it up? No one is expecting another letter-perfect 28-point performance. Still, if Edwards can make another meaningful contribution he could solidify a spot as another weapon in an already explosive Kentucky offense.
2. How good is Mississippi State’s defense?
This will be another of those great offense vs. great defense matchups. Kentucky ranks eighth in kenpom’s adjusted offensive efficiency rankings, while Mississippi State ranks 11th in Pomeroy’s adjusted defensive rankings.
The Bulldogs have been especially good defending the three-pointer. Opponents are making just 28.3 percent of their shots beyond the arc, fourth-lowest in NCAA Division I. LSU was just 3-of-17 from the three in its 87-67 home loss to State on Saturday. Ole Miss was 6-of-19 in its 83-71 loss to the Bulldogs last week. Arkansas was 3-of-17 in its 71-67 loss at Starkville on Feb. 17.
In the first meeting between the two teams, Kentucky was 7-of-23 from three-point range in its 90-77 victory at Rupp Arena on Jan. 17. But MSU’s Chris Jans has the reputation of being an excellent defensive coach. And during the Bulldogs’ five-game win streak, Jans has his team defending the way he wants.
3. Will The Hump be humming?
As Kentucky coach, John Calipari has never lost at the 9,100-seat Humphrey Coliseum. He’s a perfect 8-0. The Cats needed extra time to win two of those games — 81-75 in overtime in 2010 and 78-73 in double overtime in 2021. But UK hasn’t lost in Starkville since a 69-64 setback on Jan. 15, 2008, during Billy Gillispie’s first season.
This time around, Mississippi State is playing some awfully good basketball, however. As previously mentioned, the Bulldogs have won five straight games to improve to 19-8 overall and 8-6 in the SEC. The 20-point win in Baton Rouge came three days after Kentucky lost by a point at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center. A win on Tuesday would pull MSU into a tie with the Cats in the conference standings.
So you would expect The Hump to be rocking, especially with State facing such a huge week. The Bulldogs travel to Auburn on Saturday. First comes Kentucky, however. And State would love nothing better than to snap its home losing streak to the Cats.
This story was originally published February 27, 2024 at 6:00 AM.
