Kentucky players celebrate Mississippi State win with "BEAT KENTUCKY!" newspaper

Mississippi State fans packed Humphrey Coliseum with a sell-out crowd in anticipation of knocking off the Kentucky Wildcats in a huge, Top 15 SEC matchup. Students waited outside the arena for nearly 24 hours in hopes of getting the best seat possible to see an upset against a Blue Blooe live and in person.

But all that pregame chest-pumping did was make for a perfect postgame opportunity in the locker room. Kentucky pulled off a thrilling 95-90 victory over the Bulldogs, and they celebrated in a beautifully petty way. Ansley Almonor, who hit three shots from deep en route to his 11-point outing, managed to get his hands on a newspaper that read “EXTRA! EXTRA! BEAT KENTUCKY!” on the front page.

Almonor posted a picture to his Instagram Story of him reading The Dawgs Daily News with the caption “Damn not this year” and multiple laughing emojis. Of all the things we LOVE to see, this is most certainly one of them.

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— Andreya Flores (@andreyaflores21) January 12, 2025

Mississippi State was the clear favorite coming into this matchup. Both the betting odds and computer projections were picking the Bulldogs. Kentucky was coming off a depressing loss to Georgia on the road earlier this week. Dropping two in a row this early into SEC play would have been a tough pill to swallow.

But with the help of Almonor, Kentucky was able to extend its regular season winning streak against MSU to 19 (four coming in overtime), a stretch that dates back to 2009. UK is now 104-21 all-time against the Bulldogs, including a 40-12 mark when playing in Starkville.

Maybe next year, MSU fans. Maybe next year…