Mississippi State rebounded
in a big way Tuesday, beating
Kentucky 66-57 in a game that
wasn’t nearly as close as the final
score.
The Bulldogs never trailed,
knocking off Kentucky at home
for the first time since 1995 and
for the first time in head coach
Rick Stansbury’s tenure.
“Everybody knows how difficult
this place is to play. It’s one
of the most difficult places in the
country to win a game,” Stansbury
said. “Somehow tonight, we came
in here just being hit the mouth
by our last game and for our kids
to find a way to respond in this
environment was impressive for
us.”
Sophomore guard Phil Turner
led the way for the Bulldogs with
18 points. He shared the spotlight
with fellow sophomore Ravern
Johnson, who hit five of his eight
attempts from beyond the arc
to finish with 17 points. His
three point percentage improved
to 48.2 percent, moving him into
the top spot on the national leaderboard
in that category.
The Bulldogs and Wildcats
each came into the game reeling,
with Kentucky having lost two
straight games while the Bulldogs
had lost two of the last three.
Junior guard Barry Stewart drew
the unenviable task of defending
Wildcat superstar Jodie Meeks,
the nation’s fourth-leading scorer
and holder of the No. 2 highestscoring
game this season.
Meeks finished with 15 points,
which led the team but remained
well below his season average of
25.5 points per game. Center
Patrick Patterson added 15 of
his own.
“Keying on [Patterson] was
the game plan. We wanted to
limit him and Meeks with their
offensive touches,” Johnson said.
“We just denied Meeks all night.
[Stewart] denied him off the
curls.”
Stansbury checked the last SEC
arena off his list with the win,
having now won a game at each
of the conference’s 12 schools at
least once in his 10-plus seasons
as head coach of the Bulldogs.
He said he realizes winning in
Rupp Arena is no small feat.
“Kentucky beats a lot of people,
and the crowd helps them beat a
lot of the teams. When we were
able to keep this crowd neutralized
a little bit, it helps us as an
opposing team,” Stansbury said.
“We’re a fairly new team; Jarvis
and Barry are the only two guys
that played last year, so having
guys who haven’t played in front
of this crowd who keep their
poise was huge.”
State now owns a three-game
winning streak over Kentucky for
the first time in the series, having
won in Starkville last season
and in the SEC tournament the
season before.
The Bulldogs now turn their
attention to an Arkansas team
that visits the Hump Saturday.
State dispatched the Razorbacks
on the road in the first SEC
game of the season on Jan. 10.
Since then, the Hogs have gone
1-4 in conference, with their
lone win coming at home against
Alabama.
The game begins at 2 p.m. and
will be aired on Raycom.