The No. 13 Kentucky Wildcats (8-1, 0-0 SEC) visit the No. 12 Mississippi State Bulldogs (6-1, 0-0 SEC) in a top-25 showdown at Humphrey Coliseum on Sunday, January 3, 2021, tipping at 1:00 PM ET on ESPN2.

Kentucky

Kentucky is in its 47th season with a 853-549 (.608) all-time record.

 UK began SEC play with a win over No. 10 Arkansas on Thursday. It was UK’s defense that shined, limiting UA to a season-low in scoring and 38.7 percent shooting. Rhyne Howard scored 24 points with 10 rebounds, hitting four 3s with four assists. As a team, UK hit 10 3s

Three Wildcats are averaging over 14 points this season in Rhyne Howard, Dre’una Edwards and Chasity Patterson. Howard is averaging 16.4 points per game with 6.9 rebounds per game hitting a team-best 19 3-pointers. Edwards is averaging 14.2 points per game with 8.6 rebounds per game adding 57.3 percent from the field. Patterson leads the nation in steals with 42 and is averaging 14.1 points per game and has a team-best 29 assists as well.

Mississippi State

Mississippi State enters Sunday’s game with a 6-1 record, including a 1-0 start in SEC play after a 69-62 win at Georgia on Thursday. State attempted 29 free throws in the game, hitting 21 and added six 3s. Madison Hayes led the team with 13 points, going 4-of-5 from the field and 2-of-3 from long range, while Jessika Carter had 13 points with five rebounds. Rickea Jackson scored 11 points with two rebounds, two assists and a block.

Rickea Jackson, Mississippi State's top scorer last season, averaged 15.1 points and 5.1 rebounds per game. Jessika Carter led the Bulldogs with 8.7 rebounds per game and added 13.0 points, while Myah Taylor paced the team with 4.5 assists and averaged 5.6 points.