Chris Livingston had his breakthrough moment against Mississippi State

This type of performance was just waiting to happen for Chris Livingston.

Over the last couple of weeks, the 6-foot-6 freshman forward has been playing the most minutes of his young college career. He’s been a full-time starter since December, but his on-court production has only recently begun to perk up as a result of that additional playing time. Coming into Wednesday night’s game, Livingston played over 30 minutes in three of his last four outings after not hitting that mark once previously this season. His best outing during that stretch was a 13-point, five-rebound game in a loss to Arkansas, but he one-upped himself against Mississippi State.

In Kentucky’s must-have 71-68 win over the Bulldogs down in Starkville, Livingston was the star for his team. He finished with 13 points, five rebounds, three assists, two steals, and one block in 32 minutes played. The Ohio native shot just 3-6 from the field (and 1-3 from beyond the arc) but drew six fouls which resulted in a perfect 6-6 clip from the free throw line. All 13 of Livingston’s points came after halftime as he powered the ‘Cats to victory.

“Chris was big-time for us in the second half,” Senior forward Jacob Toppin said.

“Chris was an all-star today. Was really proud of him,” Kentucky head coach John Calipari said after the win. “And I had to take him out at half because he turned one over, almost turned another one over with a minute to go and I took him out. I said guys, you’re fine, but what am I gonna let you turn another one over? Just settle down at halftime and come out and play and he did.”

He did more than just play. Kentucky likely doesn’t win on Wednesday night without Livingston. He was the one who aided in icing the dub for the ‘Cats, nailing a pair of free throws with seven seconds left that put his team up by four points. But even when he wasn’t scoring, Livingston found ways to impact the game elsewhere, whether it was being aggressive on the boards or a pest on defense. He had to in order to keep his head coach happy.

“That’s just how Cal is, holding me to a high standard, being hard on me, expecting much more out of myself than I’m doing in the game,” Livingston said. “In the second half, I just had to play harder and make some plays to make up for it.”

Livingston’s first half was mostly forgettable, but he made his mark on the game in a major way across the final 20 minutes. Kentucky needed it in order to help keep its NCAA Tournament hopes alive. His refuse-to-lose attitude trickled down to his teammates and pushed the Wildcats through to the finish line.

“It was more of a mindset, you know what I’m saying?” Livingston said. “It was a mindset thing, Coach was on me, and also I didn’t want to lose. I was playing as hard as I could, trying to make plays, winning plays, whether that was getting deflections or rebounding the basketball, I was just trying to win.”

With Kentucky needing all the wins it can get down the stretch of the regular season, the timing of a Livingston breakthrough couldn’t be better for the ‘Cats.