Mississippi State @ Kentucky preview

Last Meeting ( Feb 9, 2019 ) Kentucky 71, Mississippi State 67

No. 16 Kentucky came up big in its two previous Saturday road games but couldn't keep the magic going in an NCAA Tournament rematch on the road last Saturday against No. 10 Auburn. The Wildcats will have another big game, albeit at home on Tuesday, when streaking Mississippi State visits in a game between teams fighting for the No. 2 spot in the SEC.

Kentucky, which lost to Auburn in last season's Elite Eight, was outscored 16-6 down the stretch, outrebounded by 14 by the much smaller Tigers, yielded 17 offensive rebounds - which helped contribute to 33-of-44 shooting from the foul line for Auburn. "I don't know if that's the most free throws taken against my team, but it might be," Wildcats coach John Calipari said. "But let me just tell you: They put their head down and they go, and that's what they do. And we were trying to do the same without the same result, but we were trying to do the same. The difference was the offensive rebounding, and that came down to toughness." The Bulldogs are a game behind both Kentucky and Auburn for second place in the SEC - with both looking up at undefeated LSU - but they are coming off their fifth straight conference triumph after defeating Tennessee 86-73 on Saturday. Reggie Perry, who is on a short list for SEC Player of the Year, compiled his league-leading 12th double-double of his sophomore campaign and the 21st of his career en route to a game-leading 24 points and 12 rebounds.

TIME: 9 p.m. ET. TV: ESPN

ABOUT MISSISSIPPI STATE (14-7, 5-3 SEC): Perry (17.2 points, 10.0 rebounds) got plenty of help from redshirt freshman D.J. Stewart (8.3 points, 35 percent 3-pointers), who scored 16 of his 20 points with four 3-pointers in the second half to snap a four-game losing streak to the Volunteers. "D.J. Stewart Jr. had his best offensive night of the year. What a great day to pick to do it," Bulldogs coach Ben Howland said. "(Following) his two (3-pointers midway in the second half), the building was electric. That was just so exciting. I'm just so happy for him because he puts an incredible amount of time in." Nick Weatherspoon turned in 11 points, a career-high nine assists and a career-best eight rebounds; the junior has piled up 33 assists versus seven turnovers over his last five games.

ABOUT KENTUCKY (16-5, 6-2): Nick Richards, also a leading candidate for SEC Player of the Year after averaging 17.3 points, 9.9 rebounds and 2.6 assists in his past nine games, was limited to seven points and seven rebounds against Auburn. Richards leads the conference in field-goal percentage (65.5), is second in blocks (2.3), fourth in rebounds (8.2) and 13th in scoring (14.0). Sophomore point guard Ashton Hagans (12.8 points, SEC-best 7.0 assists, conference-leading 2.1 steals) got in foul trouble early and mustered just five points and three assists against six turnovers in 20 minutes, ending his 17-game streak of five or more assists.

BUZZER BEATERS

1. Kentucky has won 13 straight games in the series, including a season sweep last season.

2. The Bulldogs shot 69.2 percent against Tennessee, and the 58 second-half points are the second most versus a SEC opponent under Howland in his five years. Mississippi State also erased its second consecutive halftime deficit, its fourth of the season and its 19th overall under Howland.

3. The last time an opponent shot at least 44 free throws versus Kentucky in regulation was Dec. 14, 2013, when North Carolina took 45 attempts - and made 26 - in Chapel Hill. No opponent has made as many free throws as Auburn did in the Calipari era at Kentucky.

PREDICTION: Mississippi State 67, Kentucky 66