Now carrying the nation's No. 8 ranking, Kentucky returns to Rupp Arena for a Tuesday night showdown with upstart Mississippi State with the Bulldogs ranked 22nd.
Cats Illustrated's Jeff Drummond and Justin Rowland offer takes on tonight's game as well as predictions.
The usual questions are the same.
Why should Kentucky fans feel optimistic about tonight's game against MSU?
Jeff Drummond, Managing Editor: Kentucky took another step forward with a hard-fought win at Auburn, one of its most complete "team wins" of the season. Almost everyone in the rotation had a big contribution to that victory. It feels like the pieces are coming together and the Cats are moving closer to the swaggy unit we saw in the Bahamas. If they can get Keldon Johnson and Tyler Herro consistently producing from the wings the way that they did at Auburn, UK is really difficult to defend.
Justin Rowland, Publisher: Mississippi State is greatly improved and the team should be commended for its early success and ranking. But they are lacking in truly quality wins so I don't think we can really know what to expect against UK at Rupp. Maybe it's presumptuous of me, but I automatically assume John Calipari's Wildcats are going undefeated at home in SEC play until they lose the first game. It's just tough for opponents to make enough plays down the stretch when the Cats get that boost in urgency from the crowd the last few minutes.
Mississippi State has been turnover prone at times (as UK has been as well but more so earlier in the season). While UK doesn't do much behind the arc, MSU does let shooters get good looks, so if the Cats can capitalize on more long balls than they usually do that's a big boost.
Any reasons for Wildcat fans to worry?
Drummond: Mississippi State has size, talent and experience. It's a legit Top 25 team with a really solid coach, and Ben Howland is not going to let the Cats get out and run the way Bruce Pearl did. This will likely be a grinder similar to the pace of the Vanderbilt game. UK is clearly more comfortable playing at a faster tempo.
Rowland: Mississippi State has been pretty good away from Starkville this year (2-1 road, 3-1 neutral) and while Rupp is a different animal that history and their recent success means they will come in highly motivated and confident. They have been horrendous at Vanderbilt historically and won resoundingly in Nashville last time out. While UK is always going to have a great home court advantage at Rupp, the Wildcats have probably played better on the road recently than at home. They were lackluster against Texas A&M and Vanderbilt in Lexington and very good on the road against UGA and Auburn. That might be nothing.
The bigger concern, as Jeff said, would be the fact that MSU has some pretty solid personnel and they can present some problems for Kentucky's defense (No. 20 in KenPom's adjusted offensive efficiency). It's a pretty balanced team in that they can still find points even if their top couple of guys aren't at their best. They're also not shabby on the defensive end. This team blocks shots, grabs offensive rebounds and can muck it up. Is this a trap game for Kentucky, sandwiched between that big road game at Auburn and the KU game still to come?
What's your prediction for the game and Kentucky's MVP?
Drummond: Kentucky 68, Mississippi State 60. Keldon Johnson makes it back to back MVP efforts with another big scoring night to power the Cats.
Rowland: Kentucky 71, Mississippi State 65. The Wildcats earn a hard-fought, physical victory that is in doubt until the last five minutes thanks to the rebounding and around-the-rim work of Reid Travis.
