LIVE BLOG: No. 6 Kentucky at No. 14 Mississippi State
Kentucky failed its first two true road tests. Will the third time be the charm? KSR’s LIVE BLOG will bring you all the sights and sounds from Humphrey Coliseum as the No. 6 Wildcats face the No. 14 Mississippi State (8:30 p.m. ET, SEC Network).
You know what’s going on with the Cats, who are down to 12-3, 1-1 in SEC play after the loss at Georgia. Mississippi State is 14-1 and 2-0 in the SEC, riding an eight-game winning streak and up to No. 14 in the AP Poll. Chris Jans’ squad won its first two SEC games in impressive fashion, beating South Carolina by 35 at home and Vanderbilt by 12 at Memorial Coliseum. The Bulldogs are led by All-SEC guard Josh Hubbard and senior forward Cameron Matthews, whom Mark Pope compared to Draymond Green on Thursday. They’re talented, physical, and extremely aggressive on defense.
Will Kentucky rise to the challenge? Refresh the feed below for updates and our takes on the game, from both Starkville and the couch. You can also join the conversation on the KSBoard Game Thread or by texting your observations to 859-587-3828 (standard messaging rates apply).
BBN is feeling good
01/11/2025 09:49:07 PMYou can hear Kentucky fans doing a CATS chant behind Tom Leach and Goose Givens at Humphrey Coliseum on the UK radio broadcast. The KSR Text Machine suggests the BBN is feeling good after that one, and rightly so. What a big, big win.
FINAL: No. 6 Kentucky 95, No. 14 Mississippi State 90
01/11/2025 09:36:45 PMHow about THAT! Kentucky just notched another Top 15 win, beating No. 14 Mississippi State 95-90 at The Hump. Jaxson Robinson led all scorers with 27 points, a season-high and just one of off his career high, after scoring just five points in the loss at Georgia.
MASSIVE win for the Cats on the road. Let’s enjoy it!
Score Update: 7.2 2H – Kentucky 95, MSU 90
01/11/2025 09:35:23 PMAs Bill Raftery would say, onions! Lamont Butler just scored to put Kentucky up five, with 7.2 to go.
Score Update: 1:03 2H – Kentucky 93, MSU 90
01/11/2025 09:32:44 PMUp just one with just over a minute to go, Kentucky needed a bucket. Jaxson Robinson got it for them, swishing a long two to make it Kentucky 93, MSU 90 with 1:03 remaining. Robinson has 27 points tonight, just one shy of his career high.
The Cats have needed a clutch bucket getter all season. Tonight, Jaxson proved he’s capable.
Weird flex by MSU, but okay
01/11/2025 09:29:42 PMYou may have spotted this 1996 Final Four sign at The Hump. Although the Bulldogs did go to the Final Four that year, the Cats won it all. Maybe put that one away for this game?
Make it 3 threes by Ansley Almonor!
01/11/2025 09:25:39 PMIf you predicted Ansley Almonor would hit three three-pointers tonight in the span of two minutes, go buy a lottery ticket. He’s up to 11 points. Kentucky leads 91-86 with 3:53 remaining.
Score Update: 5:33 2H – Kentucky 86, MSU 80
01/11/2025 09:21:11 PMAlmonor just hit another three and Otega Oweh a jumper to push Kentucky’s lead to six, 86-80, with 5:33 to go. The Cats are on an 8-0 run over the last 1:43. Almonor’s back-to-back threes take Kentucky’s mark from beyond the arc to 15-28.
It’s getting chippy!
01/11/2025 09:18:42 PMAnsley Almonor just hit a huge three to put Kentucky back on top 81-80, after which officials had to step in and separate Cameron Matthews and Lamont Butler, who are chirping at each other. Not a fight by any means, but it’s intense down there.
Score Update: 7:59 2H – MSU 80, Kentucky 78
01/11/2025 09:14:17 PMA massive three by Lamont Butler pushed Kentucky’s lead back to four, 78-74. Unfortunately, Mississippi State followed it up with back-to-back threes of their own to take the lead, 80-78, with 7:59 to go. It’s the Bulldogs’ first lead since the 3:39 mark in the first half.
Otega Oweh breaks the tie at 71
01/11/2025 09:08:32 PMKentucky leads by two, 73-71, with 10:05 to go. Otega Oweh broke the tie at 71. Officials just reviewed a foul on Michael Nwoko, who slammed the ball into Amari Williams’ face, determining it was not intentional. It was the fourth on Nwoko, who has eight points.
Score Update: 12:15 2H – Kentucky 68, MSU 66
01/11/2025 08:58:37 PMAnd just like that, Kentucky’s lead is down to two. The Cats were up by 14 just three minutes ago but the Bulldogs are on a 15-3/12-0 run to make it a two-point game. You knew they wouldn’t go away quietly…
In other news, Willie Cauley-Stein is at KSBar to cheer the Cats on:
Score Update: 14:03 2H – Kentucky 68, MSU 57
01/11/2025 08:54:02 PMWelcome to the three-point party, Brandon Garrison! Garrison’s three was Kentucky’s 12th of the night. He just missed two free throws, which keeps the lead at 11 with 14:03 to go.
Andrew Carr and-one!
01/11/2025 08:48:19 PMAndrew Carr seems to be just fine. The big man will be headed to the free-throw line after this timeout in hopes of completing a three-point play. The SEC Network’s Dave Neal also confirmed that Carr’s back is what almost kept him from playing tonight, not an illness.
15:55 2H – Kentucky 64, Mississippi State 51
Score Update: 16:46 2H – Kentucky 62, MSU 51
01/11/2025 08:45:33 PMWhat did Jaxson Robinson eat for breakfast? Robinson just hit his SEVENTH three to put Kentucky up 11, 62-51, with 16:46 to go. He’s up to 25 points, just three shy of his career night.
Have a day, Jaxson Robinson.
Jaxson Robinson opens the 2nd half with his 5th three
01/11/2025 08:43:23 PMRobinson is still hot coming out of the locker room. He just swished his fifth three of the night, which Otega Oweh followed up with a dunk to stretch Kentucky’s lead to 10, 54-44, with 19:17 to go.
HALF: Kentucky 49, MSU 44
01/11/2025 08:24:42 PMWhat a way to end the half. Right after fouling Josh Hubbard on a three, which led to a four-point play, Lamont Butler hit a three of his own at the buzzer to make it 49-44 Kentucky at half. Impressive response by No. 1.
Kentucky is 8-17 (47%) from beyond the arc so far, and 16-30 (53%) from the field. Jaxson Robinson leads all scores with 16 points, including four threes. What a game for him so far.
Check out all of the halftime numbers below. Still 20 minutes to go, but you have to feel good about how the Cats are playing offensively.
Score Update: 54.4 1H – Kentucky 44, MSU 40
01/11/2025 08:23:22 PMKentucky’s lead grew to five after a steal and slam by Otega Oweh. Oweh followed it up with a foul on Cameron Matthews, who hit one of two FTs to bring MSU within four with 54.4 to go in the half.
MSU’s Riley Kugel is OUT
01/11/2025 08:19:27 PMMSU guard Riley Kugel took a hard foul after fouling Amari Williams earlier in the game and went to the locker room. According to the SEC Network, he has been ruled out for the rest of the game. The injury was not disclosed.
FOUR threes by Jaxson Robinson!
01/11/2025 08:16:51 PMJaxson Robinson is feeling it tonight! Robinson just hit his fourth three of the night to put Kentucky up 39-37 with 2:44 to go in the half. He’s up to 16 points now.
It’s great to see that smile again.
Score Update: 3:53 – Kentucky 34, MSU 34
01/11/2025 08:10:59 PMThe Bulldogs have tied it up and they could take the lead very soon. Brandon Garrison just fouled RJ Melendez during a three-point attempt, meaning Melendez will head to the line for three free throws after this timeout. Garrison now has two fouls.
Not a great stretch there for the Cats. Lamont Butler missed the front end of a 1-and-1, Cameron Matthews got a huge dunk, Otega Oweh turned the ball over, and then Garrison fouled a three-point shooter. Ugh.
Jaxson Robinson hits his 3rd three
01/11/2025 08:06:44 PMThe Cats are heating up from outside. Koby Brea hit his first three of the game, and a few possessions later, Jaxson Robinson also connected from the outside for his third three of the game. He’s up to 13 points so far. Kentucky is now 6-15 from the three-point line tonight. That matches the number of makes they had vs. Georgia.
5:37 1H – Kentucky 34, MSU 32
Score Update: 7:10 1H – Kentucky 28, MSU 28
01/11/2025 08:00:56 PMWe’re tied up at 28, but that’s only because officials decided to count Josh Hubbard’s basket after a foul on Travis Perry. Hubbard will go to the line in an attempt to make it a three-point play after this timeout. Kentucky wanted an offensive foul, but the Bulldogs are getting a friendly whistle so far.
In other news, MSU guard Riley Kugel had to go to the locker room after taking hard foul after fouling Amari Williams. Something to keep an eye on.
Score Update: 9:03 1H – Kentucky 24, MSU 24
01/11/2025 07:55:42 PMA 6-0 run by Mississippi State tied the game and prompted Mark Pope to call a timeout. The Hump is rocking; let’s see if the Cats can keep their composure.
Jaxson Robinson already up to double figures
01/11/2025 07:53:18 PMNo one needed a big game more than Jaxson Robinson. He’s well on his way with ten points through the first nine minutes. He’s playing with much more confidence tonight.
10:00 1H: Kentucky 24, MSU 20
Score Update: 11:11 1H – Kentucky 20, MSU 18
01/11/2025 07:49:32 PMNow we’re cooking! Jaxson Robinson just hit his second three of the game to put Kentucky up 20-18 at the 11:11 mark of the first half. Robinson is up to eight points so far. Hopefully, the start of a breakthrough performance No. 2
Robinson’s threes take Kentucky to 4-10 from the outside. That plus the ball movement is really nice to see so far.
Ansley Almonor gives Kentucky the lead
01/11/2025 07:45:50 PMKentucky takes the lead thanks to Ansley Almonor, whose layup capped off a 7-0 Kentucky run.
14:04 1H: Kentucky 12, MSU 11
Travis Perry brings Kentucky within one!
01/11/2025 07:41:04 PMTravis Perry and Koby Brea were the first subs off the bench, and Perry just got an offensive rebound and sank a three to bring Kentucky within one, 11-10, at the 14:46 mark. Something about Kentucky boys in Starkville…
14:46 1H: MSU 11, Kentucky 10
As you might imagine, that drew a big reaction at KSBar:
Score Update: 16:42 1H – MSU 11, Kentucky 5
01/11/2025 07:38:26 PMAndrew Carr is alive and well, throwing down a dunk, getting a big rebound on the other end, and, unfortunately, fouling MSU’s Cameron Matthews. Matthews hit the free throw to complete the three-point play and make it 11-5 Bulldogs.
Jaxson Robinson gets Kentucky on the board after a quick MSU start
01/11/2025 07:35:01 PMMississippi State got off to a quick start, jumping out to a 5-0 lead, but Jaxson Robinson finally found the bottom of the net, hitting a three to make it 5-3 at the 18:29 mark.
SCORE ALERT: Georgia beats No. 17 Oklahoma
01/11/2025 07:30:54 PMSo, maybe Georgia is really legit? A few days after beating No. 6 Kentucky, Georgia just knocked off another ranked team, beating No. 17 Oklahoma 72-62 in Athens. Maybe the loss to the Bulldogs isn’t as bad as we thought? Or, the SEC is just bonkers.
Either way, time for the main event.
Andrew Carr is starting
01/11/2025 07:18:10 PMAndrew Carr may not be 100%, but he will play tonight. In fact, he’s listed in the starting lineup. The Cats will go with their usual five tonight in Starkville.
01 Lamont Butler
00 Otega Oweh
02 Jaxson Robinson
07 Andrew Carr
22 Amari Williams
Mark Pope gives an Andrew Carr update
01/11/2025 07:02:17 PMDuring his pregame conversation with Tom Leach, Mark Pope did not confirm whether or not Andrew Carr will play tonight, calling him a true game-time decision.
“He’s doing good. He’s battling this deal. He didn’t practice all week. We put him in shootaround today and he kind of felt okay. We’ll let him warm up today and we’ll make a game-time decision. If he’s actually a go, then we’ll kinda make it a two-minute decision.”
If Carr cannot go, Pope said the plan is to give Ansley Almonor the majority of his minutes. He also said Trent Noah could get some more playing time, or the staff could move Otega Oweh to the four position.
FWIW, here is how Carr has looked in warmups so far.
Blue got in
01/11/2025 06:55:53 PMBlue gets in everywhere. This quartet of Kentucky fans is already making themselves known at The Hump.
Another crazy day in the SEC
01/11/2025 06:43:06 PMWe still have 40ish minutes until tipoff, but the good news is, the game ahead of ours will not run long. No. 23 Ole Miss is about to beat LSU on the SEC Network, which will move the Rebels to 3-0 in SEC play and the Tigers to 0-3.
That’s probably the least exciting game in the SEC today. South Carolina gave No. 2 Auburn quite a scare in Columbia. The Tigers pulled out a win but All-SEC forward Johni Broome went down with a significant ankle injury. Arkansas’ loss to No. 8 Florida at home marked the first time John Calipari has started league play 0-3 since his first year at UMass. Elsewhere, Missouri took care of business, handing Vanderbilt its second straight loss. The Commodores lost to Mississippi State by 12 in Nashville earlier this week.
SEC Scoreboard
– No. 2 Auburn 66, South Carolina 63
– No. 8 Florida 71, Arkansas 63
– Missouri 75, Vanderbilt 66
– LIVE: Georgia 55, No. 17 Oklahoma – 7:55 2H
– LIVE: Texas 54, No. 1 Tennessee 52 – 7:42 2H
– 8:00 PM: No. 5 Alabama vs. No. 10 Texas A&M
Here are all the details on how to watch Kentucky vs. Mississippi State:
Time: 8:30 p.m. ET
Television: SEC Network (Dave Neal, Jon Sundvold)
Home Radio: UK Sports Network – 630 WLAP, iHeart Radio (Tom Leach, Goose Givens)
Online Radio: iHeart
Satellite Radio: Sirius 106 or 190
Live Stats: StatBroadcast
SPOTTED: Andrew Carr in warm-ups
01/11/2025 06:21:31 PMAndrew Carr is now on the floor for warm-ups. Jack’s got a close eye on him to see how he does as he attempts to give it a go vs. Mississippi State.
First out to warm up?
01/11/2025 06:16:57 PMJack Pilgrim and Steven Peake have arrived at Humphrey Coliseum and are on Carr Watch. No sign of him yet, but Lamont Butler and Travis Perry were the first Wildcats out to warm up.
Also, it’s towel night in Starkville because of course.
ICYMI, Andrew Carr is a game-time decision
01/11/2025 05:54:43 PMAndrew Carr was a surprise addition to last night’s availability report, listed as questionable. In the final report that came out thirty minutes ago, Carr was listed as a game-time decision. There is no word on why Carr could potentially miss tonight’s game. We could hear more when Mark Pope speaks to Tom Leach on the official UK pregame show 30 minutes before tipoff.
Tonight’s refs are…
01/11/2025 05:52:48 PMDon’t believe everything you read on the internet. There was a rumor going around that Doug Shows and Pat Adams were officiating tonight’s game. That is not true. The crew for Kentucky vs. Mississippi State is Terry Oglesby, Jeb Hartness, and Mike Nance.
Pat Adams is currently officiating the Tennessee vs. Texas game. Doug Shows is working the Georgia vs. Oklahoma game.
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