Tyler Ulis noticed a mismatch that led to Chris Livingston’s big second half at Mississippi State

The Kentucky Wildcats picked up a massive win over the Mississippi State Bulldogs on Wednesday night, one that may very well prove to be a defining moment if the Cats ultimately make the NCAA Tournament.

A big part of that came in the second half thanks to a big spark from Chris Livingston, who scored 13 points in the half to lift the Cats to the 71-68 victory.

However, it was a spark that came from a suggestion from Kentucky’s newest assistant. Former Kentucky star Tyler Ulis noticed a mismatch opportunity for Kentucky to take advantage of, and that’s exactly what they did.

Livingston was being guarded by 6-foot-2 guard Dashawn Davis, giving the true freshman a clear size and strength advantage over the senior.

Calipari talked about Livingston’s performance during UK’s postgame radio show and gave credit to the suggestion by Ulis.

“Chris (Livingston), I’ve got to give Tyler (Ulis) credit, because he said, ‘They’ve got a small man on Chris. Post him up.’ Then you saw what we did. We went four or five-straight times posting him up,” Calipari exclaimed. “It’s stuff that we have, so it’s not like we have to do anything new. We just said we were going to get him the ball.”

Livingston finished the game with 13 points, five rebounds, three assists, two steals, and a block. He also went 6/6 from the free-throw line which is crucial in such a close game.

The spark from Livingston was exactly what the Cats needed in a hostile environment, and hopefully is the breakout game he needed to become a more featured weapon moving forward.

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