Kentucky battle hot Bulldog squad

The 15th ranked University of Kentucky Wildcats are looking to bounce back from a crushing road loss to the Auburn Tigers.

The Mississippi State Bulldogs are un-ranked, but coming off of two big wins against conference rivals Florida and Tennessee.

Here is how they match up against one another.

Kentucky Wildcats

The Wildcats come into the match-up as one of only three teams in the SEC ranked in the top 25. The other two, Auburn and LSU, have either won against the Cats, or have yet to play.

Kentucky’s leading scorer is sophomore Immanuel Quickley who averages 14.3 points-per game and their leading rebounder and shot-blocker is Junior Nick Richards.

#SECMBB Player of the Week: @IQ_GodSon

Details » https://t.co/TVa8zrLkWi pic.twitter.com/6zXqLuKaU2

— Southeastern Conference (@SEC) January 13, 2020

This is one of Kentucky’s more experienced squads with several stars, like the ones listed, being players for multiple years at the program.

Of Kentucky’s losses, two have come to teams with teams with at or near double-digit loss figures (Evansville and Utah.) The Wildcats will need a win to stay in the hunt for an SEC regular season title.

Mississippi State

Mississippi State is coming into this match riding high off of two big wins. They are also undefeated in their last five conference games.

The Bulldogs started slow but have slowly climbed to tournament contention with March right around the corner. A big red flag on State’s resume are their lack of quality wins, which they will have if they beat Kentucky. Their tendency to dominate the boards offensively and defensively has given conference foes fits.

Reggie Perry, the team’s star player, was named the Naismith Player of the Week last week.

🗣 Reeeggggiiieee Peeerrrrryyyy@NaismithTrophy Player of the Week ✔️@SEC Player of the Week ✔️#HailState🐶 x @_R1bang_ pic.twitter.com/oWoxCf6exA

— Mississippi State Men's Basketball (@HailStateMBK) February 4, 2020

Keys to Victory

Kentucky

• Start hot, use the home field to your advantage, State hasn’t won at Rupp since 2009
• Force Perry to shoot 3, He is around a 30% 3-point shooter

Miss. State

• Crash the boards, use physicality to beat the Cats
• Force Fouls, Foul trouble helped defeat the Cats last week

The Game

Tip-off for the game will be at 9 p.m. on ESPN.