Mississippi State men's basketball looking to delay another John Calipari accolade
Jan. 24—Mississippi State's Ben Howland has a great deal of respect for Pittsburgh native John Calipari, the Kentucky men's basketball head coach.
As a guy who cut his teeth in coaching with a head coaching stint at Pittsburgh from 1999-2003, Howland saw the high regard many in the area and industry had for Calipari.
Calipari has taken three different programs — Massachusetts, Memphis and Kentucky — to the Final Four. He led Kentucky to a national title in 2012. He is seventh among active head coaches in all-time wins and is No. 41 all time.
Howland, a coach himself who has made three Final Four appearances, has seen Calipari's success firsthand in the SEC the past seven seasons.
In seven regular season SEC meetings against each other, Calipari has won them all.
Howland finally got MSU in the win column in last season's conference tournament. He's looking to make it back-to-back wins against Kentucky when MSU travels to Lexington on Tuesday — where Howland also hopes to keep Calipari's 799 career wins at that mark.
"He's got a lot left in him. I'll be happy for him when he gets to 1,000," Howland said. "But I would like to hold off 800 at least one more day."
Many of Calipari's wins with Kentucky have been the result of powerful recruiting classes featuring freshmen who make immediate impacts.
This season — despite a 2021 recruiting class ranking second in the nation, according to 247Sports — much of Kentucky's success has come from its upperclassmen.
"During the seven years I've been in the league, this is by far the oldest they've ever been," Howland said. "It has really played to their advantage."
Junior forward Oscar Tshiebwe leads the Wildcats with 16.1 points per game to go along with nearly 15 rebounds.
Howland says Tshiebwe runs the floor like a "very fast tank" due to his mix of strength and athleticism.
Mississippi State is preparing to matchup with him through an all-in approach. Without forward Tolu Smith for a "couple weeks," MSU doesn't have its top post defender.
But guarding Tshiebwe also goes hand-in-hand with guards containing Kentucky's other players from getting to the room and forcing whoever is guarding Tshiebwe to help.
"As soon as (Tshiebwe's) man leaves to help on any penetration, they're just throwing the ball at the rim and he's dunking," Howland said.
MSU's perimeter defense gets a boost with the likely return of guard Rocket Watts who missed Saturday's win against Ole Miss.
Watts was experience symptoms similar to those of COVID-19. Though he didn't test positive, he was not feeling well enough to play against the Rebels.
Watts has tested negative three consecutive days since he showed symptoms Friday night and returned to practice Monday.
Depth at guard will be crucial for MSU pending the status of Kentucky's TyTy Washington.
Washington — a five-star prospect averaging 13.6 points per game — injured his ankle in a loss Saturday at Auburn. He was ruled day-to-day.
"We'll plan like he's normally going to be there," Howland said. "He's really an incredible scorer. He's very good off the dribble. He's a good catch-and-shoot guy. He's got a great handle. Very, very smart. He's just another one of the typical outstanding freshmen that have come to that program over the years."
STEFAN KRAJISNIK is the Mississippi State athletics reporter for the Daily Journal. Contact him at stefan.krajisnik@djournal.com.
