Wednesday marked the ninth time since February 2009 that Mississippi State basketball has walked into Rupp Arena for a matchup with No. 10 Kentucky. By halftime, it was apparent that Wednesday would also mark the ninth time in that span the Bulldogs would walk out of one of the sport’s top venues with a loss.

UK continued its winning way against MSU with a 90-77 victory.

Mississippi State (12-4, 1-3 SEC) landed an early punch, taking a 5-2 lead within the first minute. However, with the Wildcats (13-3, 3-1) immediately going on a 10-0 run, the Bulldogs never led again – even after a 14-2 run to open the second half.

"We let them dictate everything," Mississippi State coach Chris Jans told reporters postgame. "Just got behind and couldn't wait to get to halftime."

MSU entered the game as one of the nation’s top defensive teams, according to various metrics, which has been the norm through Jans’ two season. But as was the case in a loss against Alabama last Saturday, facing one of the SEC’s best offenses proved to be Mississippi State’s kryptonite.

The Wildcats shot 56% from the field with just 10 turnovers.

"We're playing better teams, that's certainly part of it," Jans said of the defensive struggles. "We've played some great opponents already in the early part of the SEC season. That's what happens more often than not. You play the non-league, then you get in this league and get exposed a little bit. Now we've got to go back to work and figure out how we can get better on that end of the floor."

Freshman Josh Hubbard struggles, All-SEC forward Tolu Smith shines

MSU guard Josh Hubbard entered the contest as the reigning SEC freshman of the week and one of the top bench options in the nation. He is the lone power conference player to average at least 15 points off the bench (minimum 15 games) since the 2005-06 season, according to Elias.

However, against UK, he was a non-factor. Hubbard scored just three points on 1-11 shooting, including 1-9 from 3-point range. He was a minus-18.

"They were very attentive to Josh, rightfully so," Jans said. "I'm sure he was pretty high up on the scouting report. It seemed like when he got the ball, they were trying to take away his space. When there was any sort of ball screen, they were staying as long as they needed to, to make sure he wasn't getting a shot off."

Unlike Hubbard, forward Tolu Smith and guard Trey Fort found success . After scoring 15 points on 5-of-15 shooting against Alabama, Smith had 26 points while making 11 of his 15 field goals.

Fort scored 13 points on 5-10 shooting.

KeShawn Murphy, Andrew Taylor continue to be absent

MSU was without guard Andrew Taylor for a seventh straight game and forward KeShawn Murphy for a third straight game. Both continue to be out for personal reasons, according to a team spokesperson.

Their absences are proving costly. Behind Cameron Matthews, Mississippi State has struggled to find depth at the power forward spot. With his 18 points in a neutral court win against North Texas on Dec. 17, Murphy appeared to be a trustworthy option.

Without him, Jaquan Scott has been Jans’ top choice. Against Alabama, he appeared in seven minutes and was a minus-five with no points scored. Scott again didn’t score against Kentucky and was a minus-six in three minutes.

Taylor averages just 11 minutes across the seven games he has played. The Corbin, Kentucky, product was an All-Sun Belt first team player at Marshall last season after averaging 20.2 points per game.

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What’s next on Mississippi State’s schedule?

Mississippi State returns to Starkville on Saturday (2:30 p.m., SEC Network) for what should be a get-right game against Vanderbilt. The Commodores sit at No. 250 in the NET rankings. Southern, a SWAC foe which handed MSU a Quadrant 4 loss on Dec. 3, sits 69 spots above Vandy.

Mississippi State then enters a tough stretch to close January with a trip to Florida (Jan. 24), a home game against Auburn (Jan. 27) and a contest at Ole Miss (Jan. 30).

Stefan Krajisnik is the Mississippi State beat writer for the Clarion Ledger. Contact him at skrajisnik@gannett.com or follow him on the X platform, formerly known as Twitter, @skrajisnik3.

This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: Mississippi State basketball loses again at Rupp Arena vs. Kentucky