KSR Today: Exhaling from a Crazy Kentucky Win at Mississippi State

For the second straight Sunday morning, Big Blue Nation is in a state of revelry. We watched another amazing, high-scoring college basketball game where the Kentucky Wildcats were victorious.

Mark Pope secured his first true road win as the Kentucky head coach, and his 200th overall victory, and the Cats extended a regular-season win streak over Mississippi State to 19 with a 95-90 win at The Hump.

If you’re still trying to catch your breath, it’s totally understandable. Kentucky and Mississippi State went back and forth, exchanging haymakers in the form of three-pointers. The two combined to shoot 28-72 from three. Kentucky trailed for a good chunk of the first half, led by as many as 14 points in the second, yet trailed with just over seven minutes to play.

Like we saw against Gonzaga, Duke, and Florida, Kentucky did what it had to do in closing time. Now, the Cats are the only team in the country with four Top-15 wins and four Quad 1 wins. It’s only January 12.

The Jaxson Robinson Game

Halfway through the season, Kentucky fans were still waiting to see more from Jaxson Robinson. He showed us everything he’s got in Starkville. Robinson tied the record set by Dontaie Allen at The Hump, drilling 7-10 threes to score a game-high 27 points, just one point shy of his career-high.

“To be honest with you, I’ve had a rough couple of games, especially after the last game, I didn’t have my best outing,” Robinson said after the win. “But my teammates, my coaches, they just kept confidence in me, they kept instilling it in me and I came out here tonight, played free, played with confidence. And, I mean, I played great. So I can’t thank my teammates and my coaches enough.”

Kentucky Doesn’t Win Without Almonor

It was The Jaxson Robinson Game, one that would not have been a win if Ansley Almonor hadn’t come through late in the second half. The Fairleigh-Dickinson transfer is comfortable knocking down the occasional corner three. He did more than that late in the second half.

With the Cats trailing by two, he hit the three-pointer that gave Kentucky the lead with just over seven minutes to play. They were able to keep that lead because he hit two more threes over the next two minutes. That 3-3 stretch was the last big push Kentucky needed to leave Starkville with a win.

“Coach (Pope) has been telling everybody that I was gonna be able to come here and win us a couple of games,” Almonor said on the UK postgame radio show. “He didn’t know when it was gonna happen but I was gonna be able to do that.”

Mark Pope Gets It

I know we seem to do this after every game, but it never gets old. The Kentucky head coach is a man of the people. He’s always generous with his time, but this time he really went above and beyond.

Mark Pope came out after the game to say hi to the UK fans there. He saw one fan in a wheelchair who couldn’t get down to the court so he came up to him

H/t @Adamdtownsend33 pic.twitter.com/XsZy3awXcd

— Matt Jones (@KySportsRadio) January 12, 2025

Andrew Carr is on Injury Watch

The Kentucky forward was a surprise addition to the availability report. We weren’t sure exactly what was wrong with him until he started making an impact in the game. SEC Network’s Dave Neal revealed that he had been dealing with back pain. Andrew Carr hadn’t been practicing, but it didn’t look like it. In 21 minutes, he had 13 points and six rebounds, delivering a few buckets when Kentucky needed them the most.

More Coverage of the Kentucky Win

Kentucky left the dentist’s office with a glowing report and a smile
Jaxson Robinson’s Breakthrough Pushes Pope to 200 Wins, just as fate would have it
KSR had the Exclusive Postgame Pressers with Pope and the Players
Kentucky Players Celebrate with the “Beat Kentucky” Newspaper
How Andrew Carr Battled Through Pain in the Win
Kentucky has more Top 15 wins than any team in the country
Ansley Almonor Understood the Assignment
Robinson: “We came in here like some dogs and did what we needed to do.”
BOX SCORE: Three-Level Shooting Propels Kentucky to a W
HIGHLIGHTS: They’ll make you go bananas
RECAP: How the Cats got the Huge Road Win

Subscribe to the KSR YouTube Channel for press conferences, interviews, original shows, fan features, and exclusive content.

A Home Game for Kentucky WBB

Kenny’s Cats are hot. The 15th-ranked Kentucky women’s basketball team has won seven straight games and they’re back at Historic Memorial Coliseum this afternoon, looking to notch another SEC win. The next victim is Auburn. Tip-off is at 3 pm EST on the SEC Network and folks who attend today’s game can leave with a Wildcat Squishmallow.

Final Kentucky Football Portal Commitments?

This weekend was the final opportunity for Mark Stoops’ coaching staff to host free agents from the transfer portal. The final two were brothers, RB Trey Cooley and DB Tamarcus Cooley. I don’t think many of us would be mad if the Cats wrapped things up with a package deal.

Classes begin tomorrow and the last day to add classes for the spring semester is Friday, making that the deadline for spring roster additions. Here’s who we’re keeping an eye on down the home stretch:

Mi’Quise Grace, South Dakota EDGE
Tru Edwards, Louisiana Tech WR
Shiyazh Pete, New Mexico State OT
Rohan Jones, Montana State TE

Super Stinky Wild Card Weekend

Super Wild Card Weekend got off to a super terrible start. The Steelers stunk it up in Baltimore and it was a turnover party in Houston as the Texans prevailed over the Chargers. If you’d like to look at the glass half full, there’s absolutely no way possible that today’s games can be as bad as Saturday’s.

Broncos (+8.5) at Bills, 1 pm, CBS
Packers (+4.5) at Eagles, 4:30 pm, Fox
Commanders (+3) at Bucs, 8 pm, NBC

Join KSR Plus! With a KSR Plus membership, you get access to bonus content and KSBoard, KSR’s message board, to chat with fellow Cats fans and get exclusive scoop.