Kentucky vs Mississippi St........A Preview

Lwcat
WT Administrator

Kentucky vs Mississippi St. 2/21/12
Tuesday 9PM (ESPN)
Kentucky leads series 80-18

Mississippi St. Bulldogs

Location: Starkville, Miss
Enrollment: 20,000
Arena: 10,500

Head Coach: Rick Stansbury
Career Record: 272-154 (63.8%) 13 seasons
All at Mississippi St.

2010-11 Record: 17-14
2010-11 SEC Record:9-7
Postseason: None

2011-12 Record: 19-8
2011-12 SEC Record: 6-6

Miss. St. 76 Eastern Ky. 66
Akron 68 Miss St. 58
Miss St. 80 S. Alabama 65
Miss St. 69 Texas A&M 60
Miss St. 67 Arizona 57
Miss St. 78 Louisiana-Monroe 63
Miss St. 76 UT Martin 50
Miss St. 82 N Texas 59
Miss St. 79 West Virginia 62
Miss St. 106 Troy 68
Miss St 75 Florida Atlantic 68
Miss St. 80 Detroit 75
Miss St. 82 Northwestern St. 67
Baylor 54 Miss St. 52
Miss St. 66 Utah St. 64
Arkansas 98 Miss St. 88
Miss St. 62 Tennessee 58
Miss St. 56 Alabama 52
Ole Miss 75 Miss St. 68
Miss St. 78 Vanderbilt 77 (OT)
Miss St. 76 LSU 71
Florida 69 Miss St. 57
Miss St. 91 Auburn 88
Miss St. 70 Ole Miss 60
Georgia 70 Miss St. 68 (OT)
LSU 69 Miss St. 67 (OT)
Auburn 65 Miss St. 55

Miss St. Stats

PPG-72.5
FG%-46.0%
3 PT%-36.0% (7.0 PG)
FT%-69.7%
RPG-36.9 (+3.4)
APG-2.9
TO’s-11.9
SPG-6.1
BPG-3.6

Probable Starting Lineup

Renardo Sydney-F 6’10” Jr……………..…….10.4 PPG
Arnett Moultrie-F 6’11” Jr………………..….…16.5 PPG
Dee Bost-G 6’2” Sr……………………..…….…..15.8 PPG
Rodney Hood-G 6’8” Fr…………………...…….11.1 PPG
Brian Bryant-G 6’3” Sr…………………………...6.7 PPG

Other Key Players

Wendell Lewis-C 6’9” Jr……………………….4.0 PPG
Jalen Steele-G 6’3” So…………………………..7.8 PPG

Miss. St. welcomes #1 ranked UK to Starkville hoping for a big upset and to stop a 3 game losing streak. The Bulldogs have been very tough at home losing only twice and one of those was an overtime loss to Georgia. Miss St. defeated Vandy in Nashville and lost to top ten Baylor by only 2 points. There is talent, good size and experience on this Bulldog team with 5 of the first 7 players being juniors and seniors.

Arnett Moultrie is the leading scorer, although 4 of the starters score in double figures. Moultrie leads in rebounds averaging a terrific 10.8 boards PG. Dee Bost is a close 2nd in scoring and leads in assists with 135 (5.0 PG)….and steals with 55. The Bulldogs depend primarily on three players for the overwhelming majority of their perimeter shots. Dee Bost is hitting 34.1%…..Rodney Hood is hitting 37.6%…..and Jalen Steele is hitting a best 39.2% from the perimeter. The Bulldogs average 7-3’s PG….and with an effective inside game….Miss St. are always a competitive and dangerous team…..especially at home!

UK is on target for a rare undefeated SEC season, but two of their last 4 games are at Miss St. and Florida….both very difficult places to win. In their last game against Ole Miss, the Cats saw Anthony Davis and MKG go to the bench early with 2 fouls. Fortunately, the team stepped up and hit big shots from the perimeter. However, it will be important for UK to avoid foul trouble….especially for Davis who is a huge asset and game changer in the paint.

UK is playing well and their perimeter shooting is excellent…..with Miller, Lamb and Wiltjer making up UK’s 3 gunslingers from long range. The Cats will need to shoot well in Starkville! I see a close game….a 7 point win for the Cats!