Red Hot Bulldogs Face No. 5 Kentucky On ESPN

Tuesday, January 17

Starkville

6:00 PM

Mississippi State

#5 Kentucky

Buy tickets

Mississippi State faces a ranked team for the first time this year against Kentucky on Tuesday.

Red Hot Bulldogs Face No. 5 Kentucky On ESPN

January 16, 2017 | Men's Basketball

MSU Game Notes Kentucky Game Notes Watch ESPN

STARKVILLE, Miss. — Two of the hottest teams in the SEC collide Tuesday when Mississippi State faces No. 5 Kentucky in what is expected to be a packed Humphrey Coliseum.

Tip is set for 6 p.m., with Brent Musberger, Sean Farnham and Kaylee Hartung handling the ESPN broadcast. The game can also be heard on the MSU radio network with veterans Jim Ellis and Richard Williams on the call.

MSU stands at 12-4 on the season, 3-1 in league play. In the 67-59 win against Texas AM on Saturday, freshman forward Schnider Herard paced the Bulldogs with a career-high 16 points, while New Orleans native Lamar Peters added 14 points, 4 assists and 5 assists.

The Wildcats enter the contest 15-2, 5-0, following their 92-72 home win against Auburn on Saturday.

It's a White Out game and all fans are encouraged to wear white. In addition, the Student Lounge, located Gate 8 on the west side of the coliseum, will make its men's basketball debut.

THE SERIES
Kentucky leads the all-time series 93-20 and has won nine straight.

COACHES
Ben Howland is in his second year at MSU and 21^st overall. As a head coach in four different stops, he is 427-227 with a 26-21 mark with the Bulldogs.

John Calipari is in his eighth year at Kentucky and owns a 232-49 ledger. Overall, he's 634-187 in 25 years.

QUOTABLE
"These guys are well aware of how good Kentucky is. They follow college basketball. They know about the kids on the team and how talented they are. I think our guys will be very excited about the opportunity." — MSU coach Ben Howland of his team.

NEXT 2
Jan. 21 at Tennessee and Jan. 25 at Humphrey Coliseum against Missouri.

BULLDOG BITES

After Mississippi State won three-straight against Kentucky from 2007-09, the Wildcats have won the last nine, two decided in overtime.
The last time UK won 10 or more straight in this series was from 1967-75 (17).
MSU enters the contest having won three-consecutive SEC games for the first time since 2011 and is 3-1 for the first time since 2010. The Bulldogs' last 4-1 league start came in 2009.
Mississippi State forced a season-high 22 turnovers against Texas A&M, marking the 13th time opponents have totaled 12 or more and the second time 20-plus (Oregon State, 21).
Four times this year, MSU has rallied from deficits of 10 points or more.
Against Texas A&M, freshman forward Schnider Herard scored a career-high 16 points.
MSU beat the Aggies despite a season-low 23 rebounds and TAMU winning the boards, 38-23.
The Bulldogs limited Texas A&M to a season-low one 3-pointer, the first time an opponent had just one trey since Arkansas at the Hump on Feb. 9, 2016.
KenPom.com has MSU as the second-least experienced team of all 351 DI programs, while Kentucky is fifth.
When is Mississippi State successful? When outrebounding foes (9-0), shooting 45 percent or better (10-0) and winning or being tied at the half (11-0).
Of current SEC players, I.J. Ready is 11th with 830 points, third with 140 steals and second with 355 assists.
I.J. Ready is third in the SEC with his 2.6 assist/turnover ratio (46th nationally), while his 5.1 assists are second. He now has 355 assists for his career, now the 8th most in school history, while his 140 steals are tied with Darryl Wilson for the 10th most in school history.
Sophomore guard Quinndary Weatherspoon is fourth in the SEC with his 17.9 scoring clip. MSU hasn't had a player average 18-plus since Darryl Wilson in 1996 (18.0).
Sophomore forward Aric Holman leads the Bulldogs with 37 blocked shots, the most in a single season since Jarvis Varnado had 170 in 2010.