Ole Miss, after a promising three-game winning streak earlier in SEC play, has now dropped back-to-back matchups. On Saturday, the Rebels took on a short-handed Kentucky in Rupp Arena and fell 72-63.
Fans had to get up a little earlier to watch the contest, as tipoff was moved up one hour due to expected inclement conditions in the Lexington area. While sipping their morning coffee, spectators got to witness a rough offensive outing with both teams shooting under 37% from the floor.
Preseason SEC Player of the Year selection Otega Oweh led Kentucky (14-6, 5-2 SEC) with 23 points. 10 of his points came at the free-throw line. For Ole Miss (11-9, 3-4 SEC), AJ Storr was the hot hand, putting 20 points on the scoreboard. Malik Dia had a complementary 16 points
Ole Miss jumped out to a 4-2 lead on a fastbreak layup by Dia at the 16:47 mark of a sloppy start to the first half. With 11:28 on the clock, Rebel guard Zach Day knocked down a three-pointer to put the red and blue up 14-11, nearing the midway point of the opening frame. Ole Miss frontman Chris Beard vowed to give Day more playing time after Tuesday’s loss to Auburn, and delivered on that promise in the first 20 minutes of the matchup versus the Wildcats.
With 10:11 on the first half clock, Ole Miss led 15-11 and had momentum, until an unlikely hero in Jasper Johnson single-handedly went on an 8-0 run to erase all progress the visitors had made. Kentucky capitalized on an offensive slump by the Rebels, taking a 10-point lead off a Trent Noah deep shot at the 2:35 mark. Ole Miss found points at the charity stripe to close out the half, but the Wildcats took a 29-23 advantage to the intermission.
Ole Miss opened the second half on a 4-0 run, with Ilias Kamardime and Dia scoring buckets down low. Kentucky guard Collin Chandler buried a triple to stop the run. Then the Wildcats, fueled by Oweh’s presence, began to separate, going up 37-29 with 16:33 on the clock. A trio of deep shots by the Rebels, two of which were hit by freshman Patton Pinkins, effectively countered Kentucky’s punch and tied the game 39-39 with 14:46 left in regulation.
Johnson, picking up where he left off in the first half, drained a three-point shot off an offensive rebound and a pass dished to him on Kentucky’s next possession, reclaiming a Wildcat lead — one the team did not relinquish.
A triple and a dunk by Storr at two different points of the back-half of the final frame cut the Ole Miss deficit to one point. Nonetheless, Kentucky always had a response. With 2:48 remaining in regulation, a Corey Chest layup found Ole Miss within reach, as the Rebels trailed by just two points. Two misses by Storr on a following drive by the Rebels prevented a tie from being achieved.
Then, arguably the most pivotal moment in the game played out with a minute left on the clock, when Kentucky secured an offensive rebound off a Malachi Moreno miss at the free-throw line, resulting in a crucial triple by Chandler. The make gave Mark Pope’s crew a 66-60 buffer. The Wildcats were clutch at the charity stripe to close out the matchup, while Ole Miss was simultaneously cold from behind the three-point arc.
In a game where both teams were virtually even from the floor, Kentucky had the advantage at the free-throw line. The Wildcats were 28-of-38 from the stripe, whereas Ole Miss was 14-of-21 when gifted free shots. The Rebels won the turnover battle but scored fewer points than their foe on takeaways.
The rebounding differential favored Kentucky by a pair of boards but was magnified at the free-throw line, where an inability by the Rebels to corral a loose ball gave the Wildcats multiple extra offensive opportunities, with one of them being the turning point of the matchup.
Ole Miss will enjoy a midweek bye before taking on No. 15 Vanderbilt at home next Saturday at 7:30 p.m. CT. The Commodores most recently ousted Mississippi State 88-56 in Humphrey Coliseum. The battle between the Rebels and Vanderbilt will air on the SEC Network and participating SuperTalk Mississippi stations.