By Neil Schmidt
The Cincinnati Enquirer

UK head coach Tubby Smith expresses his displeasure toward player Chuck Hayes following a foul late in the second half. (Gary Landers photos) | ZOOM |

UK's Keith Bogans puts up a shot over Mississippi State's Timmy Bowers. | ZOOM |

Bogans, right, is congratulated by Gerald Fitch following two of his eighteen points against MSU. | ZOOM |

LEXINGTON, Ky. - There was a subdued sentiment spoken by many of the 23,203 fans exiting Rupp Arena on Sunday: "A win is a win."

That Kentucky's 70-62 victory over 19th-ranked Mississippi State could underwhelm the masses speaks to the change in expectations for what's now the nation's No. 2 team.

"I don't think they were saying that at the beginning of the year," UK coach Tubby Smith said, when told of the fans' "win is a win" comment.

"We've come a long, long way. I don't think we were picked to do too much this season."

The Wildcats - now 22-3, 12-0 in the Southeastern Conference and owner of the nation's longest winning streak at 16 games - were picked third in the SEC East Division. They were ranked 17th in the preseason. After starting 6-3, they were 20th.

Yet Sunday evening, they were left hunting for near-invisible flaws: They had their 10-game streak of double-digit victory margins snapped. They let a 19-point lead slip to five points late in the game. They committed 17 turnovers.

Never mind that UK shot 53.8 percent against a team ranked first in the conference in overall defensive field-goal percentage (38.9). That it held the team ranked first in SEC play in field-goal percentage (47.8) to 42.9 percent. That it outrebounded by 12 a team ranked second nationally in rebounding margin (plus-9.1).

"The way Coach has our mindset, guys always want to get better," junior guard Gerald Fitch said.

So, UK can get better?

"Yes we can," senior guard Keith Bogans said. "We saw areas we can improve on: trapping down on the big guys, cutting down on turnovers."

MSU (17-6, 7-5 SEC), the SEC West leader, got 20 points and eight rebounds from All-American candidate Mario Austin. But that was 12 fewer points than the center had last year in MSU's overtime victory over UK.

UK shot 60.7 percent in the first half, building a 19-point lead in the game's first 13‡ minutes. It didn't let Austin get going until the game's final seven minutes, in which he scored 12 of his points.

MSU was within 60-55 with 5:13 left, but baskets by Cliff Hawkins and Fitch and six UK free throws were enough to keep the Bulldogs at bay.

UK is 9-1 this season against ranked teams. With defense always a constant, UK is 68-1 in the Smith era when shooting 50 percent or better.

"I give Kentucky and Tubby Smith a lot of credit for what he's done with this basketball team," MSU coach Rick Stansbury said. "There's no question they're the best team in America."

UK won with balance, as eight different players scored and seven had at least one assist.

Versatility? Power forward Chuck Hayes had a career-high six assists. Hawkins, a backup point guard who averages 5.3 points, had a season-high 14 points. Eight times this season, UK has had a double-figure scorer off the bench.

Standing up to the physical Bulldogs, especially on the boards, was the most significant sight. Hayes and Estill had eight rebounds apiece, and guard Keith Bogans - who had a team-high 18 points - added seven rebounds.

UK remains on course to become the second SEC team since 1956 to finish league play unbeaten; the 1995-96 Wildcats are the first. And, seemingly, a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament is forthcoming.

"I don't even know how they (calculate) those seedings, so I know I'm not worried about it," Fitch said. "We just focus on getting ready for the next game."

Miss. St. .	M	FG	Att	FT	Att	R	A	F	TO	TP
Harper	27	3	7	1	1	3	0	2	2	7
Ignerski	27	4	9	1	1	2	0	0	0	11
Austin	38	7	13	6	10	8	0	1	4	20
Bowers	34	5	9	0	2	3	3	2	4	13
Zimmerman	37	2	7	0	0	4	4	4	3	4
Campbell	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	1	0
Frazier	18	3	9	0	0	1	0	3	0	7
Vincent	17	0	2	0	0	3	0	1	0	0
Totals	200	24	56	8	14	24	7	15	14	62

Team rebounds: 1.

Kentucky	M	FG	Att	FT	Att	R	A	F	TO	TP
Daniels	24	3	6	0	2	2	1	2	3	6
Hayes	29	2	4	0	0	8	6	3	5	4
Estill	32	4	9	2	5	8	2	4	2	10
Fitch	29	4	8	0	0	2	3	2	0	9
Bogans	32	6	11	2	2	7	1	1	5	18
Hawkins	23	5	6	3	5	2	3	2	1	14
Azubuike	4	0	1	0	0	0	1	1	0	0
Barbour	8	1	2	0	0	0	0	1	0	3
Camara	19	3	5	0	0	3	0	2	1	6
Totals	200	28	52	7	14	32	17	18	17	70

Team rebounds: 5.

Mississippi State	28	34	-62
Kentucky	38	32	-70

Attendance-23,203. 3-point goals-Mississippi State 6-18 (Harper 0-1, Ignerski 2-5, Austin 0-1, Bowers 3-6, Frazier 1-5); Kentucky 7-15 (Fitch 1-5, Bogans 4-7, Hawkins 1-2, Barbour 1-1). Technical fouls-None.