Kentucky proves it’s ‘built for March’ in comeback effort, buzzer-beater at MSU
With 4:51 left to go in Starkville, the jumbotron inside Humphrey Coliseum flashed a graphic: “REMINDER: PLEASE STAY OFF THE PLAYING AREA AT THE END OF THE GAME.”
Mississippi State was sitting with a 71-67 lead following a made jumper from Josh Hubbard, who had gotten everything to fall up to that point — there were a number of times it felt like tonight was his moment. That was one of them, with more to come.
And The Hump was ready to celebrate it on yet another Super Bowl night for Kentucky, this time a White Out, every seat in the house decorated with white MSU t-shirts and DAWGS > CATS towels.
It’s actually white-out T-shirt night AND white towel night. pic.twitter.com/tXYaf2uCJr
— Ben Roberts (@BenRobertsHL) February 27, 2024
It was all there for the taking, going as far as firing off a premature don’t-rush-the-floor warning before the final TV timeout.
“In 1992, we’re playing in the NIT. I’m at UMass and we’re playing Siena, down three. There is 3.6 seconds to go. They get on the mic and say, ‘The buses are going to leave for the Garden on this day at this time.’ My team said, ‘What?’ We make a three and beat them in overtime. One of my guys, ‘What time are those buses leaving?’ I’ve been in those situations.
“I did not see it, though.”
We sure did.
No court-storming in Starkville
Reed Sheppard didn’t see it, either, but he felt it. He knew what was coming with a loss — they just experienced it together a week ago in Baton Rouge.
That’s why it was so sweet ripping the Bulldogs’ hearts out.
From the moment that warning flashed on the jumbotron, Kentucky closed the game on a 24-18 run, capped off by a game-winning jumper from London’s finest with 0.5 seconds to go. He snagged the Hail Mary heave at the buzzer to really drive the point home who owned that building, ending it with a ridiculous 32 points on 11-14 shooting and 4-7 from three to go with seven assists, five rebounds, two blocks and two steals in 35 minutes.
No moment more special, though, than his off-balance floater at the charity stripe, sandwiched between two defenders for the nothing-but-net kiss to close out regulation.
Josh Hubbard tried to make it his moment with a 30-footer to tie it with eight seconds to go, three of his 34 points for his own career-high. Then Sheppard did his part to reclaim the throne.
“It was really cool because last time there was a big crowd and they had a sellout game, it went the other way and they did rush the floor. That was a feeling no one on the team wants to feel again, standing on the court and watching the crowd rush the floor,” Sheppard said. “Being able to take away their fans from doing that and watching them leave when the buzzer goes off all mad and disappointed and Kentucky fans staying and cheering, that’s really cool.”
Cats show resolve in The Hump
Sheppard was brilliant, but he was just a fraction of the story — albeit a significant one. Mississippi State led by 13 points with 18:11 to go, a chance to run away with things to open the second half. Even after a quick surge from Kentucky to cut it to seven, the Bulldogs pushed it back to 11 at the 13-minute mark. Down to one, back up six. The list of opportunities the Cats had to let go of the rope is extensive in both halves — don’t underestimate that three-pointer from DJ Wagner with nine seconds to go to bring it back down to single digits going into the break.
Kentucky checked some boxes it hadn’t checked up to this point, at least not together. Mississippi State came in looking to wear the Cats down inside, anchored by Tolu Smith. That worked wonders, the 6-10, 245-pound senior sleepwalking his way to an easy 21-10 night. They balanced that with yet another red-hot shooting effort from a star guard coming off SEC Co-Freshman of the Week honors, feeding a sold-out crowd exactly what it was looking for, begging for an excuse to cave the roof in.
Physicality, shot-making and a hostile road environment. Three potential strikes for a Kentucky team certainly not immune to a final swing-and-miss strikeout.
Instead, the Cats kept fouling those pitches off the bat, one after another. Big stop here, clutch shot there, just weathering the storm and refusing to let go of the rope. And then the payoff.
3-2, two outs, bottom of the ninth, walk-off home run.
A preview of the NCAA Tournament
How about Antonio Reeves with another efficient 21-point effort, proving once again the All-American talent he is? Or Rob Dillingham overcoming his slow start to drill his own dagger three for Kentucky’s first lead of the night with 4:24 to go? Adou Thiero silencing the crowd in key moments with some ridiculous alley-oop slams? Even Zvonimir Ivisic and Aaron Bradshaw held their own in tough positional matchups.
Sheppard was the star, but it was an all-in effort to win a game the Cats could have let slip away. It genuinely felt like a March Madness game and environment, two elite teams trading baskets and fighting for their lives, but only one survivor.
And tonight, it was Kentucky delivering that final blow.
“We walk out of here, that is not a first- or second-round NCAA (Tournament) game. You’re in the third round, that’s who you’re playing. They’re that good,” John Calipari said. “They’re in the 20s in the NET, they beat Tennessee and Auburn here. This was a big-time win. We’re going to celebrate. To beat these guys and how they’re playing right now, that’s big-time.”
Mississippi State entered the day ranked No. 28 in the NET with five straight wins, “a good team with breakdown guys.”
“I’ll be honest, they’re kind of built for the tournament, too,” Calipari added. “Why? Because they’ve got a couple of guys who can go get baskets, and they’ve got size. I’m just happy we’re done playing them.”
Kentucky proves it is “built for March”
Done playing them, sure — barring a rubber match in Nashville, obviously. But they’re not done playing teams like that. Kentucky is about to face nothing but that in March, big-time matchups in win-or-go-home situations. The Cats had to learn how to win that game, a nail-biter that came down to the wire, our dudes simply beating their dudes.
The how of the Alabama win was impressive, obviously. That’s what this team is capable of on its best night offensively. But it needed this one, to know what this feels like. And now, Kentucky has put itself in the conversation with back-to-back statement wins with a favorable two-game homestand and one final revenge battle to go in Knoxville.
John Calipari said this team was “built for March.” That time has officially come with February now in the rearview mirror.
This is what built for March looks like.
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