Comeback not in cards for State

By Staff
January 14, 2004
By Tony Krausz / assistant sports editor
STARKVILLE Mississippi State University head basketball coach Rick Stansbury told reporters Monday during the SEC basketball teleconference that he tried to forget the first 10 to 15 minutes of his team's last home game against Kentucky.
The No. 20-ranked Bulldogs last hosted the No. 5 Wildcats on Jan. 5, 2002. Kentucky jumped out to a 20-point lead on MSU in Humphrey Coliseum.
The Bulldogs battled back, and thanks to a rare three-pointer from Mario Austin, sent the game into overtime. MSU finished the game with a 74-69 win.
Stansbury may want to forget the final two seconds of Tuesday night's home game against Kentucky.
With the Bulldogs holding a one-point lead after battling back from a 16-point deficit in the second half, Kentucky won the game on a last second shot from Wildcats forward Erik Daniels.
Daniels' buzzer beater gave from about two feet in front of the hoop gave Kentucky a 67-66 win.
Vitale sighting
ESPN goof-ball basketball analyst Dick Vitale made his second appearance inside the Humphrey Coliseum Tuesday night.
Vitale provided commentary for the ESPN nationally televised game between the Wildcats and the Bulldogs.
The famed basketball guru, who has his own bobble-head doll, first appeared on the MSU campus for the team's contest against the Arkansas Razorbacks during the 1994 Final Four season for the Bulldogs. MSU won that game.
Vitale proved not be a lucky charm for the Bulldogs in his return appearance in Starkville. Kentucky snapped MSU's unbeaten streak to start the 2003-04 season.
Undefeated
Kentucky entered Tuesday night's contest looking to knock off another Division I undefeated basketball team.
The Wildcats reduced the number of unbeaten teams in the NCAA by one last Saturday scoring a 75-63 win over Vanderbilt.
Kentucky found a way to reduce the number of undefeated teams again in college basketball with its win over MSU. The Bulldogs' loss stopped their 13-game winning streak to start the year and leaves just five teams in NCAA Division I college basketball without a blemish on its record.
The streak
Kentucky has always been seen as the cream of the crop in SEC basketball.
The Wildcats have more than earned the praise Stansbury gave the team.
Kentucky has not lost to an SEC opponent since a 70-57 defeat at the hands of South Carolina in the 2002 SEC tournament, and the Wildcats haven't lost a regular season game to a conference foe since Feb. 16, 2002. Georgia knocked off the Wildcats 78-69.
Since that loss to South Carolina, the Wildcats have rattled off 20 straight wins over conference foes in the regular season and SEC tournament.
Kentucky continued to push its conference-winning streak with a road win over MSU on Tuesday. The Wildcats are now 21-0 against SEC opponents since the start of the 2002-03 season.
Roberts' encore
Roberts made a bold prediction before MSU's contest against Arkansas last Saturday.
The transfer from Baylor told the team he was going 20-20 (20 points and 20 rebounds) against the Razorbacks the day before the weekend SEC match up.
Roberts did finish the game with a 40, scoring a game-high 29 points and pulling in 11 rebounds.
The 6-foot-9 Bulldogs didn't make any predictions before facing Kentucky, but he did turn in 10th double-double performance of the season and 32nd of his career.
Roberts tallied 15 points and 14 rebounds in the loss to Kentucky.