Mississippi State Men’s Basketball Looks To End Another Drought

Last week, MSU ended a 22-year drought after they defeated number five-ranked Tennessee 77-72. This week, the Bulldogs travel to Lexington, a place MSU has not won since 2009.

MSU has had several close games at the infamous Rupp Arena in that period, but the Wildcats always prevail. As expected, the Wildcats are a very talented team, particularly on the offensive end, as they are averaging 90.8 points a game, which ranks third in the country.

Bulldog coach Chris Jans compared this Wildcat team to MSU’s previous opponent, Alabama, who beat the Bulldogs 82-74. The 82 points for Alabama was the most MSU has allowed all season, but Jans kept it simple when talking about preparing for another high-scoring offense.

“I just hope that we execute the game plan better,” Jans said. “We got to execute better on that end of the floor after watching the tape.”

The Wildcats have a good mix of veterans and freshmen, as their top four scores are either graduate students or freshmen. The Bulldogs have a veteran team themselves, but Jans says the Wildcat freshmen play above their years.

“They don't play like freshmen. They seem very seasoned already.”

A freshman to watch for the Wildcats is 6-3 guard Rob Dillingham. Dillingham averages 14 points a game, and the Bulldogs have multiple defensive options for him, but I suspect Shakeel Moore draws this critical matchup.

A veteran to watch for the Wildcats is former Illinois State transfer Antonio Reeves. Reeves is averaging 18 points a game, and at 6-6, he has good size for a guard; the Bulldogs could matchup either D.J. Jeffries or Cam Matthews on Reeves.

The key player for the Bulldogs is simple: it is All-SEC big man Tolu Smith. Smith will likely be guarded by 7-1 freshman Aaron Bradshaw and 7-0 sophomore Ugonna Onyenson.

Smith will not have the size advantage over these guys, so he must use his experience to beat the talented big men. It is critical for the Bulldogs that Smith has a productive game to slow the tempo because MSU can ill afford to get into a fast-paced game with the Wildcats.

The Wildcats are coming off their first SEC loss after a 97-92 loss to Texas A&M. That loss ended a six-game winning streak for the Wildcats but perhaps a chance for Kentucky head coach John Calipari to refocus his team.

Jans knows the challenge of facing Kentucky after a loss, but once the ball is tipped, the past does not matter.

“When you're coming off a loss, and you get an opportunity to maybe get the players' attention even more than normal, and I'm sure their staff is rallying them up right now to try to defend their home court,” Jans said. “Wednesday night when they tip the ball.. those outcomes will have no relevance to the game.”