Gameday: Five Things To Know MSU-No. 12 Kentucky

LEXINGTON, Kentucky – The Mississippi State men's basketball team faces the first of back-to-back top 15 road challenges with a trip to No. 12 Kentucky on Tuesday evening at Rupp Arena.

The Bulldogs (13-5, 4-2 SEC) enter the week tied with Texas A&M for third place in the SEC standings. Tuesday's matchup starts a stretch of six of its next seven games versus NCAA NET Quad 1 competition with trips to Texas Tech, Arkansas, LSU and Alabama on the horizon for the Maroon and White.

A balanced scoring effort has been key to Mississippi State's success this season. The Bulldogs have posted a 9-1 mark when at least four players register 10-plus points. State has accomplished that feat during three of its four SEC victories.

Last time out, Kentucky (15-4, 5-2 SEC) fell 80-71 at No. 2 Auburn. The Wildcats have won all 12 of their games by 10-plus points at Rupp Arena this season, most recently a 107-79 rout of No. 23 Tennessee (01/15).

The Matchup: Mississippi State (13-5, 4-2 SEC) vs. No. 12 Kentucky (15-4, 5-2 SEC)
Where: Lexington, Kentucky – Rupp Arena
When: Tuesday, January 25, 8:00 p.m. CT
Live Stats: StatBroadcast (https://hailst.at/MBKLiveStats)

TV: ESPN (Watch ESPN App)
Talent: Karl Ravech, Jimmy Dykes, Marty Smith
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Radio: Mississippi State Sports Network – Powered by Learfield IMG College
Talent: Neil Price, Richard Williams
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Free Online Audio: Hail State Plus (https://hailst.at/MBKListen); The Varsity Network App

FIVE THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT MISSISSIPPI STATE
1. Entering this week's action, Mississippi State holds top three marks on the SEC leaderboard in field goal percentage (48.0 – 2nd), rebounding margin (+9.3 – 2nd), offensive rebounding percentage (36.7 – 2nd) and defensive rebounding percentage (76.5 – 3rd).

The Bulldogs are joined by Kansas, Kentucky, Ohio State and Oklahoma as the only Power 5 teams to rank inside their respective conferences top 4 in field goal, three-point and free throw percentages.

The +9.3 rebounding margin for State is 7th nationally. The Bulldogs have rated among the nation's top 20 in rebounding margin during each of the last three seasons.

State sits at No. 28 in the ESPN BPI, checks in at No. 44 in the KenPom.com ratings and holds the No. 49 spot in the NCAA NET rankings. The Bulldogs are in the midst of eight outings over a 10-game stretch against NCAA NET Quad 1 competition from Jan. 15-Feb. 16.

2. Mississippi State's coaching staff led by Ben Howland along with assistant coaches George Brooks, Korey McCray and Ernie Zeigler are in their seventh season together in Starkville during the 2021-22 season. The Bulldogs coaching quartet is second-longest tenured group at the Power 5 level only behind the West Virginia staff, who is entering its 10th season under Bob Huggins.

Howland and his staff piled up three consecutive 20-plus win seasons from 2017-18 to 2019-20 and has totaled 99 victories since the start of 2017-18. The 99 wins are sixth among SEC teams behind Auburn (112), Kentucky (105), Tennessee (105), LSU (101) and Arkansas (100).

3. Last time out, Mississippi State used a 15-0 spurt midway through the second half to capture a 78-60 win over Ole Miss and a regular season split with the Rebels.

All five starters dialed up double figures for the first time in 2021-22. Iverson Molinar made it 20-plus points in three of his last four outings. He also tied a career-high four steals.

Garrison Brooks tacked on 17 points followed by 11 points apiece for D.J. Jeffries and Tolu Smith. Shakeel Moore chipped in 10 points and handed out a career-best seven assists.

Key stats for the Bulldogs included a season's best 13 steals which resulted in 20 of the game's 29 points off turnovers. State also converted on 19 of its 29 field goals on the interior to claim a 38-28 advantage in paint points.

4. Iverson Molinar is joined by fellow All-SEC Preseason First-Team pick J.D. Notae (Arkansas) as the only SEC players to score in double figures during every game they've played in this season. His streak of 18 consecutive to start a season with 10-plus points is the longest for a MSU player since Tony Watts reached double figures in all 28 games of the 1991-92 season.

Molinar along with Alabama's Jahvon Quinerly are ranked among the SEC's top 10 in points (17.6 – 3rd) and assists (4.5 – 7th). The Panama native also is ranked among the SEC leaders in free throw percentage (87.1 – 2nd), assist-to-turnover ratio (2.52 – 2nd) and field goal percentage (48.6 – 5th).

Molinar became the 41st player in MSU history and eighth during Howland's MSU tenure to eclipse 1,000 career points with a 20-point performance against Ole Miss (01/22). He enters Tuesday's action 33 points shy of passing Aric Holman (2016-17-18-19) for 40th place on the program's all-time list.

Tolu Smith is the SEC's defending rebounding champion and racked up the most double-doubles among SEC players last season. He is considered week-to-week after being injured during the Ole Miss game (01/22). Smith has garnered 10-plus in six of his eight appearances this season.
If Smith qualified for the SEC leaderboard, he would rank 1st in field goal percentage (61.9), 9th in rebounds (6.6) and 14th in points (13.3). He has a pair of double-doubles over his eight appearances in 2021-22 headed by a 22-point, 11-rebound performance against Richmond (11/27).

5. Mississippi State's transfer class of Garrison Brooks, D.J. Jeffries, Shakeel Moore and Rocket Watts has amassed 3,025 career points and 141 career games in double figures. Their teams have posted a combined 103-38 record when providing 10-plus points headed by Jeffries' 30-6 and Watts' 17-2 marks, respectively.

Brooks holds the top spot among SEC active players and is sixth nationally with 915 career rebounds in addition to sitting fifth among SEC's active players with 1,478 career points. He has pumped in 10-plus points during five of his last eight outings.

Brooks tucked away his second double-double of the season, 16 points and 10 rebounds, versus No. 24 Alabama (01/15). He also piled up a SEC season's best 17 points against Ole Miss (01/22).

Mississippi State is 9-1 when Jeffries scores in double figures. He amassed a season's best 19 points against Winthrop (12/21) and his SEC season-high is 13 points at Ole Miss (01/08).

Jeffries has showcased his versatility with 9 games of 2-plus assists, 7 games of 5-plus rebounds, 5 games of 2-plus blocks and 2 games of 2-plus steals.

Moore has had 10 of 15 career games of 10-plus points come this season at MSU. He has registered double figures in six of his last eight games. The North Carolina native provided a SEC's season's best 18 points at Florida (01/19) coupled with a pair of 15-point efforts during SEC victories over Arkansas (12/29) and No. 24 Alabama (01/15).

Moore has collected multiple steals on 12 occasions this season and his 2.0 steals per game check in tied for fifth on the SEC leaderboard.

Watts has missed five games this season and piled up a season-high 15 points versus Lamar (12/02). He has scored 45.3 percent of his points during SEC action headed by a pair of 7-point efforts in SEC wins over Arkansas (12/29) and Georgia (01/12).

FROM THE LOCKER ROOM – HEAD COACH BEN HOWLAND
"Every win is critical, but a road win at Rupp Arena would be huge given their one of the top teams in the country. A win like that would automatically bolster your [NCAA Tournament] resume given it's one of the hardest venues to play in against a great team. They're a very talented team that's playing very well. They're a top 10 team right now in both the [NCAA] NET and the KenPom rankings and deservedly so; they're really good."

"I've been looking forward to this stretch of games. I didn't have a normal amount of elation and joy after a win given what happened with Tolu [Smith]. It was tough knowing he's not available to play in these games for him and for us. That being said, we've got to go out and make a few alterations to take advantage of playing a little differently without him. Both Kentucky and Texas Tech are great teams. Kentucky has a chance to win the whole thing without question, and Texas Tech has a shot to battle for their conference title with the way they've been playing defensively."

"D.J. Jeffries is a huge asset to us. I believe he was originally a verbal commit to Kentucky as a sophomore or junior [out of high school] … We were just thrilled to get him. He's one of our best defenders and is a very smart player. He can do a lot of everything be that rebounding, passing or handling the ball. Again, he's one of our best defensive players and is one of our most versatile. He can play multiple positions and defend multiple positions."

"This is a very unique Kentucky team. Over the seven years I have been in the league, this is the oldest Kentucky team to my memory. [Davion] Mintz is a sixth-year guy, [Oscar] Tshiebwe is a third-year player and [Kellan] Grady is a graduate transfer. They have a lot of players with very good experience. They play seven guys essentially. [Jacob] Toppin is a very good player and goes unheralded for what he does for them. Mintz has been playing amazing for them. They're very talented. Then, they have guys like [Lance] Ware who can bang around and cause issues because of his toughness and strength. They have a good team, and I bet it's been fun for Cal [Coach Calipari] to have an experienced lineup instead of working with pure freshmen this year."

SERIES HISTORY
The Bulldogs ended a 14-game losing streak to Kentucky with last season's 74-73 win over the Wildcats during the 2021 SEC Tournament Second Round.

Iverson Molinar provided the heroics with 21 points, which included a key three-pointer and a pair of free throws in the closing moments. Tolu Smith and Abdul Ado combined for 25 points and 20 rebounds, while D.J. Stewart Jr. nearly compiled a triple-double with nine points, 10 assists and seven rebounds for the Bulldogs.

Kentucky holds a 99-21 all-time series advantage. The last time Mississippi State won in Lexington was a 66-59 decision on February 3, 2009. The last time the Bulldogs won back-to-back games against Kentucky came during the 2007-08 and 2008-09 seasons.

KNOW YOUR OPPONENT
The Wildcats hold the top spot on the SEC leaderboard in points (82.3), scoring margin (+18.5), field goal percentage (49.8), three-point field goal percentage (35.5), rebounds (41.5), rebounding margin (+12.9), offensive rebounding percentage (39.6), defensive rebounding percentage (77.6), assists (17.0) and assist-to-turnover ratio (1.43).

Oscar Tshiebwe (16.1 PPG, 14.8 RPG, 1.6 BPG, 1.5 SPG) has amassed double-doubles in 14 of 19 outings headed by five 20-10 performances. He has connected on a SEC-best 61.4 percent of his shot attempts. Tshiebwe dialed up a season's best 30 points and added 13 rebounds at Vanderbilt (01/11) and cleared 28 rebounds on his own against Western Kentucky (12/22).

Ty Ty Washington (13.6 PPG, 4.4 APG, 1.2 SPG), Kellen Grady (11.7 PPG, 1.0 SPG), Sahvir Wheeler (10.8 PPG, 6.9 APG, 1.4 SPG) and Keion Brooks Jr. (10.1 PPG, 4.3 RPG) also have provided double figures for Kentucky.

Wheeler has bumped his scoring mark to 16.7 points per game over his last three outings, fueled by a 21-point, 8-assist effort versus No. 23 Tennessee (01/15). Grady has canned 43.8 percent of his treys and has hit multiple three-pointers in nine of his last 12 outings.

Davion Mintz (8.9 PPG) and Jacob Toppin (5.9 PPG) have been UK's top performers off the bench. Mintz has secured 10-plus points in five of his last seven outings. Mintz's season-high is 19 points on 7-of-10 from the floor sparked by five triples against Georgia (01/08).
UP NEXT
Mississippi State will step out of conference play and take on No. 13 Texas Tech as part of Saturday's Big 12/SEC Challenge. Tipoff is slated for 5 p.m. CT from United Supermarkets Arena televised by ESPN2 and streamed online the Watch ESPN app.

Visit www.HailState.com for the latest news and information on the men's basketball program. Fans also can follow the program on its social media outlets by searching 'HailStateMBK' on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Gameday: Five Things To Know MSU-No. 12 Kentucky

Players Mentioned

Abdul Ado

Garrison Brooks

D.J. Jeffries

Iverson Molinar

Shakeel Moore

Tolu Smith III

D.J. Stewart Jr.

Rocket Watts

Mississippi State University Athletics