Mississippi Rebels
Saturday
Rupp Arena
(4 p.m., WKYT-27)
About the opponent
Location: Oxford, Miss.
Enrollment: 19,536
School colors: Cardinal Red and Navy Blue
Conference: Southeastern
Coach: Andy Kennedy
2011-12 record: 15-9 overall, 5-5 SEC
2010-11 record: 20-14 overall, 7-9 SEC (Third place in Western Division). Lost to California 77-74 in first round of NIT.
All-time vs. UK: 13-98
Last meeting: Kentucky won 75-66 on March 11, 2011, in quarterfinals of SEC Tournament in Atlanta.
Outlook: It's hard to believe Mississippi will be the team to end Kentucky's 49-game home winning streak. The Rebels have won only two games all-time in Lexington (1926-27 and UK's last national championship season of 1997-98) against 49 losses. But the Rebels are desperately trying to bolster their post-season résumé, and desperate means dangerous. Ole Miss is 6-8 since its 9-1 start and struggling to close out games, having led both Florida (10 points) and Alabama (seven points) at halftime in recent losses. The Rebels, who beat Auburn 61-54 Saturday, are second in the SEC behind Kentucky in rebounding margin (plus-4.6) and third in blocked shots (5.3 per game), a testament to their strength inside. The Rebels' leaders up front are 6-foot-9 Terrance Henry (11.9 ppg, 4.8 rpg), 6-7 Murphy Holloway (10.2 ppg, 9.1 rpg) and 6-7 Reginald Buckner (7.2 ppg, 8.5 rpg).
