The Mississippi State University men’s basketball team entered conference play with an impressive 10-3 record and had some wondering if this season could be more than just another building season as head coach Rick Ray tried to rebuild the program in just his second season. 
However, conference play has brought a more challenging schedule the Dogs’ way, and road games and ranked opponents have been this team’s achilles heel since the SEC season began. The team lost its fifth-straight game on Saturday against Kentucky 69-59. The loss drops MSU to a conference record of 3-7 and an overall record of 13-10.
Despite the MSU’s current rough patch, Kentucky head coach John Calipari said he is impressed with what Ray is doing at MSU. 
“Ray is doing an excellent job. Those guys are 3-1 at home, and they had Florida down in the second half. In this game, they’re shorthanded. The starting point guard is out with the flu, so they’re trying to play seven scholarship guys, and they still have a chance to beat us,” Calipari said. “I told him I’m very impressed with his ability to coach and feel the game, and I love the fact that his team fights.” 
One could look at the Bulldogs’ last two home games as moral victories. The team lost both games by double digits, but both losses were to ranked teams, both of whom could make deep runs in the NCAA tournament. 
Since Ray has taken over and started completely over with almost a whole new roster, the team has played against seven ranked opponents and lost all seven times. However, in the last two games, the team looked better than it ever had against ranked teams and a legitimate argument can be made the Dogs had a chance to win both games. 
Ray said he did not want to hear any talk of moral victories. 
“I was really pleased with the way our guys competed (Saturday) after being disappointed with our effort against A&M,” Ray said. “But I’m not satisfied with the loss, I don’t want you to have that misconception that this is a moral victory.” 
One of the biggest concerns for the Bulldogs entering this contest was stopping Kentucky freshman Julis Randle, who is considered a top-five prospects for the NBA draft. Randle lead Kentucky in scoring with 16 points on 8-of-13 shooting. The Bulldogs struggled to defend him when he got the ball in the post or around the basket. 
Sophomore Gavin Ware said defending Randle was a challenge. 
“He’s a very versatile player,” Ware said. “You just have to watch the film and read the scouting report and work hard in practice to prepare for him.”
 Ray said his team did not do a good job of executing the game plan in regard to stopping Randle. 
“He’s just such a strong, physical presence that if you allow him to get touches, he’s either going to score or get fouled,” Ray said. “You have to try and stop him from getting touches, and we just allowed him to get way too many touches today.”  
The Bulldogs will try and stop their five-game skid on Wednesday at home against Georgia at 8 p.m.