Luke Dunavant
The Rebels looked to go into Rupp Arena and take advantage of the Kentucky Wildcats’ three-game losing streak at home. This did not happen. The final score Tuesday night was 75-63, with the Wildcats pulling out the win. After the initial minutes of the first half, Kentucky dominated and showed Ole Miss exactly what top-tier SEC basketball looks like.
Here is how it happened:
First half
The Rebels started the first half extremely hot, jumping out to a 15-9 lead in the first seven minutes. But by the end of the first half, Kentucky was up 43-29, with the Rebels’ leading scorer guard Matthew Murrell putting up 12 points.
The first half consisted of a lot of ball screens on both sides of the floor, which Ole Miss operated to perfection on offense and defended flawlessly on defense. The Rebels also benefited from a very sloppy Kentucky team, leading to eight turnovers. The Rebels kept trying to go to the paint, but Wildcats forward Ugonna Onyenso, who put on his best Jamarion Sharp impersonation, blocked almost every shot the Rebels took in the paint.
The Rebels were lackluster on defense in the first half, running both man and zone defenses –– the latter allowing for easy baskets for Kentucky. The Wildcats stepped up their defense late in the first half and the Rebels had no answer. If the Rebels were going to win this game, they had to find the holes in Kentucky’s defense.
Second half
The Rebels came out of the half on fire, quickly closing the lead to single digits. This was led by turnovers into a good transition offense. Kentucky started to pull away about midway through the second half. The Wildcats were unstoppable on the offensive side of the ball just like in the first half, and the Rebels continued to hinder themselves with turnovers.
The Rebels struggled from three and the Wildcats took advantage of that, scoring off of transition with ease. The Rebels kept trying to go to the paint to no avail –– again, Onyenso stopped seemingly every drive attempt. Kentucky then pulled away even more, aided by the fact that Ole Miss could not buy a shot.
Shooting
Ole Miss shot 5-22 from the three point line. The Rebels need to become more consistent from range in order to get back on track as a team
The post
Onyenso was a monster for the Wildcats. He finished the game with 10 blocks and was dominant in the post. Both Moussa Cisse and Sharp struggled mightily when he was on the court. Going into this game, many thought that the duo of bigs could struggle against Kentucky’s size, but no one could have predicted just how true that would be.
What’s next
The Rebels will look to bounce back at home against Missouri Saturday at 7:30 p.m. The game will also be available on the SEC Network.
