Mississippi State preparing for Kentucky's must-win approach

It’s not hyperbole to say this is a must-win game for Kentucky vs. Mississippi State down in Starkville. Suffering back-to-back losses vs. Arkansas and at Georgia, the Wildcats now sit at 16-9 on the year and No. 46 overall in the NET. With a resume that includes just one Quad 1 victory (in eight attempts) and a Quad 4 loss, UK is now firmly outside the NCAA Tournament field among at-large teams.

But, four Quad 1 opportunities remain out of six total games. As improbable as it feels considering how the Wildcats performed last week, it’s still possible to salvage the season and earn a bid. And it starts with a win against the Bulldogs, a team who has won five straight, including a road victory at Arkansas.

“I think that the elephant in the room is there,” Kentucky assistant coach Chin Coleman said Tuesday. “We know that this season is coming to an end. We’ve got six games left. … I think our guys’ mindset is, they have a sense of urgency. I think they know that. We’ve got to get ourselves together again, right now.”

As things stand today, Mississippi State (No. 40 in the NET) is projected to make the NCAA Tournament while Kentucky is not. The Wildcats have no choice but to play with hunger, maybe even a bit of desperation. At minimum, they’ve got to bring the fight, something they didn’t do against the Razorbacks and Bulldogs last week.

And this different version of the Bulldogs understands that.

“I mean, it’s Kentucky. Certainly everyone in college basketball knows what that means in terms of their program and their success,” Mississippi State head coach Chris Jans said leading up to the matchup. “I know they are going to be hungry. I know they are going to come in here with the attitude that it is a must-win and they got to have it. That will be talked about plenty in our locker room.”

Kentucky will be stepping into yet another hostile environment, another Super Bowl for the opposing crowd. Mississippi State has already announced it will be a white-out inside Humphrey Coliseum, with the school quickly approaching a sell-out. As rowdy as the crowd is expected to be, Jans knows the Wildcats are prepared for a tough environment.

“These games, they are so used to it and it brings out the best in the opposing crowds,” he said. “They are used to it, even the new players now that they’ve gone through the majority of the season. It won’t phase them walking into a sold-out arena.”

Being ready for that type of environment isn’t easy for the home team, either. There’s a bit of pressure that comes with being the team on a five-game winning streak trying to hold off a group desperate for a victory.

The Bulldogs are preparing for that moment leading up to tip-off.

“I’m not worried about that. These kids have proven to me that they’re working, they get it,” Jans said. “They understand that is going to be there Wednesday night and we need to do what we need to do leading up to the game to make sure we’re mentally and physically prepared.

“I’ve had questions like that earlier in the season about different games and I always felt like they were business-like in their approach, understanding the importance of the preparation and the film and on the floor. That’s just a positive, to know we’re going to have an electric crowd and our kids obviously know that. To me, it just makes more sense to lock in even more to make sure we are ready to go.”

Mississippi State will be locked in, that’s clear. What is Kentucky expecting from a personnel standpoint?

“I think where they’re unique is, they force a lot of turnovers and score off of turnovers at a high rate,” Coleman said. “They’re rebounding at a high rate offensively. And using their defense to cause offense, they do that at a high rate. Ball toughness, limiting our turnovers and winning the war on the boards. That will pose some challenge for us.”

The battle is set to take place in Starkville at 8:30 p.m. ET, live on SEC Network.