Notes From Kentucky's 76-55 Win Over Miss State

UK MEN’S BASKETBALL POSTGAME NOTES

KENTUCKY vs. MISSISSIPPI STATE

RUPP ARENA | LEXINGTON, KY.

JAN. 22, 2019
ATTENDANCE: 21,449

Final Score: #8/9 Kentucky 76, #22 Mississippi State 55

Team Records and Series Notes

• Kentucky won its fifth in a row and is 15-3 overall, 5-1 in the Southeastern Conference. Mississippi State is 14-4, 2-3 in the SEC.
• Kentucky leads the series 96-20 but has a slim 5-4 lead when both teams are ranked.
• UK has won 12 in a row overall vs. the Bulldogs. 
• Next for Kentucky: the Wildcats play their final nonconference game of the regular season Saturday by hosting Kansas at 6 p.m.  The game will be televised on ESPN or ESPN2.  
• Rupp Arena will be the site for the popular ESPN College GameDay Show on Saturday from 11 a.m. to noon. Gates open at 9 a.m.

In the First Half

• Kentucky started Ashton Hagans, Tyler Herro, Keldon Johnson, PJ Washington and Reid Travis for the 11th time this season. UK is now 8-3 with that lineup.
• After Mississippi State tallied two baskets, UK got 10 straight points, including seven from Johnson. 
• Moments later, an 8-0 run made it 18-6 in favor of the Wildcats. It was an 18-2 run overall after the early 4-0 hole. 
• UK had its largest lead of the half at 20-7.
• MSU rallied within 28-22 before UK went to halftime with a 34-26 advantage. 
• On the strength of three 3-pointers, Herro led all scorers in the first half with 11 points. 

In the Second Half

• After a UK basket to make the lead 10, Mississippi State steadily whittled away and pulled within two at 41-39.
• Nick Richards made the front end of a 1-and-1, then took a nifty dish from Herro for a dunk, starting a 16-4 run to make it 57-43.
• Ahead 64-53, UK finished the game with a 12-2 run.   
• All totaled, after MSU had pulled within two points, UK finished the game on a 35-16 spurt. 

Team Notes

• Mississippi State totaled a season-low 55 points. UK is 68-0 under Coach John Calipari when keeping the opponent at 55 points or less, including 4-0 this season.
• Mississippi State shot only 31.1 percent from the field. UK is 171-15 (.918) under Calipari when keeping the opponent at 40 percent or less, including 7-0 this season.
• Kentucky is 3-1 vs. Associated Press Top 25 teams this season, including consecutive victories over Auburn and Mississippi State.  UK will have a chance for wins vs. ranked opponents in three consecutive games when the Wildcats play host to No. 9/10 Kansas on Saturday.  
• This was the first time UK had defeated AP Top 25 opponents in consecutive games (with no game in between) since the 2015 NCAA Midwest Regional.  
• UK’s 21-point margin of victory is the most vs a ranked opponent since dispatching No. 13 Michigan State, 69-48, on Nov. 15, 2016.
• UK improved to 248-5 (.980) under Calipari when leading by at least 10 points at any point in the game. 
• UK has won 14 in a row at Rupp Arena, including 11-0 this season. 

Player Notes  

• PJ Washington led all scorers with 21 points, most for him since the Seton Hall game. 
• He also contributed six rebounds and tied his career best for blocked shots with four.
• It’s the fifth time this season he’s led UK in scoring. 
• It’s the third 20-point game of the season, fifth career.
• He made three 3-pointers, one off his career high.  
• Tyler Herro had 18 points, making all three of his 3-point tries and 5-of-5 at the foul line.
• UK is 6-0 this season when Herro makes at least three 3-pointers. 
• UK is 10-0 this season when Herro scores at least 15 points.   
• Ashton Hagans had five points, a career-high nine assists and two steals.
• Hagans has 12 consecutive games with at least three assists. He’s led the team in assists 12 times this season.  

• Hagans school-record streak of seven straight games with at least three steals came to an end tonight. His streak was the most by a freshman in a major conference since Chris Paul (Wake Forest) had a stretch of 10 straight games with three or more steals in the 2003-04 season.

• Keldon Johnson sparked the Wildcats with seven points in the early 10-0 flurry, finishing with nine points total. He added five points, two assists and tied his career best for steals with three. 
• Reid Travis had five points, and for the third time this season, collected a dozen rebounds.
• It’s the fifth time this season he’s led the team in rebounding. 
• Nick Richards had an active 10 minutes, totaling eight points, six rebounds and a blocked shot.
• The eight points are his best since the season-high 10 against Winthrop on Nov. 21. 

Calipari

• Calipari is now 290-67 at UK, including 47-23 when both teams are ranked in the AP Top 25.  
• Calipari has a 735-207 all-time on-court record.
• Calipari is 13-0 vs. Mississippi State during his career. 
• He is now seven wins away from tying Joe B. Hall for the second-most victories by a UK head coach in program history.