How to watch Kentucky basketball take on Mississippi State in Rupp Arena

How Kentucky fans can watch their Wildcats face the Missouri Tigers on Wednesday.

Kentucky Wildcats head coach Mark Pope argues with an official during game against Mississippi State | Matt Stone/Courier Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

After beginning SEC play falling 0-2 for the first time in 20 years, Kentucky basketball is once again back in Rupp Arena on Saturday for a very important game against the Mississippi State Bulldogs, who have started off their conference schedule on a hot 2-0 start, coming off a 19-point 72-53 win over Oklahoma.

The Wildcats are now 9-6 on the season, including 2-6 against power conference teams. Kentucky is coming off of a home loss to Missouri that now ranks as a quad 2 loss after the Tigers moved up to #69 in the NET rankings after their own big quad 1 victory. Kentucky fans have hoped the team would have gotten in gear the last two games after putting a fully-healthy squad, but bigger problems look to have become a trend, and now, the outlook on the season looks very bleak. If the Wildcats want to do something about that, they absolutely cannot lose again on their home court and make it two straight home losses and third of the season. Kentucky fans received some bad news on Friday that Jayden Quaintance will not play on Saturday, as he was listed as "OUT" on the SEC availability report.

Mississippi State, as mentioned above, have started off SEC play on the right foot. The Bulldogs, led by Chris Jans, who is known as "The Dentist" for his very physical style of basketball, are 2-0 in conference play and feature one of the best scorers in the entire country, Josh Hubbard. The 6-foot guard is a very electric scorer, and with Kentucky's past struggling to contain great guards, Hubbard should the circled big on the scouting report. All in all, fans just want to see a win, no matter how much of a problem the other team's style and personnel presents, or who his out for their team. It's worth keeping in mind that Kentucky still managed to beat Indiana without Quaintance, but his absence will still likely be felt, as his energy is unmatched, one of the only bright spots for the team right now.

Let's take a look at how fans can watch Mark Pope and the Kentucky Wildcats take on the Mississippi State Bulldogs on Saturday.

How to watch the Wildcats take on the Bulldogs in Rupp Arena

The Kentucky Wildcats will take on the Mississippi State Bulldogs on Saturday night at 8:30 p.m. inside Rupp Arena and fans can watch the game on SEC Network. You may also listen on the UK Sports Network. Kentucky enters the game as a 11.5-point favorite over the Bulldogs on FanDuel Sportsbook.

Kentucky Wildcats guard Denzel Aberdeen (1) before the game against the Missouri Tigers Mandatory Credit: Jordan Prather-Imagn Images | Jordan Prather-Imagn Images

Keys to victory for Kentucky against Mississippi State

Slow down Josh Hubbard

Kentucky is about to face the most electric scorer they will go up against all season in Mississippi State's star guard Josh Hubbard, who is not only the top scorer in the SEC, but is the #4 scorer in college basketball. Hubbard also now has the second-most threes in program history. Just how dangerous is he? Well, if that wasn't enough, last game he dropped 30 points all while going just 1-7 from three. He's a legit threat everywhere on the court, and could be a major problem for Mark Pope and the Wildcats to deal with. There's not really anything you can do to "contain" him, but you can try slowing him down. Hubbard is such a big part of the offense that he ranks #8 in the country in percentage of shots on a team, taking 34.5 percent of the Bulldogs' shots.

Embrace physicality, get to free throw line

The Wildcats are not going to be able to run from physicality against a Chris Jans coached team, but especially not this squad. Through two games in the SEC, Mississippi State has the best defense in the conference so far. Combine that with Hubbard's terrific play, and they're a dangerous team. With their physicality, they not only are elite at crashing the glass, offense especially, but they really take away opponents' shots. The Bulldogs are 42nd in college basketball in effective field goal percentage, including 37th in three-point defense. They make their opponents play slow on offense, and if Kentucky wants to find success on offense, they need to attack the rim in hopes to get fouled. Kentucky hasn't shot it well at the line this season, but they can make volume their friend in this one. Without Quaintance, dealing with the physicality has become even more important. His presence there is huge.

Did a Jayden Quaintance breakdown at @GameTheorySamV. Like 35 minutes of his debut. Super fun game for one of the best defenders in college basketball. Immediately got back and showed exactly why he's a stud on that end and why he's a huge game changer for Kentucky. pic.twitter.com/FOKSZN2qZf

— Sam Vecenie (@Sam_Vecenie) December 22, 2025

It's not a fun matchup style wise, but again, we're back to a must-win scenario again. This one is the most important one for Kentucky's season outlook, because with the brutal schedule ahead, it will be hard to make it out alive if they lose back-to-back quad 2 games with no quality wins to show for it other than an un-ranked and one that had no identity and is now unranked. Just win.