On a blistery late January Saturday, the Ole Miss Rebels travelled north into the depths of Rupp Arena for a massive Southeastern Conference matchup between two NCAA Tournament hopeful teams. 

Both Kentucky and Ole Miss entered Saturday’s contest needing a win over the other one in the worst way possible, as both have underperformed to this point in the season. Things are a bit more positive for Coach Mark Pope and the Kentucky Wildcats as they came into Saturday’s game with a 13-6 overall record, and within striking distance of the logjam at the top half of the Southeastern Conference standings, while also holding steady in the latest bracket projections at either a seven or eight seed, depending on the publication. For the Rebels, they brought an 11-8 overall record and a 3-3 conference record to Lexington, needing a win over Kentucky to remain in contention in the SEC standings and to secure an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament. 

Kentucky opened the game with a 5-4 lead over Ole Miss at the under-16 media timeout of the first half. Ole Miss built a 14-11 lead over Kentucky at the under-12 media timeout. Kentucky went on an 8-0 run over 1:36 to take a 19-15 lead over Ole Miss at the under-8 media timeout of the first half. At the final media timeout of the first half, Kentucky led Ole Miss 22-19 in the low-scoring affair. 

As the second rolled around, Kentucky extended the lead to 37-29 at the under-16 media timeout of the second half with 15:43 remaining in the game. Not out of the fight, the Rebels would battle back to within three of Kentucky, trailing 42-39 with 12:37 remaining in the game. At the under-8 media timeout, it was Kentucky holding on to a 50-49 lead over the Rebels. Kentucky led Ole Miss 62-58 at the final media timeout of the game with 3:44 remaining. Despite a valiant effort from Ole Miss, Kentucky defended home court with a 72-63 victory over the Rebels. 

Ole Miss had two guys score in the double digits on Saturday, with Malik Dia finishing with 16, while AJ Storr led the way in scoring for the Rebels with 20 points. Otega Oweh for Kentucky led both teams in scoring with 23 points. 

With today’s loss, Ole Miss falls to 11-9 overall and 3-4 in SEC play. 

Ole Miss will have the midweek off while awaiting a home matchup with Vanderbilt next Saturday. 

Photo Credits- Ole Miss basketball on X