Bulldogs Remain On The Road For ESPN Showdown At Kentucky
January 11, 2016 | Men's Basketball
STARKVILLE, Miss. — After opening the SEC road slate on Saturday, Mississippi State caps a two-game road swing with a Bluegrass State showdown at Kentucky Tuesday night.
Tip-off is set at 6 p.m. at Rupp Arena with Brad Nessler and Sean Farnham calling the ESPN Super Tuesday telecast. Fans can tune in to Jim Ellis and Richard Williams on the MSU Radio Network.
“We are heading into playing at Kentucky which is one of the hardest places to play in the country. It is definitely a tough home court,” MSU coach Ben Howland said. “They had a big win on the road with Alabama. Their guard play in the back court is as good as anyone in the country and their defense forces a lot of turnovers and pressure. It is a big challenge for us and we are looking forward to going and playing against them.”
The Bulldogs (7-7, 0-2) seek to bounce back following an 82-68 loss at Arkansas. Craig Sword led MSU offensively with 21 points, while Gavin Ware added 14 points.
Ware leads the conference and is 11th nationally with a .653 shooting percentage and has logged double-digit point efforts in every game this season. Ware's 14-straight games of 10-plus points is the longest streak to start a season since Tony Watts recorded double digits in all 28 games of the 1991-92 campaign.
Jamal Murray paces the Wildcat offense with 17.3 points per game, while Alex Poythress and Marcus Lee share 7.1 rebounds per game. Poythress and Isaiah Briscoe also average double-digit outings with 10.1 and 10.6 points, respectively.
In their last outing, Kentucky (12-3, 2-1) rebounded against Alabama in a 77-61 decision. Poythress and Murray recorded 25 and 21 points, respectively, against the Tide. Poythress tallied a career high while scoring 17 in the first half.
The Wildcats lead the all-time series 92-20 with a 46-5 advantage at Rupp Arena. MSU is seeking to knock off UK in Rupp since a 66-57 win in 2009.
Following the road trip, MSU returns to Humphrey Coliseum Saturday afternoon against Tennessee. Tip is set for 2:30 p.m. CT and will be nationally broadcasted on the SEC Network.
