Strack leads No. 16 Kentucky against Mississippi State after 21-point performance

Published Jan. 2, 2025 3:42 a.m. ET

Associated Press

Mississippi State Bulldogs (13-1) at Kentucky Wildcats (11-1)

Lexington-Fayette, Kentucky; Thursday, 7 p.m. EST

BOTTOM LINE: No. 16 Kentucky plays Mississippi State after Clara Strack scored 21 points in Kentucky's 88-70 win against the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers.

The Wildcats are 8-0 in home games. Kentucky averages 12.2 turnovers per game and is 8-0 when it wins the turnover battle.

The Bulldogs are 3-1 on the road. Mississippi State ranks ninth in the SEC shooting 32.4% from 3-point range.

Kentucky makes 45.7% of its shots from the field this season, which is 13.5 percentage points higher than Mississippi State has allowed to its opponents (32.2%). Mississippi State averages 6.8 made 3-pointers per game this season, 2.0 more made shots on average than the 4.8 per game Kentucky allows.

The Wildcats and Bulldogs meet Thursday for the first time in SEC play this season.

TOP PERFORMERS: Georgia Amoore is shooting 31.0% from beyond the arc with 2.3 made 3-pointers per game for the Wildcats, while averaging 16.7 points and 7.2 assists.

Jerkaila Jordan is scoring 14.6 points per game with 6.8 rebounds and 2.7 assists for the Bulldogs.

LAST 10 GAMES: Wildcats: 9-1, averaging 77.3 points, 37.9 rebounds, 19.1 assists, 4.5 steals and 6.6 blocks per game while shooting 45.3% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 60.1 points per game.

Bulldogs: 9-1, averaging 77.9 points, 38.8 rebounds, 18.8 assists, 8.0 steals and 4.6 blocks per game while shooting 50.0% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 55.2 points.

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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.