Multiple Kentucky players made important contributions in the Wildcats' Tuesday night win over Mississippi State. But performances varied greatly by half.
Here are CI's game grades for each Kentucky player.
| Player | Grade | Analysis |
|---|---|---|
Ashton Hagans | B- | Hagans probably had his name called less often by radio and TV broadcasters than in almost any other game this season. He had six points on 2/7 shooting, two rebounds, six assists and two steals. Most importantly, only two fouls and two turnovers. Those last two numbers had been problems in the previous week's worth of action. Hagans did travel a couple of times early in the game but in terms of the sloppy play, he improved that. |
Tyrese Maxey | B+ | Eight points is probably less than Kentucky ideally gets from Maxey but 4/9 from the field was acceptable. Two turnovers is an okay number as well. Maxey had four boards and five assists, the latter number being pretty high for him. Like Hagans, Maxey cleaned up some of the erratic play that hasn't defined him but has sometimes shown. |
Immanuel Quickley | B+ | Quickley has put up some brutal shooting lines from the field recently but because he gets to the foul line so much and converts at such a high rate (13/15). He also had four rebounds and a single turnover. UK has come to rely on Quickley's scoring production quite a bit. |
Johnny Juzang | INC | Juzang did not attempt a field goal and had one rebound in five minutes. |
Keion Brooks | INC | Brooks was 0/1 FG with no points, one rebound, and two fouls in five minutes. |
Nate Sestina | B+ | This was one of Sestina's better games in a while because of his offensive contributions. He had six points (3/5 FG) including a couple of those baskets when a couple of Kentucky's stars were sitting and they really benefited from those minutes. |
EJ Montgomery | A | Montgomery didn't do nearly as much after halftime as he did before it, but the overall stat line (12 points, 5/11 FG, 8 rebounds, 3 steals) shows that he was a factor and aggressive on both ends of the court. Montgomery played with a lot of confidence and against a solid frontcourt. He helped UK avoid struggles in the first half when Richards wasn't producing on offense. |
Nick Richards | A | It was quite a turnaround for Richards in the second half. After scoring only two points but rebounding well before intermission, after the break he scored 25 additional points, largely because he was 13/15 from the free throw stripe. |
