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Jacob Toppin credits Kentucky freshmen in Mississippi State win

IMG_6598by:Nick Kosko•02/16/23•

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(Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images)

Jacob Toppin complimented the freshmen as Kentucky in the Wildcats’ 71-68 win over Mississippi State Wednesday.

Chris Livingston, Cason Wallace and Adou Thiero all played their roles in a key win for the Wildcats. Toppin made sure to let everyone know the young bucks played well, including Wallace on an off shooting night.

The win improved Kentucky to 17-9 on the season. 

“Big time,” Toppin said of the freshmen play. “Big time for us in the second half. Cason (did not shoot well) but he had 11 assists, I believe … There’s a lot of good stuff for us. So it just shows the type of players we have and the type of grit we have to win games like this.” 

Toppin was also asked about Wallace, who only scored four points on the night.

“I told him like the whole game, keep shooting like we cannot afford you not to shoot,” Toppin said. “So like if it goes in, it goes in. But if it misses, you has to shoot the next one with the same confidence … So I just kept telling him to just keep shooting. Keep shooting like it’s okay like you’re gonna have days where you’re not shooting the ball (well) … but he did other things. he played defense. He got 11 assists. He contributed in other ways. So I’m proud of him for just sticking it through and doing other things.”

Livingston had 13 points, five rebounds and three assists. Meanwhile, Their had four points and four rebounds.

Jacob Toppin plays well with freshmen in Kentucky win

For one, Toppin finished out the game playing on his injured ankle, adding 16 points in a 71-68 win over Mississippi State.

“I kind of rolled my ankle,” Toppin said after the game. “I tried to do a one dribble pull-up to the left and I kind of rolled my ankle. But I’m fine. It happens. I just knew I had to keep playing.”

The senior forward also managed to chip in three rebounds, two assists and two steals in the game for Kentucky. It was a huge game, too.

Kentucky sits on the NCAA Tournament bubble, so it’ll need Toppin to be pretty close to full strength for the home stretch. The good news is the 6-foot-9 senior sounded unconcerned after the game.

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“Get treatment tomorrow, I’ll be fine,” Toppin said.