No. 6 Kentucky lost at Georgia on Tuesday night in a physical game. The Bulldogs were able to use aggressive play on both ends of the floor to topple the Cats in Athens.

On Saturday, the Cats face a Mississippi State team that is also known for its physicality. UK head coach Mark Pope knows that physical play is a part of the Southeastern Conference.

“The game always gets more and more physical in the league, and so our guys understanding — and there’s also a part of understanding where you can be really, really physical and where you can’t, right? And that’s part of our determinations,” Pope said. “There are a lot of facets to that. One is just the physics aspect of it, of having a low center of gravity and kind of being the hit-first guy and a first hit and second, there’s all the schematics and the skill of it.”

Pope also points out that part of physicality is mental.

“And then there’s also the mentality of it, and the IQ of it,” Pope said. “The mentality of it is kind of this aggression side of it where you’re always thinking about contact, contact, contact, and then the IQ of it is understanding when and where it’s appropriate and where it can be utilized and where it’s important.”

Following Tuesday’s game, UK forward Andrew Carr talked about physical play on the UK Sports Network’s postgame show.

“We’ve just got to get more tough, we’ve got to get more physical,” Carr said. “We’ve got to get more nasty, more angry when we’re playing. Bring that edge.”

There is a technique to being more physical, according to Carr.

“Being tough can look like a whole bunch of different things,” Carr said. “For us, one of those, especially tonight, was being tougher about being more disciplined without fouling, moving our feet better.”

Mississippi State will provide a tough challenge for the Cats. The Bulldogs have a sparkling 14-1 record on the season and have opened SEC play with wins over South Carolina and at Vanderbilt. Josh Hubbard leads MSU, averaging 17.1 points per game. Claudell Harris Jr. scores 11.1 points per contest.

Saturday’s game will be between two of the nation’s best scoring teams. Kentucky is third in the nation, averaging 88.8 points per game, while Mississippi State is 27^th, averaging 83.5 points per outing.

While the offenses may get the headlines, this game could come down to which team handles the physicality better. Kentucky hopes to take another step in the right direction against Mississippi State.