Kentucky basketball

Men's Basketball · February 16, 2023 - 11:53 AM ...

UK Athletics Kentucky beat Mississippi State 71-68. Photo by Chet White Highlights: Kentucky 71, Mississippi State 68

A much-needed Quad 1 road win at Mississippi State and Texas A&M's climb gave the Wildcats' postseason hopes a boost.

A top-four seed in Nashville launches you straight into more quality win opportunities and requires just three victories to take the tournament trophy. 0 Quad 4 losses Quad 3 losses For the sake of argument, let’s assume ultimately A&M slides up at least one more spot and the Cats have three Quad 1 wins and one Quad 4 loss. 63 USC, No. 44 Mississippi State, No. 23 Boise State, No. Extreme Kentucky pessimists, who have at various points declared there is no way these deeply flawed Wildcats make the NCAA Tournament, might want to take a closer look at the teams they’re competing with to get in. Point being, despite a frustrating season, Kentucky (17-9, 8-5 SEC) is much closer after Wednesday to avoiding the total disaster of missing the dance for the second time in three years. That remains a tenuous position, but the schedule Calipari mentioned means his team could feel much better about its NCAA Tournament hopes in the next few days. To that end, Wednesday was a perfect night for Kentucky.

Look, beggars can't be choosers when it comes to quality wins for Kentucky basketball at this point. Sure, you'd prefer the Wildcats turn that 13-point ...

40 in the NET entering the matchup and No. 31 in the NET, keeping that one a Quad 2 for the time being. Junior Maddie Scherr (13.6) and sophomore Jada Walker (13.3) are also averaging double digits in the SEC. How about two of the stars of the show, Toppin and Livingston? As a team, the Wildcats shot 45.5% from the field (25-55), 30.0% from three (6-20) and 75.0% at the line (15-20). That kick-out to Toppin at the right corner, then the extra pass to Reeves on the wing for the open look at the shot-clock buzzer? It’s a nod to his time at UMass, a phrase he trademarked back in the day. On the other end, they allowed the Bulldogs to shoot 50.0% overall (24-48), 30% from deep (6-20) and 73.7% at the stripe (14-19). And though Wallace shot just 1-13 overall and 0-8 from three, he did add 11 assists with just one turnover to go with four rebounds and two steals in 38 minutes, finishing with a team-high +8 in the +/-. At the end of the day, though, Kentucky did just enough to hold on in Starkville, defeating the Bulldogs by a final score of 71-68. From there, Toppin added 16 points (7-9 FG, 1-1 3PT), three rebounds, two assists and two steals, followed by Reeves with 14 (11 in the first half) and Livingston with 13 (all in the second half). Tshiebwe led the team with 18 points (7-13 FG, 4-6 FT), 11 rebounds (seven offensive), two assists, one steal and four turnovers in 32 minutes.

Mississippi State and Kentucky faced off Wednesday night in Starkville, Mississippi, with both teams seeking a key win for their NCAA Tournament chances.

[John Calipari](//247sports.com/Coach/John-Calipari-189) and company as they look to get off the bubble. Below is a transcript of comments from Jans as well as State's [Tolu Smith](//247sports.com/Player/Tolu-Smith-46110661) and Cameron Matthews, lightly edited for clarity and brevity. [Get the fastest scores, stats, news, LIVE videos, and more.

STARKVILLE, Miss. — By now, you're likely well aware about Kentucky basketball's NCAA Tournament résumé. Entering its Wednesday night tilt against ...

Competing for a top-four seed is crucial, as the Cats would receive a double-bye into the quarterfinals of the SEC Tournament: In the Wildcats' 72-67 win over the Gators earlier this season, Castleton totaled 25 points, eight rebounds and five assists. Reports indicate that he'll miss at least the rest of the regular season, as UF vies for a tournament bid. If they can reach the top-75, then Kentucky's 69-53 road win in Nashville on Jan. If A&M were to reach the top-30 in the NET, then it reaches that Quad 1 mark. 89 in the NET. On Tuesday, Auburn got right in a big way, shellacking Missouri on the Plains, 89-56. With a 1-7 Quad 1 record and that ugly blemish that is the home loss to South Carolina, there wasn't much for Kentucky to hang its hat on. It wasn't superbly pleasing to the eyes, but Kentucky played some of its most complete basketball of the season en route to a vital victory. With the trouncing, Bruce Pearl's Tigers remain top-30 in the NET, now at No. Well, the win bumps A&M to No. Entering its Wednesday night tilt against Mississippi State, the Wildcats had just one Quadrant 1 victory to speak of — a road win at Tennessee on Jan.

The Kentucky Wildcats pulled off a huge win in Starkville on Wednesday night, in what was the ultimate bubble game for both the Cats and the Mississippi ...

You want to be in that ‘Last Four Byes’ range or better to feel good about dancing in March. And after a win over No. Frankly, the Wildcats need a strong finish to feel good about making the field of 68.

A podcast breaking down the Kentucky Wildcats and Tennessee Volunteers ahead of their SEC college basketball game on Saturday in Lexington.

[John Clay](https://twitter.com/johnclayiv) talks with [Mike Wilson](https://twitter.com/ByMikeWilson) of the Knoxville News-Sentinel and [Ben Roberts](https://twitter.com/BenRobertsHL) of Kentucky.com about Saturday’s matchup. The Wildcats defeated the Vols in Knoxville back on Jan. 1-ranked Alabama 68-59 on Wednesday. 10-ranked Tennessee defeated No. UK won 71-68 at Mississippi State on Wednesday. Two teams fresh off big victories meet Saturday at Rupp Arena when the Kentucky Wildcats welcome the Tennessee Volunteers to Lexington.

The Wildcats' victory over Mississippi State, another bubble team, has them as an No. 11 seed.

[Colorado State](https://www.cbssports.com/college-basketball/teams/COLOST/colorado-state-rams/), 10 p.m. [Colorado](https://www.cbssports.com/college-basketball/teams/COLO/colorado-buffaloes/), 8 p.m. FS1, [fuboTV](http://www.fubo.tv/lp/collegebasketball/?bgvideo=marchm.mp4&title=Watch%20College%20Basketball%20with%20fuboTV&subinfo=Follow%20the%20Road%20to%20the%20Final)(Try for free) – The Trojans took a couple of damaging losses last week on their trip to [Oregon](https://www.cbssports.com/college-basketball/teams/OREG/oregon-ducks/). After Thursday's game with the Buffaloes, ASU will host [Utah](https://www.cbssports.com/college-basketball/teams/UTAH/utah-utes/), then try to build a case on the road against Arizona, UCLA and [USC](https://www.cbssports.com/college-basketball/teams/USC/usc-trojans/). [Kentucky](https://www.cbssports.com/college-basketball/teams/UK/kentucky-wildcats/) picked up a win at fellow bubbler [Mississippi State](https://www.cbssports.com/college-basketball/teams/MISSST/mississippi-state-bulldogs/) on Wednesday night. In particular, the loss at [Oregon State](https://www.cbssports.com/college-basketball/teams/OREGST/oregon-state-beavers/)really hurts because it is their second Quad 3 loss. [Arkansas](https://www.cbssports.com/college-basketball/teams/ARK/arkansas-razorbacks/) lost at [Texas A&M](https://www.cbssports.com/college-basketball/teams/TEXAM/texas-am-aggies/) playing mostly without Nick Smith, who logged just four first half minutes. Due to shortened schedules and a relatively small number of nonconference games in 2021, those rankings were not reliable enough to be considered. They have what should be a couple of relatively easy home games against [Florida](https://www.cbssports.com/college-basketball/teams/FLA/florida-gators/) and [Georgia](https://www.cbssports.com/college-basketball/teams/UGA/georgia-bulldogs/) before back-to-back tilts with Alabama and Tennessee on the road. Pac-12 Network, [fuboTV](https://www.fubo.tv/stream/college-basketball/?irad=367782&irmp=416484&sharedID=HTW)(Try for free) – Arizona State is only on the bubble because the Sun Devils have a schedule that allows them the opportunity to try to play their way into the field. Must win games all around.. [West Virginia](https://www.cbssports.com/college-basketball/teams/WVU/west-virginia-mountaineers/) [North Carolina](https://www.cbssports.com/college-basketball/teams/UNC/north-carolina-tar-heels/) [Wake Forest](https://www.cbssports.com/college-basketball/teams/WAKE/wake-forest-demon-deacons/) [New Mexico](https://www.cbssports.com/college-basketball/teams/NMEX/new-mexico-lobos/) [Penn State](https://www.cbssports.com/college-basketball/teams/PSU/penn-state-nittany-lions/) [Seton Hall](https://www.cbssports.com/college-basketball/teams/SETON/seton-hall-pirates/) [Arizona State](https://www.cbssports.com/college-basketball/teams/ARIZST/arizona-state-sun-devils/) [Clemson](https://www.cbssports.com/college-basketball/teams/CLEM/clemson-tigers/) [Utah State](https://www.cbssports.com/college-basketball/teams/UTAHST/utah-state-aggies/)

The Wildcats' victory over Mississippi State, another bubble team, has them as an No. 11 seed.

[fuboTV](http://www.fubo.tv/lp/collegebasketball/?bgvideo=marchm.mp4&title=Watch%20College%20Basketball%20with%20fuboTV&subinfo=Follow%20the%20Road%20to%20the%20Final)(Try for free) – The Trojans took a couple of damaging losses last week on their trip to [Oregon](https://www.cbssports.com/college-basketball/teams/OREG/oregon-ducks/). After Thursday's game with the Buffaloes, ASU will host [Utah](https://www.cbssports.com/college-basketball/teams/UTAH/utah-utes/), then try to build a case on the road against Arizona, UCLA and [USC](https://www.cbssports.com/college-basketball/teams/USC/usc-trojans/). [Colorado](https://www.cbssports.com/college-basketball/teams/COLO/colorado-buffaloes/), 8 p.m. [Kentucky](https://www.cbssports.com/college-basketball/teams/UK/kentucky-wildcats/) picked up a win at fellow bubbler [Mississippi State](https://www.cbssports.com/college-basketball/teams/MISSST/mississippi-state-bulldogs/) on Wednesday night. In particular, the loss at [Oregon State](https://www.cbssports.com/college-basketball/teams/OREGST/oregon-state-beavers/)really hurts because it is their second Quad 3 loss. Pac-12 Network, [fuboTV](https://www.fubo.tv/stream/college-basketball/?irad=367782&irmp=416484&sharedID=HTW)(Try for free) – Arizona State is only on the bubble because the Sun Devils have a schedule that allows them the opportunity to try to play their way into the field. Due to shortened schedules and a relatively small number of nonconference games in 2021, those rankings were not reliable enough to be considered. [Arkansas](https://www.cbssports.com/college-basketball/teams/ARK/arkansas-razorbacks/) lost at [Texas A&M](https://www.cbssports.com/college-basketball/teams/TEXAM/texas-am-aggies/) playing mostly without Nick Smith, who logged just four first half minutes. They have what should be a couple of relatively easy home games against [Florida](https://www.cbssports.com/college-basketball/teams/FLA/florida-gators/) and [Georgia](https://www.cbssports.com/college-basketball/teams/UGA/georgia-bulldogs/) before back-to-back tilts with Alabama and Tennessee on the road. Must win games all around.. [West Virginia](https://www.cbssports.com/college-basketball/teams/WVU/west-virginia-mountaineers/) [North Carolina](https://www.cbssports.com/college-basketball/teams/UNC/north-carolina-tar-heels/) [Wake Forest](https://www.cbssports.com/college-basketball/teams/WAKE/wake-forest-demon-deacons/) [New Mexico](https://www.cbssports.com/college-basketball/teams/NMEX/new-mexico-lobos/) [Penn State](https://www.cbssports.com/college-basketball/teams/PSU/penn-state-nittany-lions/) [Seton Hall](https://www.cbssports.com/college-basketball/teams/SETON/seton-hall-pirates/) [Arizona State](https://www.cbssports.com/college-basketball/teams/ARIZST/arizona-state-sun-devils/) [Clemson](https://www.cbssports.com/college-basketball/teams/CLEM/clemson-tigers/) [Utah State](https://www.cbssports.com/college-basketball/teams/UTAHST/utah-state-aggies/) [Bracketology](https://www.cbssports.com/college-basketball/bracketology/) hub

STARKVILLE, Miss. — Kentucky basketball needed all hands on deck in its 71-68 win over Mississippi State on Wednesday night inside Humphrey Coliseum.

Unlikely hero Chris Livingston helps save Kentucky's season at Mississippi State · Edit · Slot to 247Sports Home · Slot to Kentucky Wildcats Newsletter · Slot to ...

I was trying to win." I was playing as hard as I could trying to make winning plays, whether that’s getting deflections or rebounds. After Mississippi State went ahead 41-38 with 16:30 to play, Livingston scored or assisted on 10 straight Kentucky points as part of an 18-2 run that gave the Wildcats a 56-43 lead with 8:33 to go. With Kentucky leading 66-64, Livingston rebounded an Refuse to lose," Livingston said. He was being hard on me because he expects much more out of myself during the game.