Kentucky Basketball: 2018-19 keys for the Wildcats at Mississippi State
By Andy Harrell
#5 Kentucky Basketball (19-3/8-1) will travel to Starkville Saturday to take on Ben Howland’s Mississippi State Bulldogs(16-6/4-5). What are the keys for the Wildcats to get the win?
In this, the two teams’ second matchup of the season, the Wildcats will be trying to make it thirteen wins in a row against Mississippi St. The Wildcats dismantled the Bulldogs in Lexington on January 22. Allowing their offense only 55 points on the day. The Dog’s shot 31% from the field and 15% on 20 attempts from three-point range.
To give credit where it is due, it wasn’t so much the Bulldogs’s offense was bad as Kentucky’s defense was excellent. In fact, the Wildcats have held five straight opponents to less than 38% from the field as their defense is quickly approaching tournament readiness. Despite coach Ben Howland’s historical focus on his teams’ defense, it will be Kentucky that is setting the games pace Saturday with their top-notch defense.
The game should have an official line out Friday but it might surprise the casual fan. Despite the thumping in Rupp two weeks ago and Mississippi State having fallen out of the polls this week, the Bulldogs will have some stops to pull against the Wildcats.
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Mississippi State has achieved a couple of convincing, significant, conference wins since their last meeting with the Wildcats. The Bulldogs toppled a ranked Auburn team at home and also went on the road to win their matchup with in-state rival, Ole Miss, last Saturday.
Strikingly, Mississippi State’s defense is good at manipulating offenses into taking low percentage, mid-range jump shots. One third of State’s opponent’s shots come from this area, while one-third of Kentucky’s offense also comes from this low percentage area. This young Kentucky team, though above average in their field goal percentage, will likely fall into that trap too.
Will this be enough to change the tides for the recent history of this matchup or will Kentucky prove just as dominant over the Bulldogs on the road as they were at home? Here are the keys for the Wildcats coming into this game.