PHOTO: Mississippi State's court rush warning backfires in last-minute loss to Kentucky 

The Mississippi State Bulldogs were on the verge of an upset, leading the No.16 Kentucky Wildcats 71-67 with under five minutes left on Tuesday night. With everyone anticipating the Bulldogs to win, a message splashed across the screen at Humphrey Coliseum.

“REMINDER: PLEASE STAY OFF THE PLAYING AREA AT THE END OF THE GAME”

Anticipating Mississippi State's looming upset over Kentucky, many expected the home crowd to rush the court given the trend. But the Bulldogs jinxed themselves with the announcement.

Kentucky unleashed a furious comeback in the final minutes, outscoring the Bulldogs 24-18 after the on-screen message went up. Mississippi State watched their near-certain upset hopes slip away as Kentucky seized control late and crushed the Bulldogs' chances, winning the contest 91-89.

Reed Sheppard dashed Mississippi State's hopes of a court-storming celebration. The Kentucky star dropped 32 points on the opposition, including a clutch floater with just a second left on the clock to seal the comeback victory.

The Wildcats once again had the Bulldogs' number under coach John Calipari, with the comeback making it 19 wins in the last 20 meetings between the teams.

Meanwhile, the loss snapped the five-game winning streak engineered by Bulldogs coach Chris Jans that had propelled Mississippi State up the conference ranks and into the NCAA Tournament picture.

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Why did Mississippi State display the sign in the first place?

Several players have recently suffered injuries from fans rushing the court after big upsets. Therefore, the warning seemed sensible.

Just last month, Iowa star Caitlin Clark collided with a fan during an Ohio State celebration. This past weekend, Duke's Kyle Filipowski hobbled off the court after a Wake Forest fan crashed into him following their upset over the Blue Devils.

After seeing his star freshman injured, Duke coach Jon Scheyer led the chorus, demanding an end to court-storming celebrations. Wake Forest's Steve Forbes agreed with his colleague's plea to ban the dangerous tradition for the safety of the players.

Court-storming has become a dangerous trend in college basketball, leading teams to increase security. During Tuesday's broadcast, ESPN cameras focused on Humphrey Coliseum's beefed-up security to deter fans from rushing. Extra crew members lined the court to restrain overzealous fans.