Kentucky beat Mississippi State in January and now faces the Bulldogs again Thursday. (SEC Photo)
Mississippi State has a winning record (14-13) going into Thursday’s Southeastern Conference Tournament matchup with Kentucky (9-15) but State coach Ben Howland knows both teams are in the “same boat” for postseason play needing to win the SEC tourney to make the NCAA.
“I know it’s a whole new season, so both teams are starting over. We’re going to bring our very best effort that we can give Thursday morning, and I know they (Kentucky) will too.”
Kentucky beat State 78-73 in Starkville on Jan. 2 when Dontaie Allen came off the bench to hit seven 3-pointers. The Bulldogs have won three of their last five games while UK has won four of its last six.
“I think our guys will be very excited to play against the University of Kentucky. Who wouldn’t be? They play in the SEC Tournament, which is a whole new season. They’ll be very excited and pumped up for this opportunity coming up Thursday morning,” Howland said.
Kentucky has a different look now with Davion Mintz starting at the point — he has 15 assists the last two games and also hit six 3-pointers against South Carolina Saturday.
“He’s really been a stabilizing guy for them the entire year. He’s playing really good basketball. He’s tough, and he makes a lot of plays for his teammates. I really like him as a player, as a leader, and as a competitor,” Howland said.
However, that’s not the only change he noticed.
“They’re playing faster. They’re really pushing the ball hard in transition and really trying to get easy, early shots,” Howland said. “They’re playing their best basketball here late in the season. Their win at Tennessee was incredibly impressive. They crushed South Carolina in their last win the other day. (Brandon) Boston had a really good game in that game.
“We know the history of the SEC Tournament with Kentucky basketball. They are very much hand-in-hand. They’re great in this tournament every year, and we’re going to have to play extremely well to have success.”
Holland knows despite the record just how potent Kentucky can be.
“We’re in a situation where we’re playing against the premiere team in our conference, in terms of the history and tradition of the SEC. Kentucky is the winningest program ever. Their dominance of this tournament over the last 60 years is incredible. I know there will be a lot of blue in the gymnasium. I imagine there are going to be some people in some blue shirts at that game Thursday,” Howland said.
“This will be like our first true road game of the conference. There will be a lot of Kentucky folks there, and that will be our mindset. We’re playing a road game, not just a game in the SEC Tournament. They (Kentucky fans) travel, and they show up.”
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State’s D.J. Stewart earned All-SEC second-team honors in voting by league coaches. He has scored in double figures in 23 of 27 games and ranks in the SEC’s top 10 during conference games in free throw percentage (87.0, 2nd), steals per game (1.7, 5th), and points per game (15.7, 8th). Stewart has six games of 20-plus points on the season.
Abdul Ado also earned All-SEC honors with a spot on the defensive team. Ado, the SEC’s active leader in blocks and rebounds, has started 124 of his 125 career games for the Bulldogs. He has amassed 750 career rebounds and 236 career blocks.
