4 Memorable Kentucky Wins Over Mississippi State During Lengthy Win Streak

There was a time when Kentucky vs. Mississippi State was one of the most contentious battles in SEC play. That’s not been the case as of late.

While scrolling through Jon Scott’s Big Blue History page, you’ll only see one Mississippi State win over the Wildcats in the last 20 games. Kentucky has 18 straight regular season wins over Mississippi State and only four of those games have been decided by five points or less.

It’s been a lopsided affair, but that will not be the case when the Cats travel to The Hump on Saturday night to take on Chris Jans’ 14th-ranked Bulldogs. Before Mark Pope tries to find his first true road win as the Cats’ head coach, let’s look back on some of the more memorable matchups at Humphrey Coliseum.

“Kentucky Wins at the Buzzer!”

It’s been 21 years since Erik Daniels broke hearts at The Hump. The final play was not supposed to go to the UK forward. Kentucky was trying to get the ball to Gerald Fitch, who had a game-high 23 points in Starkville. The problem is there were only 2.5 seconds on the clock.

Fitch was denied the sideline entry pass. The brilliant play design had the screener, Chuck Hayes, open at the rim for the slip. The problem was the pass was off-target. Fortunately, Daniels was able to scramble to the ball and tip it in before time expired, giving Kentucky a 67-66 victory in a battle between unbeaten teams.

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Call Me!

Before John Calipari’s second-ranked Wildcats traveled to Starkville, Mississippi State students got ahold of DeMarcus Cousins‘ cell phone number. They spent the week harassing him, then he harassed the Bulldogs for 45 minutes.

Boogie had 19 points and 14 rebounds in a slug-feast with Jarvis Varnado. After one dunk in front of the student section, he taunted the State fans with a “Call Me!” Kentucky pulled away in overtime with an 81-75 victory.

The Dontaie Allen Game

Big Blue Nation was down bad, but not bad enough to lose at Mississippi State. Kentucky was 1-6 entering SEC play during the odd Covid-plagued 2021 season. We were looking for answers. John Calipari tried many different solutions, but he refused to try playing Kentucky Mr. Basketball Dontaie Allen. It was the first of many trivial fights between fans and the coach. The fans got the win once Cal got thrown out.

Allen entered the game following Calipari’s ejection at The Hump and was a flamethrower. He was banking in threes in overtime and burying daggers in the second extra period, finishing 7-11 from three-point land to score 24 points in the 78-73 win.

Oddly enough, Kentucky needed more Dontaie Allen against Mississippi State in the SEC Tournament. He hit six threes but needed one more to fall to keep the Cats alive. That 74-73 loss is Kentucky’s only to the Bulldogs since 2009.

Reed Sheppard’s Shot at Mississippi State

Like Greg Jennings, Reed Sheppard put the team on his back last year in Starkville. Josh Hubbard was going nuclear for the Bulldogs, knocking down seven three-pointers to score 34 points, but it still wasn’t enough for Mississippi State.

Sheppard was en fuego in a back-and-forth affair, and it wasn’t just knocking down 11-14 shots. He had seven assists, a couple of steals, and two blocked shots, including a blocked three-pointer in the final minute of the game. It looked like we were heading for overtime until Reed buried a floater to cap off his 32-point performance.

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