Kentucky men’s basketball (10-6, 1-2 SEC) walked away with its first conference win of the season Saturday night, taking down Mississippi State (10-6, 2-1) 92-68 with the Cats’ most decisive offensive showing against a power five opponent this season.

The Cats entered the game in desperate search of their first SEC winthis season, as their 0-2 record is the worst conference start Kentucky has had since 2006. 

Mississippi State was coming off two straight wins against Texas and Oklahoma, on the back of its leading scorer, Josh Hubbard, who is currently one of the favorites for SEC Player of the Year. 

Hubbard entered the game averaging a team high of 23 points a game, but more impressively, was coming off a 30-point game against the Sooners, and led the team to its overtime win against Texas with a 38-point performance. 

Kentucky rolled out its starting lineup consisting of Otega Oweh, Denzel Aberdeen, Jaland Lowe, Mo Dioubate and Malachi Moreno.

Moreno was starting in place of Jayden Quaintance, who was ruled out for the game late Friday night, with his circumstances unknown.

The two teams exchanged baskets in the first few drives, but the Bulldogs would take the early lead as the Cats would struggle to find scores from beyond the arc. 

Unfortunately for the Cats, one of their top scorers, Lowe, would exit the game and head to the locker room, re-injuring his shoulder for the fourth time this season. He would inevitably be ruled out for the remainder of the game. 

The offense would continue to struggle for Kentucky, and the Bulldogs would go on a 12-2 scoring run to take an early 10-point lead, forcing Mark Pope into his first time out with 15 minutes remaining in the first half.

After going 0-4 from the three to open up the half, Kentucky would unsurprisingly find its first basket from beyond the arc in Kam Williams. 

Building off Williams’ offensive drive, the Cats would go on a 6-2 scoring run to cut State’s lead to six.

The momentum stayed in Kentucky’s favor, and the stands of Rupp Arena were roaring as the Cats pushed to a 9-0 scoring run with six straight field goals.

Jasper Johnson checked into the game, and the Lexington native sent the crowd into a frenzy as a three-pointer gave the Cats their first lead of the game, 29-28, with eight minutes remaining in the first half. 

After a two-minute, 12-0 scoring run, the offense would continue to find the basket, scoring on 10 of 12 straight shots. However, as quickly as things went right for Kentucky, it all went horribly wrong.

Four straight misses and a two-minute scoring drought put the Bulldogs back on top by one.

However, the script would flip once again, Colin Chandler would sink a three and Moreno would find a layup to put the Cats on top 42-38 with 1:47 left on the clock. 

A missed shot by Hubbard would send the game to halftime, and Kentucky would take the 44-39 advantage heading into the break.

The offensive performance the Cats put up in the first 20 minutes was their most first-half points against a Power Five opponent in nearly two months (46 vs. Louisville). 

The second half started slowly for both teams, only combining for ten points through the first four minutes. 

However, it would be an Oweh steal-and-dunk, followed by an Aberdeen three, to get the crowd roaring, forcing Mississippi State to take its second timeout. 

The game would remain a back-and-forth over the next few minutes, but the Cats would begin pulling away, nailing four straight shots. 

For the first time all season, the shots just kept falling, and not only that, the Cats were finding answers on defense. 

The Cats would take a double-digit lead with seven and a half minutes remaining, with back-to-back scores from Oweh, who would end the game with a team high of 22 points and five steals. 

The momentum would continue into an 8-0 scoring run, adding to what was already arguably Kentucky’s best half of basketball this entire season. 

At the four-minute mark, Kentucky took a 20-point lead, and the offense wasn’t slowing down.

The Cats would walk away with their first conference win of the season, shooting 55.2% from the field and 40.9% from the three in their 24-point victory.

Kentucky will be back on the road next Tuesday, Jan. 14, traveling to Baton Rouge to face off against LSU (12-4, 0-3 SEC). Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. EST and will air live on SEC Network.