< Previous10 @KentuckyMBBYou can enjoy FREE * grocery delivery, 2X Fuel Points and more for as low as $59/year. *$35 order minimum. Restrictions apply. Subject to availability. Delivery time not guaranteed. Official Grocery Partner of UK AthleticsWEEKNIGHTS 7:30 p.m. SATURDAY 9:00 a.m.14 @KentuckyMBB From Press Row Injury Bug a Story with the Cat s A season after playing just 17 games at full strength, the Wildcats are once again dealing with a multitude of injuries. Ken- tucky has played 13 of 25 games at full strength. Two starters were missing for the team's home loss against South Carolina, and two who play 24-plus minutes were out at Georgia. Daimion Collins: Missed the Tennessee game with a left foot injury CJ Fredrick: Exited the Missouri game with a right-hand injury after playing four minutes. Missed the Louisville, LSU and Al- abama games with the hand injury and the Georgia game with a rib injury Jacob Toppin: Exited the Alabama game with a right-shoulder injury and did not re- turn. Missed the South Carolina game Oscar Tshiebwe: Had a minor knee pro- cedure and missed the duration of the pre- season as well as the team's games against Howard and Duquesne Cason Wallace: Exited the South Car- olina game with a lower-back injury and did not return after playing eight minutes. Missed the Ole Miss game due to precau- tionary reasons as he dealt with a lower-ex- tremity issue Lance Ware: Missed the North Florida game due to an illness and the LSU game with a left-shoulder injury Sahvir Wheeler: Missed both exhibition games and the team's opener vs. Howard with a right-leg injury and the team's trip to Tennessee with a left-shoulder injury. He then missed the games vs. Arkansas and at Georgia with a right ankle injury Wallace Another UK Freshman Sensation With a maturity well beyond his years and a calm and cool approach to the game, Cason Wallace has solidified himself as one of the best first-year players in the country. • Wallace ranks sixth in the SEC and 56th nationally with 1.96 steals per game • He's induced at least one steal in all but two games (one being against South Carolina where he exited with a back injury eight minutes into the game), and has multi- ple steals in 12 games thus far • Wallace tied the UK single-game re- cord with eight steals against Michigan State. Ashton Hagans (vs. North Carolina on Dec. 22, 2018), Rajon Rondo (vs. Mississip- pi State on Feb. 19, 2005) and Wayne Turner (vs. George Washington on Nov. 24, 1997) are the others to turn the trick • Wallace recorded the second-most assists (9) in a UK freshman debut against Howard, while becoming the first UK fresh- man in school history to have at least 15 points, eight rebounds, and nine assists in a collegiate debut • Wallace was one of only two freshmen to accomplish the season-opening feat since the 2010-11 season, joining Lonzo Ball, who went for 19 points, 11 assists, eight re- bounds and two steals in a 119-80 win over Pacific on Nov. 11, 2016 • Wallace is one of only 19 players na- tionally, and one of only two freshmen, to be averaging at least 12.0 points, 3.0 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 1.9 steals per contest • Over the last five games, Wallace leads the Cats in scoring (15.8 ppg), assists (3.3), steals (1.8) and blocks (1.4) • He's a three-time SEC Freshman of the Week honoree Wallace is Evolving into Mr. Clutch Cason Wallace has proved to be a player the Wildcats can rely on in the clutch. In games within five or fewer points with less than five minutes to play, Wallace has been a go-to type for the Cats. Consider: • vs. Michigan State: 5 points (2-2 FG, 1-1 3PT, 2-4 FT); 2 rebounds, 1 steal • vs. Michigan: 3 points (1-1 FG, 1-1 3PT, 0-2 FT) • vs. LSU: 2 points (1-1 FG); 1 assist • vs. Tennessee: 1 rebound, 2 assists • vs. Texas A&M: 2 points (1-1 FG) • vs. Florida: 7 points (2-2 FG, 1-1 3PT, 2-2 FT); 1 rebound, 1 assistMOP IT LIKE IT ' S HOTMOP IT LIKE IT ' S HOTInside The Numbers 18 @KentuckyMBB KENTUCKY (16-9, 7-5) AT MISSISSIPPI STATE (17-8, 5-7) Series Breakdown Overall - UK, 100-21 at Starkville - UK, 37-12 Calipari vs. MSU - 17-1 Jans vs. UK - 0-0 Current UK streak - W1 John Calipari Chris Jans Overall Record: 826-250* Overall Record: 160-52 Record at UK: 381-110 Record at MSU: 17-8 Overall Seasons: 31st Overall Seasons: 7th at Kentucky: 14th at Mississippi State: 1st * on court record UK Statistic MSU 74.8 Points Per Game 65.6 38.2 Rebounds PG 37.5 15.9 Assists PG 14.6 4.1 Blocks PG 3.6 6.5 Steals PG 9.4 11.4 Turnovers PG 12.5 .456 FG Pct. .422 .366 3-Pt. FG Pct. .285 .695 FT. Pct. .624 1.4 Assist-to-TO Ratio 1.2 THE MATCHUPTALE OF THE TAPE • Move John Calipari within one of passing Ray Mears (182) for the fifth- most SEC regular-season wins in league history • Improve the Wildcats to 314-62 all-time under Calipari against unranked Associ- ated Press Top 25 foes • Be the eighth straight against Mississippi State in Starkville • Snap a two-game slide A UK WIN WOULD... 49 SEC regular-season titles in program history 31 SEC Tournament championships 13.3 Tshiebwe nation-leading rebounds per game 12 Games with multiple steals for Wallace BY THE NUMBERSNext >