LEXINGTON, Ky. — On the verge of being forgotten two weeks ago, Kentucky point guard Ryan Harrow now has control of his role and game.
The same can be said for the Wildcats’ resurgent SEC and NCAA Tournament prospects, which appear to be much stronger after looking done not long ago.
Harrow’s 19 points led Kentucky and every starter had at least 10 as the Wildcats dominated out manned Mississippi State for an 85-55 victory Wednesday night, the Wildcats’ third in a row.
The game was the latest upswing in a seesaw season for Harrow, who missed four games early because of an illness and a family matter he had to tend to in Georgia. He returned and eventually reclaimed his position before being replaced by Jarrod Polson against Tennessee on Feb. 16, a 30-point loss in Kentucky’s first game without injured center Nerlens Noel.
That low point seems distant for the Wildcats and Harrow, who asked for his job back and has averaged 15.7 points during the winning streak.
“My confidence is really good right now, really high,” said Harrow, who added seven rebounds and four assists. “I’m just playing a lot better offensively and defensively. I’m starting to do more things on the court, so it’s making me feel a lot better.”
Other Wildcats have reason to feel good as well.
Alex Poythress added 16 points and 8 rebounds, Willie Cauley-Stein 12 with 6 rebounds and 3 blocks while Julius Mays and Archie Goodwin (Sylvan Hills) had 11 points each as Kentucky (20-8, 11-4) pulled within a game of first-place Florida with two games remaining. The Wildcats also improved to 3-1 since Noel’s season-ending knee injury on Feb. 12.
Kentucky had to be careful not to overlook a Mississippi State team that entered with a 12-game losing streak and just eight healthy players. The Wildcats easily avoided that trap, leading from the outset and steadily pulling away for their most lopsided SEC victory this season.
They shot 34 of 62 from the field (55 percent), out rebounded Mississippi State 42-29 and outscored the Bulldogs 46-18 in the paint.
Fred Thomas’ 13 points led the Bulldogs (7-20, 2-13). Colin Borchert and Jalen Steele added 10 each.
MISSISSIPPI 82, TEXAS A&M 73
OXFORD, Miss. - Marshall Henderson scored 18 points, Murphy Holloway added 16 and Mississippi beat Texas A&M.
Ole Miss (21-7, 10-5 SEC) earned another crucial victory as it tries to solidify a case for the NCAA Tournament.The Rebels haven’t been to the NCAA Tournament since 2002 - the longest drought in the SEC.
Henderson hit five of his six threepointers in the second half to help the Rebels pull away after leading 37-31 at halftime. Jarvis Summers scored 15 points and Reginald Buckner added 12 points and three blocked shots.
Elston Turner led Texas A&M (16-12, 6-9) with 25 points. Turner had another good game against Ole Miss, hitting 10 of 17 shots from the field just two weeks after scoring 37 against the Rebels in a win at College Station.
VANDERBILT 63, GEORGIA 62
NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Kevin Bright hit a pull-up jumper with 0.6 seconds left, and Vanderbilt rallied from a 17-point deficit to edge Georgia for the Commodores’ second consecutive victory.
The Commodores (12-15, 6-9 SEC) have won three of their past four, trying to play their way up from the league’s bottom four teams and avoid playing on the opening night of the SEC Tournament in two weeks.
Kedren Johnson scored 17 points. Reserve Sheldon Jeter matched his career high with 14 points, all in the second half, and Bright scored 11 as Vanderbilt extended its winning streak to eight consecutive over Georgia. Vanderbilt made 17 of 18 at the free-throw line.
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope scored 20 points and had 14 rebounds for Georgia (13-15, 7-8).
In Top 25 games Wednesday, Jermaine Marshall scored 25 points and Penn State (9-18, 1-14 Big Ten) upset No. 4 Michigan (23-15, 10-5) 84-78 for its first Big Ten victory in more than a year. ... No. 5 Miami (23-4, 14-1 ACC) went 11 minutes without a basket, then finally shook a 10-day scoring slump and pulled away from Virginia Tech (12-16, 3-12), beating the Hokies 76-58 in Coral Gables, Fla. ... Otto Porter Jr.’s layup with 9.5 seconds remaining in the second overtime gave No. 7 Georgetown (22-4, 12-3 Big East) a wild 79-78 victory over Connecticut (19-8, 9-6), the Hoyas’ 10th consecutive victory and first at Gampel Pavilion in Storrs, Conn. ... Le’Bryan Nash scored a career-high 28 points and No. 15 Oklahoma State (21-6, 11-4 Big 12) beat TCU (10-18, 1-14) 64-47 in Fort Worth. ... Dwayne Evans had 21 points, 12 rebounds and 3 blocks, helping Saint Louis (22-5, 11-2 Atlantic 10) run its winning streak to 10 games with a 70-53 victory over Saint Joseph’s (15-11, 6-7) in St. Louis. ... Tray Woodall scored 14 points and No. 23 Pittsburgh (22-7, 10-6 Big East) pulled away in the second half for a 64-44 victory over South Florida (10-17, 1-14).
Sports, Pages 22 on 02/28/2013