Kentucky's 21 assists vs. Miss State were easily the most against a high-major team this season

Mark Pope has been stressing to his players to make the right play. MP4T — Make Plays For Teammates — has been a mantra he’s continually preached to the Wildcats throughout the course of the season. But at least against high-major opponents this season, that message hadn’t fully gotten through yet.

Until Saturday night, that is, when Mississippi State came to Rupp Arena for an important SEC showdown.

Kentucky posted 21 assists in a 92-68 win over the Bulldogs, easily the Wildcats’ most against a high-major team in 2025-26. The previous high was the 16 assists Kentucky recorded earlier this week in a crushing loss to Missouri. Before that, it was 14 assists all the way back in November in a loss to Louisville.

UK complemented Saturday’s 21 assists on 36 made baskets with only nine turnovers.

“It’s just amazing what happens when you pass the ball to your teammate a little bit,” Pope said postgame.

Kentucky had to switch up its playstyle against the Bulldogs a bit, too. With Jayden Quaintance sidelined and starting point guard Jaland Lowe going out early after re-injuring his right shoulder, Pope said he went with a “revamped spacing system” that required more ball movement. It took a couple of segments for the Wildcats to fully embrace it, but once they did, points came easily.

Through the first eight minutes of the game, Kentucky was at just 15 points on only two assists. That resulted in an early 11-point deficit. “We had no interest in making plays for anybody on our team except for ourselves,” Pope admitted. Across the final 32 minutes, UK racked up 77 points and 19 dimes. There was a clear purpose with ball movement, which hadn’t been the case earlier in the game — or earlier in the season, quite honestly.

“We have so much talent that we could break guys down one-on-one, but that’s kind of what teams want,” Senior guard Otega Oweh said postgame. “Once we get the ball moving and make them move a couple times and make certain decisions, I feel like that’s when we’re at our best.”

It wasn’t just one Wildcat doing the bulk of the playmaking, either. Seven-footer Malachi Moreno actually led Kentucky with six assists. Oweh finished with five assists while Denzel Aberdeen chipped in four of his own. Kam Williams even dished out a pair. Eight of UK’s nine made three-pointers came via an assist. There was an obvious emphasis in this game on running actions and whipping the ball around for the best available look.

Kentucky played one of its best offensive games of the season because of it.

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