Kentucky men's basketball team snaps 6-game losing streak after John Calipari ejected

Score one for Big Blue Nation.

After weeks of fans questioning why Kentucky coach John Calipari was not playing Dontaie Allen, the former Mr. Kentucky Basketball hit seven 3s to lead Kentucky to a 78-73 double overtime win at Mississippi State, snapping the Wildcats' six-game losing streak.

Kentucky played the final 9:04 of regulation and overtime without Calipari after he was ejected following back-to-back technical fouls for arguing with an official.

Calipari seemed to foreshadow he might get thrown out of a game soon when he noted before the Louisville rivalry game just more than a week ago that last season's UK team did not find its groove until being forced to play without him following an ejection at Arkansas last season.

Calipari stayed on the sideline for the entire loss to Louisville, but with his team trailing 56-43 midway through the second half Saturday at Mississippi State, he went back to that strategy by arguing a no-call on what he claimed should have been a carry against the Bulldogs long enough to draw two technical fouls and an ejection.

Kentucky players responded by scoring 10 straight points after the technical free throws to take a 56-55 lead with 5:08 remaining, its first lead since the 5:54 mark in the first half.

The teams traded baskets down the stretch until a defensive stop from Kentucky earned the Wildcats a final possession tied at 61 with 14 seconds left. Kentucky got a shot for Allen on the possession, but his 3 bounced off the rim and the Wildcats missed two put-back chances before the buzzer to send the game to overtime. 

Allen gave Kentucky a 68-65 lead with 1:08 left in overtime with his sixth three of the game, but Mississippi State answered with a 3 from Iverson Molinar. A Kentucky turnover gave the Bulldogs the ball back with 15 seconds remaining, but Molinar missed a 3 at the buzzer to send the game to a second overtime period.

Kentucky led throughout the second overtime period, but Allen delivered the big blows again with a long 2-pointer he banked in as the shot clock was winding down with 3:24 left and his seventh 3 on the next possession to stretch the lead to six at 76-70.

Allen finished the game with 23 points on 8-of-14 shooting. He played the final three minutes of regulation and all of the two overtimes in place of top-five recruit Brandon Boston, who was 4 for 13 in the game.

Senior center Olivier Sarr also bounced back from consecutive poor performances with 14 points and 12 rebounds. Boston and freshman point guard Devin Askew, starting in place of injured Terrence Clarke, joined them in double figures with 11 points each. Askew staked a claim to the full-time point guard job with six assists and three turnovers.