1996 SEC Tournament Championship Game: Mississippi State vs Kentucky

[toddky32]

This was a great Miss St team. I'm a Kentucky fan but have the upmost respect for the Bulldog program. The beat one of the greatest college teams of all time . This game I think woke UK up and brought home the sixth championship. It would have been awesome too see these two play for the championship unfortunately Syracuse got in the way. Miss St has a great team this year that will be another great game at The Hump. Go Cats 96 and hopefully 2012 National Champions !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[jcaudill6921]

@toddky32 Rumor has it that Pitino threw this game to let this team know they weren't invincible right before the NCAA tournament and did you notice how long he kept Antoine Walker out of the game? Makes you wonder, huh?

[amialone1977]

@jcaudill6921

Bullshit!!!! Patino didn't make the Bulldog shooters that hot all day long. He had nothing to do with MSU shooting lights out! That is the stupidest thing I've ever heard.

[jcaudill6921]

@amialone1977 Yeah, Miss State did real well but I think Pitino shut it down early and didn't do anything to try and stop it. I'm glad though, because without this loss, our team might have been big headed and not won the NCAA title like they ended up doing.

[amialone1977]

@jcaudill6921 I don't know what was going through Pitino's head that day. I do not think he wanted to lose that game. NO coach want to lose a championship game to make a point. Also, you are right... Miss State was one game away from play Kentucky in that National Championship game. For anybody to say this game was a fluke just shows how ignorant they are on that particular Miss State team. This MSU team had 2 first round draft picks in the upcoming draft. This was a special MSU team.

[jcaudill6921]

@amialone1977 MSU was good; no one is denying that. I am just basing a lot of this on the documentary Derek Anderson put together about this team. He was talking about what was being said in the locker room and Pitino gave his thoughts but in the locker room he didn't yell like they thought he would, he just said "guys, this isn't bad. We are going to be hungrier now and we will look back at this moment and be thankful for it." It motivated them and we won it all cause of it.

[amialone1977]

@jcaudill6921 That makes sense. There are times when losing a game at the end of the schedule will make a good team take it off cruise control and sure enough play ball down the stretch. I see what you are saying. Pitino may have said this loss isn't that bad (since it may have show the UK player they have to play hard everyday). They did learn from this loss and history shows this. Anyway... good luck to you guys in the Dance. Get another one for the SEC!!!

[26michaeluk]

As a UK fan this loss was shocking. But I also think losing this game helped us win the title by showing we werent unbeatable. State was really good and almost ended up meeting us in the title game. I have always thought Miss State is THE program of the west and always a nemesis to Kentucky and our battles have been legendary. It seems we play for the SEC title almost every year. Anyways thanks for posting this

[weedie5582]

Man kentucky got done in,point blank.My bro(Dontae Jones)made mercer look like a fool out there real talk.

[M1cool1]

I'm just reading an article about just-out of high school Kobe at his pre-draft workouts. "The Lakers set it up at the old Fabulous Forum in Inglewood, Kobe matching up with Dontae Jones, a big, physical, 6-foot-8 senior who had just led Mississippi State to the Final Four. It was no contest; Kobe destroyed Jones from the word “go.” GM Jerry West came down from the stands saying ‘Shut down the workout’. He didn’t need to see any more. That was it. Game over." The Lakers got Kobe that draft.

[jcaudill6921]

@M1cool1 Kobe was drafted by the Hornets at 13th but refused to play for anyone other than the Lakers. He pulled an Eli Manning and that is why the Nets took Kittles at 8 instead of Kobe which is what they wanted to do. I think its bull crap that a kid can do that but oh well..

[pp3k3jamail]

that was a ass beating

[LouMusic]

Wrap it in maroon and white!

[jephsteph]

Didn't UK beat MSU earlier in the same season in Starkville by 18 ?

[jcaudill6921]

@jephsteph yep.

[TUowl05]

Mississippi State was flat out legit in '96. Dampier and Jones formed a great college duo.

[arachnophobia1776]

as a UK fan, I wish MSU would get their team back to this kind of competitiveness, it makes the whole SEC better! Arkansas too. This UK team was the best college team of all time, 11 future pros I believe.

[toddky32]

@arachnophobia1776 I agree with you 100 % that makes the conference so much better. The Arkansas games during that time were classics would love too see them both get back to that level. That 96 Miss State team was awesome I was rooting for them when they beat Uconn, Cincinnati and even against Syracuse. That would have been awesome an all SEC final. Main thing though UK won # 6 what a great team and well deserved national champion .

[bluegrassreb]

ALL RESPECT TO THE DOG S U MADE THE FINAL 4!!

GO CATS!!!

1996 TEAM BEST OF ALL TIME!!

[msu15]

@bluegrassreb Walker, McCarty, Delk, Anderson, Pope, Mercer.......

[seanwhitaker05]

pitino lost this on purpose...

[msu15]

@seanwhitaker05 Na, Mississippi State was better than Kentucky.

[toddky32]

@msu15 Na, they wasn't did they win that year Na !!!!! Kentucky Wildcats 1996 NCAA Champions

[msu15]

@toddky32 Who won this game?

[toddky32]

@msu15 MSU did 84-73 but you can have it you guys don't have much if anything to celebrate much in basketball. We will definately take the victory over Syracuse the one everyone remembers by the way who did Syracuse beat in the Final Four to play Kentucky ohhh wait I remember lol By the way who won the 2010 SEC Tournament ooops My bad I remember that as well we have won so many it's hard to keep up.

[MysticSonic007]

@toddky32 oh trust me, that year we had something to celebrate

and for all the crap we have, we went to the final four

not even UT has been there with all those 20+ win seasons and high seeds

[springjo1]

@MysticSonic007 The SEC is so underated. This had to be an exciting year for your team, because this was during the 90's when Kentucky was so dominate in every other way. For your team to have beaten the great team that Kentucky was back then is really impressive. Also, didn't the Bulldogs make it thier one and only Final Four that year? I say this as a strong Kentucky fan.

[gd73]

Great moment in Mississippi State basketball - one that I will remember for the rest of my life.

[willierssll]

thanks for posting! go dawgs!