< Previous16 @KentuckyMBB Around the SEC Around the Country 2021-22 SEC Standings Team SEC Overall Home Road Auburn 7-0 18-1 10-0 5-0 Kentucky 5-2 15-4 12-0 2-3 Texas A&M 4-2 15-4 10-1 3-1 Mississippi State 4-2 13-5 11-1 0-2 Arkansas 4-3 14-5 11-1 1-2 Tennessee 4-3 13-5 10-0 2-3 Alabama 4-3 13-6 9-1 1-3 Florida 3-3 12-6 8-3 1-2 LSU 3-4 15-4 10-1 2-3 South Carolina 2-4 11-7 8-2 1-4 Vanderbilt 2-4 10-8 5-6 4-2 Missouri 2-4 8-10 6-3 1-5 Ole Miss 1-5 9-9 8-3 0-3 Georgia 0-6 5-14 5-7 0-5 Scoring Player-Team ...................................................................PPG JD Notae, ARK ...............................................................18.6 Scotty Pippen Jr., VANDY ...............................................18.1 Iverson Molinar, MISS ST ...............................................17.7 Jaden Shackelford, ALA .................................................16.9 Oscar Tshiebwe, UK ......................................................16.1 Rebounding Player-Team ...................................................................RPG Oscar Tshiebwe, UK ......................................................14.8 Colin Castleton, UF .........................................................9.1 Jaylin Williams, ARK ........................................................8.9 Kobe Brown, MIZZOU ....................................................8.6 Nysier Brooks, MISS ........................................................8.1 Assists Player-Team ...................................................................APG Sahvir Wheeler, UK .........................................................6.9 Aaron Cook, UGA ...........................................................6.1 Wendell Green Jr., AUB ...................................................5.1 Kennedy Chandler, UT ....................................................4.9 Xavier Pinson, LSU ..........................................................4.6 Steals Player-Team ...................................................................SPG JD Notae, ARK .................................................................2.5 Kennedy Chandler, UT ....................................................2.3 K.D. Johnson, AUB ..........................................................2.2 Xavier Pinson, LSU ..........................................................2.1 Keon Ellis, ALA ................................................................2.0 Blocks Player-Team ...................................................................BPG Walker Kessler, AUB ........................................................4.1 Colin Castleton, UF .........................................................2.8 Dylan Cardwell, AUB ......................................................1.7 Oscar Tshiebwe, UK ........................................................1.6 Charles Bediako, ALA ......................................................1.6 2021-22 Associated Press Rankings As of January 24 (Week 12) Team Record Points 1 Auburn (45) 18-1 1504 2 Gonzaga (15) 15-2 1475 3 Arizona (1) 16-1 1381 4 Baylor 17-2 1335 5 Kansas 16-2 1281 6 Purdue 16-3 1119 7 Houston 17-2 1116 UCLA 13-2 1116 9 Duke 15-3 1017 10 Michigan State 15-3 979 11 Wisconsin 15-3 894 12 Kentucky 15-4 822 13 Texas Tech 15-4 766 14 Villanova 14-5 713 15 USC 16-2 711 16 Ohio State 12-4 584 17 Providence 16-2 542 18 Tennessee 13-5 419 19 LSU 15-4 399 20 UConn 13-4 284 21 Xavier 14-4 269 22 Marquette 14-6 177 23 Iowa State 14-5 167 24 Illinois 13-5 155 25 Davidson 16-2 13218 @KentuckyMBB From Press Row Up Next: Kentucky Returns Home vs. Mississippi State After a hard-fought loss at No. 2 Auburn, Kentucky (15-4, 5-2 SEC) returns home to take on the Mississippi State Bulldogs on Tuesday. Game time is 9 p.m. ET and it will be televised on ESPN. The Wildcats are in the fourth of five games against opponents who had a combined re- cord of 64-13 when that stretch began Jan. 15. Currently, Mississippi State is 13-5 overall, 4-2 in the conference, and is only one-half game behind Kentucky in the Southeastern Confer- ence standings. The Wildcats are seeking their 100th all- time win over the Bulldogs, leading the series 99-21. UK had won 15 straight in the series until being upended by MSU, 74-73, in the 2021 SEC Tournament. UK leads in games played in Lexington, 50-5, and has won seven in a row in matchups in Rupp Arena. Mississippi State has a balanced attack with five players averaging double-figure scoring. The Bulldogs have been efficient offensively, shooting 48 percent as a team while limiting turnovers to 12 miscues per game. This game will match two of the top 10 teams in the na- tion in rebounding margin, as UK has a +12.9 margin and Mississippi State is at +9.3. Individually, preseason All-SEC guard Iver- son Molinar is living up to the billing, as he leads the team and ranks third in the SEC at 17.7 points per game. MSU features a tall front line, as 6-11 forward Tolu Smith is aver- aging 13 points and 6.6 rebounds per game and 6-9 forward Garrison Brooks tallies 11.2 points and 6.5 rebounds per game. Smith is not expected to play on Tuesday, however. Coaches vs. Cancer Suits and Sneakers Week Kentucky coaches and staff will wear sneakers on Tuesday vs. Mississippi State as a part of the annual Coaches vs. Cancer Suits and Sneakers Week. Coaches vs. Cancer Suits and Sneakers Week is a nationwide event when basket- ball coaches across the country unite for a common cause – saving lives from cancer. Coaches and their staff across the nation wear sneakers with their suits during games to raise awareness and help save lives from cancer by raising funds and encouraging people to ed- ucate themselves about cancer prevention, screening and early detection. The Coaches vs. Cancer program is a na- tionwide collaboration between the American Cancer Society and the National Association of Basketball Coaches. This initiative leverages the personal experiences, community leader- ship, and professional excellence of coaches nationwide to increase cancer awareness and promote healthy liv- ing through year-round awareness efforts, fund- raising activities, and ad- vocacy programs. Since 1993, coaches have raised more than $100 million for the American Cancer Society. Wildcats Fall at No. 2 Auburn Walker Kessler scored 19 points and K.D. John- son added 17, helping No. 2 Auburn rally from a 10-point deficit to win their 15th straight. In a highly-anticipated matchup against the top two teams in the South- eastern Conference, it was big enough that stu- dents were pitching tents by Friday morning and endured the cold weath- er overnight to make sure they got in. Kentucky’s No. 2 scor- er, TyTy Washington, only played eight minutes and scored four points before being helped off the court with a left ankle in- jury. He didn’t return. ‘’That hurt us. No excuse though,’’ Wildcats coach John Calipari said. ‘’We had our chances to win. We had breakdowns defensively. ‘’Defensively, the lob play, which we just kept telling the guys get off, but they just didn’t do it. They’ve done this to a lot of teams, but it was something that we thought we could guard.’’ Johnson made 3 of 5 3-pointers for Au- burn. Kessler hit 8 of 10 shots and had seven rebounds. Jabari Smith had 14 points and sev- en boards for the Tigers, who hit their first 15 free throws in the second half. Wendell Green Jr. was scoreless for the first 28 minutes, then hit a pair of 3-pointers in a 25-second span and finished with 11 points. Oscar Tshiebwe had 16 points, 14 re- bounds and four blocked shots for Kentucky (15-4, 5-2) and was already hoping for a re- match. ‘’I don’t think they’re better than us,’’ Tshiebwe said. ‘’I think we’re going to beat them. I want to play them again.’’ Kellan Grady made 4 of 7 3-pointers and scored 17 points. Sahvir Wheeler, Johnson’s former teammate at Georgia, also scored 17 points and had four assists but was also deal- ing with an apparent leg injury late. The Tigers, who trailed by 10 points during the first half, took a 64-52 lead with 6:07 re- maining. Johnson hit three free throws after getting fouled on a 3-point shot - as Jaylin Wil- liams and Jabari Smith had earlier in the half. Grady’s 3-pointer from the right corner cut it to four points with 3:20 to play. ‘’I see why they call it The Jungle,’’ Grady said. ‘’I’m not going to go on and on about how awesome their fans are, but this is ob- viously an electric atmosphere and a tough place to play.’’ The Wildcats scored 13 consecutive points to build a double-digit lead six minutes into the game. Auburn managed to whittle it down to 33-29 by halftime with back to back dunks by Kessler in the final 38 seconds. ‘’It doesn’t faze us when we get down,’’ Johnson said. ‘’We just keep playing, we don’t get rattled. We just stay together and make the comeback.’’ More Auburn game notes .... • Kentucky shot 50 percent from the field, 29 of 58, but gave up its highest field-goal per- centage of the season as Auburn shot 56.8% (25 of 44) • Auburn’s work at the foul line was a dif- ference-maker as the Tigers made 24 of 29. The Wildcats shot well at the charity stripe but got to the line only 10 times, making eight167 W Main Street, Lexington | @LockboxLex | LockboxLex.com LEXINGTONLocated at GLOW BIG BLUE Just blocks from Rupp Arena, we’re the perfect destination for your pre-game dinner or post-game drinks. Make a night of it and enjoy free valet parking with the 21c Game Day Package.20 @KentuckyMBB Florida Lexington, Ky. 4 p.m. Saturday February 12 Tennessee Knoxville, Tenn. 9 p.m. Tuesday February 15 Alabama Lexington, Ky. 1 p.m. Saturday February 19 LSU Lexington, Ky. 9 p.m. Wednesday February 23 Arkansas Fayetteville, Ark. 2 p.m. Saturday February 26 Ole Miss Lexington, Ky. 7 p.m. Tuesday March 1 Florida Gainesville, Fla. 2 p.m. Saturday March 5 SEC Tournament Tampa, Fla. TBA Wed.-Sun. March 9-13 NCAA Tournament Final Four® New Orleans | TBA March- April TBA LSU Baton Rouge, La. L, 60-65 Tuesday January 4 Vanderbilt Nashville, Tenn. W, 78-66 Tuesday January 11 Texas A&M College Station, Texas W, 64-58 Wednesday January 19 Auburn Auburn, Ala. L, 71-80 Saturday January 22 Mississippi State Lexington, Ky. 9 p.m. Tuesday January 25 Kansas Lawrence, Kan. | SEC/Big 12 Challenge | 6 p.m. Saturday January 29 Vanderbilt Lexington, Ky. 7 p.m. Wednesday February 2 Alabama Tuscaloosa, Ala. 8 p.m. Saturday February 5 South Carolina Columbia, S.C. 7 p.m. Tuesday February 8 Georgia Lexington, Ky. W, 92-77 Saturday January 8 Duke New York L, 71-79 Tuesday November 9 Robert Morris Lexington, Ky. W, 100-60 Friday November 12 Mount St. Mary's Lexington, Ky. W, 80-55 Tuesday November 16 Ohio Lexington, Ky. W, 77-59 Friday November 19 North Florida Lexington, Ky. W, 86-52 Friday November 26 Central Michigan Lexington, Ky. W, 85-57 Monday November 29 Notre Dame South Bend, Ind. L, 62-66 Saturday December 11 Southern Lexington, Ky. W, 76-64 Tuesday December 7 North Carolina Las Vegas | CBS Sports Classic | W, 98-69 Saturday December 18 Western Kentucky Lexington, Ky. W, 95-60 Wednesday December 22 Missouri Lexington, Ky. W, 83-56 Wednesday December 29 High Point Lexington, Ky. W, 92-48 Friday December 31 UAlbany Lexington, Ky. W, 86-61 Monday November 22 Home Neutral Away 2021-22 Basketball Schedule Tennessee Lexington, Ky. W, 107-79 Saturday January 15We’re your Shield. We’re your Shelter. ShelterInsurance.com • 1-800-SHELTER WE ARE PROUD TO SUPPORT THE KENTUCKYKENTUCKY WILDCATS!WILDCATS! KENTUCKYKENTUCKY WILDCATS!WILDCATS! ® BEAVER DAM Robbie Parham BEREA Chad Tate BENTON Michelle Clark BOWLING GREEN Nancy Hickey BUTLER Jason Laytart CAMPBELLSVILLE Joseph Hamilton CARLISLE Bill Clark CYNTHIANA David Yeiser DANVILLE Troy Wheeler ELIZABETHTOWN Jamie Martin Alice Slaubaugh EMINENCE Fred Downey EVANSVILLE, IN Rick Koberstein FAIRDALE Jamie Norsworthy FLEMINGSBURG Cole Clark FLORENCE Rocky Bryan Will Gilliland FRANKLIN Brian Knapp FRANKFORT BJ Hurst Audrey Marshall GEORGETOWN Steve Black Spencer Kilpatrick HARDINSBURG Sandra Bruington HARRODSBURG Jamie Dunn HENDERSON Lesley Liley HODGENVILLE Teddy Sandford HOPKINSVILLE Scott Leuckel LAGRANGE Paula Kaeser LANCASTER Cindy Lanham LAWRENCEBURG Ashley Bailey Larry Moore LEITCHFIELD Donna Vanmeter LEXINGTON Tony Arnold Linda Fugate Dawan Hart Willie Morrison Maddie Stiles Terry Wolfe Gene Young LIBERTY Kevin Atwood LIVERMORE Katie Gunterman LONDON Jeffery Anderson LOUISVILLE Larissa Spears MADISONVILLE Kelly Madison MAYFIELD Steve Jones MOREHEAD Caleb Staggs MOUNT STER- LING Elizabeth Shelley MURRAY Doug Henry NICHOLASVILLE Marc Miller Russ Owens OWENSBORO Karen Keller Bob Smith Nick Warren PADUCAH Toby Boone RICHMOND Ashley Kovaleski Evan Worrell SHELBYVILLE Jessica Cole SLAUGHTERS Sam Westfall SOMERSET Jason Weatherford SPRINGFIELD Sue Blair STANFORD Sean Slusher VERSAILLES Janice Frasier WINCHESTER Kay Brandenburg Olin Woolum22 @KentuckyMBB 2021-22 Kentucky Wildcats Statistics TOTAL 3-POINT F-THROW SCORING REBOUNDS No. Player GP-S Min. Avg. FG-FGA Pct 3FG-FGA Pct FT-FTA Pct Pts Avg. Off Def Total Avg. PF A TO Stl Blk. 34 Tshiebwe, Oscar 19-19 567 29.8 124-202 .614 0-0 .000 57-77 .740 305 16.1 98 183 281 14.8 46 17 30 29 30 03 Washington Jr. , TyTy 19-19 571 30.1 106-210 .505 23-58 .397 24-31 .774 259 13.6 16 59 75 3.9 29 83 32 23 5 31 Grady, Kellan 19-19 586 30.8 77-164 .470 53-121 .438 16-23 .696 223 11.7 5 31 36 1.9 15 20 13 19 2 02 Wheeler, Sahvir 17-17 505 29.7 76-157 .484 8-28 .286 24-27 .889 184 10.8 11 24 35 2.1 40 118 53 23 1 12 Brooks Jr., Keion 18-18 412 22.9 74-153 .484 5-20 .250 29-41 .707 182 10.1 25 52 77 4.3 24 13 21 9 14 10 Mintz, Davion 16-1 365 22.8 46-114 .404 24-67 .358 26-36 .722 142 8.9 12 29 41 2.6 20 28 19 5 2 00 Toppin, Jacob 15-1 258 17.2 35-66 .530 0-1 .000 19-26 .731 89 5.9 17 34 51 3.4 21 22 8 9 9 04 Collins, Daimion 17-1 168 9.9 27-45 .600 0-3 .000 7-9 .778 61 3.6 15 29 44 2.6 28 4 13 6 19 11 Allen, Dontaie 13-0 98 7.5 13-44 .295 6-32 .188 4-4 1.000 36 2.8 3 16 19 1.5 9 6 3 2 2 23 Hopkins, Bryce 19-0 147 7.7 18-45 .400 5-15 .333 4-7 .571 45 2.4 14 17 31 1.6 13 7 13 4 2 55 Ware, Lance 13-0 84 6.5 8-11 .727 0-0 .000 7-16 .438 23 1.8 4 16 20 1.5 17 1 10 2 7 20 Payne, Zan 9-0 13 1.4 2-6 .333 0-3 .000 4-4 1.000 8 0.9 0 2 2 0.2 1 0 1 1 0 14 Canada, Brennan 9-0 13 1.4 3-4 .750 0-1 .000 0-0 .000 6 0.7 1 0 1 0.1 0 1 0 0 1 25 Watkins, Kareem 9-0 13 1.4 0-1 .000 0-0 .000 0-0 .000 0 0.0 1 2 3 0.3 2 2 3 2 0 Total 19 3800 200.0 609-1222 .498 124-349 .355 221-301 .734 1563 82.26 256 533 789 41.5 265 322 225 134 94 Opponents 3800 200.0 453-1117 .406 119-396 .301 186-264 .705 1211 63.74 154 390 544 28.6 279 208 246 121 60The UK HealthCare John Calipari Show Behind Kentucky Basketball SUBSCRIBE TO PODCASTS TODAY! SPORTS NETWORKSPORTS NETWORK Presented By2021-22 Mississippi State Bulldogs Statistics TOTAL 3-POINT F-THROW SCORING REBOUNDS No. Player GP-S Min. Avg. FG-FGA Pct 3FG-FGA Pct FT-FTA Pct Pts Avg. Off Def Total Avg. PF A TO Stl Blk. 01 Molinar, Iverson 18-18 595 33.1 112-230 .487 21-69 .304 74-85 .871 319 17.7 10 54 64 3.6 24 78 31 22 9 35 Smith, Tolu 8-8 207 25.9 39-63 .619 0-0 .000 27-42 .643 105 13.1 22 31 53 6.6 25 6 14 11 1 10 Brooks, Garrison 18-18 525 29.2 80-166 .482 13-40 .325 29-38 .763 202 11.2 41 76 117 6.5 37 13 23 7 13 03 Moore, Shakeel 18-18 532 29.6 71-165 .430 31-86 .360 28-33 .848 201 11.2 9 45 54 3.0 31 41 27 36 9 13 Jeffries, D.J. 18-18 499 27.7 67-157 .427 20-62 .323 27-40 .675 181 10.1 21 64 85 4.7 20 33 33 9 16 02 Davis, Javian 17-0 239 14.1 29-56 .518 0-0 .000 32-51 .627 90 5.3 30 26 56 3.3 28 7 19 4 4 04 Matthews, Cameron 17-7 358 21.1 27-38 .711 4-8 .500 16-25 .640 74 4.4 30 54 84 4.9 49 28 18 28 8 00 Watts, Rocket 13-0 173 13.3 22-49 .449 7-24 .292 2-2 1.000 53 4.1 1 6 7 0.5 13 7 11 4 0 11 Garcia, Andersson 17-0 219 12.9 21-41 .512 2-9 .222 18-31 .581 62 3.6 16 41 57 3.4 21 20 18 17 4 05 Carter, Cam 14-0 111 7.9 12-28 .429 3-10 .300 6-8 .750 33 2.4 2 8 10 0.7 5 19 8 7 2 20 Fountain, Derek 12-3 138 11.5 10-27 .370 2-8 .250 5-7 .714 27 2.3 8 24 32 2.7 13 8 3 9 4 44 Applewhite, Alden 2-0 7 3.5 0-3 .000 0-1 .000 2-2 1.000 2 1.0 0 4 4 2.0 0 0 1 0 0 25 Stansbury, Isaac 5-0 7 1.4 2-2 1.000 1-1 1.000 0-0 .000 5 1.0 0 1 1 0.2 3 0 0 0 0 21 Rumph, Justin 4-0 7 1.8 1-2 .500 1-2 .500 0-0 .000 3 0.8 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 24 Brumfield, Tyler 4-0 8 2.0 0-0 .000 0-0 .000 2-2 1.000 2 0.5 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 1 Total 18 3625 201.4 493-1027 .480 105-320 .328 268-366 .732 1359 75.50 214 465 679 37.7 269 260 216 154 71 Opponents 3625 201.4 417-985 .423 154-449 .343 187-257 .728 1175 65.28 143 369 512 28.4 300 234 236 114 53 Tolu Smith Iverson Molinar 24 @KentuckyMBBFind your vibe at VisitLEX.comNext >