Dontaie Allen puts on another quality performance against Mississippi State

It wasn’t his usual 23 points, but Dontaie Allen was once again an impactful player against the Mississippi State Bulldogs.

After not scoring a single point since Kentucky’s win over Central Michigan back on Nov. 29, Allen finally found his opportunity to play meaningful minutes. In an 82-74 overtime win against the Mississippi State Bulldogs on Tuesday night, the Bluegrass native finished with five points on 2-6 shooting (1-5 from beyond the arc) to go along with three rebounds and a block in 18 minutes of action.

But it wasn’t the box score where Allen made his presence known; he was making plays on defense, hustling in transition, and throwing down this jaw-dropping putback dunk.

Dontaie Allen COMING THROUGH

💥 @dontaieallen11 pic.twitter.com/eF8k63aSvp

— Kentucky Men’s Basketball (@KentuckyMBB) January 26, 2022

“How about the tip dunk he got?” Kentucky head coach John Calipari said of Allen postgame. “Then he finally made (a 3-pointer). How about the two he missed that were so in and out? You can’t miss a ball any closer than he missed.

“But I was happy for him. He had not played that much, and again, most of this stuff from me comes down to defensively playing harder than the other guy and playing with unbelievable energy.”

Allen’s role this season has shifted dramatically since he was thrust into an unexpectedly extended role in 2020-21. He went from averaging 14 minutes per outing as a redshirt freshman to just 7.5 this year as a sophomore heading into Tuesday’s matchup. Allen hadn’t earned significant clock in nearly two whole months. But he stayed ready and took full advantage of the minutes provided to him.

In two games against MSU last season, Allen famously dropped 23 points in both outings, shooting a combined 13-24 from long range. Against all other opponents, he’s hardly had enough time to jack up a shot or two, this season especially as more depth surrounds him. But there is something about playing a team you know you can perform well against that can induce unearthed confidence.

“He had 20-plus both times last year against them? That’s just an added layer of confidence for anyone, really,” Kentucky guard Kellan Grady said of Allen postgame. “I knew he was locked in. One he was shooting on the gun three hours before practice yesterday and got some shots up today outside of shootaround. When I missed that floater and he came out of left-field with that putback dunk, which I’ve never seen Dontaie do, I knew he was channeled in for today’s game.”

Defense has always been the Achilles heel for Allen when it comes to playing more minutes. He hasn’t shown the proficiency to warrant stealing minutes from seasoned veterans such as Grady or Davion Mintz. And even during the short bursts of minutes he has played this season, Allen couldn’t find the bottom of the bucket. Even after Tuesday’s optimistic performance, he’s only averaging 2.9 points and 8.3 minutes across 14 outings this season. Allen is still just 7-37 (18.9 percent) from downtown this season.

But all it takes is one good game for a player to get back in good graces with the coaching staff. Calipari was effusive with his praise for Allen after the game (even if he did sneak in a jab of Allen’s early defensive issues, which he eventually cleaned up as the night went along), which typically isn’t the case.

If Allen can take his next 18-minute outing and turn a 1-5 shooting mark from distance into a 3-5 clip, while playing hard on defense, his role on this team for the rest of the season might look entirely different than it has the last several weeks.