Kentucky had 20 assists with only 10 turnovers plus Boxscore and Other Mississippi State Game Notes

 

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KENTUCKY MEN’S BASKETBALL POSTGAME NOTES
RUPP ARENA AT CENTRAL BANK CENTER | LEXINGTON, KY
JAN. 17, 2024
ATTENDANCE: 20,016

Final Score: No. 8/10 Kentucky 90, Mississippi State 77

Team Records and Series Notes

• Kentucky is 13-3 on the season, 3-1 in the Southeastern Conference.
• Mississippi State is 12-5 overall, 1-3 in league play.
• UK leads the series 102-21 and has won three in a row vs. MSU.
  • UK leads 52-5 in games played in Lexington and has won the last nine in Rupp.

• Next for Kentucky: UK concludes a two-game homestand Saturday as the Wildcats play host to Georgia. Game time is 6 p.m. and it will be televised on SEC Network.

Team Notes

• UK is 3-0 this season in bounce-back games following losses. The Wildcats are now 18-3 in bounce-back games in the last three seasons.
• UK scored 90 points tonight. The Wildcats entered the game third in the nation at 90.8 per game.
  • This is the first team in UK history that has scored at least 81 points in 15 of its first 16 games.
• Kentucky shot 55.6 percent tonight from the field as the Wildcats missed only eight of their two-point shots (23 of 31, 74.2%).
  • It is UK’s eighth game this season shooting at least 50 percent and the Wildcats have won all eight.
• UK had 20 assists with only 10 turnovers, a plus-2 ratio. UK entered the game third in the nation in assist-to-turnover ratio at +1.88.
• Kentucky led by as many as 20 points. The Wildcats are 340-15 (95.8%) in the John Calipari era when leading by as many as 10 points during the contest.

Player Notes  

• Antonio Reeves had 27 points, his eighth 20-point game of the season.
  • He has landed in double figures in every game but one this season.
• Rob Dillingham had 16 points, his 14^th double-figure game of the season.
• Aaron Bradshaw had 11 points, his fifth double-figure game in the nine games he has played. He also tied for the team lead in rebounds with six.
• Reed Sheppard had nine points while leading the team with six assists and a plus/minus of +21.   
• Tre Mitchell scored 15 points and enjoyed a perfect shooting night: 5 of 5 from the field, including a 3-pointer, and making all four foul shots.
• Ugonna Onyenso had three points and was a significant defensive presence, with four blocked shots and six rebounds.

Coach John Calipari

• Calipari has an 845-256 (76.7%) all-time on-court record, including 400-116 (77.5%) at Kentucky.
  • It marked Calipari’s 400^th win at Kentucky. Among active head coaches, he is the third fastest to 400 wins at a program with 516 games. Only Bill Self (Kansas) and Mark Few (Gonzaga) reached 400 wins faster.
• Calipari is 329-66 (83.3%) at UK against unranked competition.
• Calipari is 19-1 vs. Mississippi State.
• Calipari is now 396-127 (75.7%) all-time in conference games, including 188-61 (75.5%) in the SEC.

In the First Half

• Kentucky started J. Wagner, Antonio Reeves, Justin Edwards, Tre Mitchell and Aaron Bradshaw for the seventh game in a row. UK is 6-1 in this lineup.  
• Ugonna Onyenso, Rob Dillingham and Reed Sheppard were UK’s first substitutions at the 15:57 mark.  
• After Mississippi State made the first two shots for a 5-2 lead, Kentucky went on a 13-0 run and the Wildcats never trailed again.
• Kentucky stretched the lead to 20 points at 47-27 and took a 47-29 tally into halftime.
  • Reeves led the way with 16 points and Dillingham had 10, while on the defensive end, UK limited MSU to 35.5% shooting.
• UK is now 12-1 this season when leading at halftime.

In the Second Half

• Kentucky began the second half with the starting lineup.
• Mississippi State scored on its first six possessions, needing less than three minutes to cut the margin to 49-43.
• Kentucky called timeout at 17:14 and the Wildcats steadied with a 6-0 spurt. Then, Mitchell added consecutive basket-and-ones to restore the lead to 61-46.      
• After that the Bulldogs got no closer than 12 points.