Five things you need to know from Kentucky’s 83-72 win over Mississippi
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Game day: No. 7 Kentucky 83, Mississippi 72
Click below for more of the Herald-Leader’s and Kentucky.com’s coverage of Tuesday night’s men’s basketball game between Kentucky and Ole Miss in Rupp Arena.
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Five things you need to know from the No. 7 Kentucky Wildcats’ 83-72 win over the Mississippi Rebels in an SEC men’s basketball game at Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center in downtown Lexington:
1. “Senior citizens.” Kentucky seniors Davion Mintz and Kellan Grady said farewell to the Rupp Arena crowd Tuesday night and John Calipari had both in the starting lineup.
Mintz, a a second-year graduate transfer from Creighton and a super-senior, hit three of five shots, two of four treys and finished his final UK game in Rupp with eight points, two assists and a steal.
Grady, a grad transfer from Davidson and also a super-senior, hit three of eight shots, one of four three-point tries, and finished with nine points and an assist.
In 13 seasons of the Calipari coaching era, Kentucky has now had 16 scholarship players finish their eligibility while playing for UK — 11 of them recruited by Cal.
2. The “Tshiebwe Watch.” Kentucky’s Oscar Tshiebwe continued his remarkable season. The junior extended his consecutive games streak of double-doubles to 12 with 18 points and 15 rebounds. A 6-foot-9, 255-pound transfer from West Virginia, Tshiebwe hit nine of 12 shots and also had two steals.
Tshiebwe’s assault on the UK record book continued to accelerate.
The junior now has 24 double-doubles this season. He needs three more to shatter Dan Issel’s UK record of 26.
Tshiebwe’s 15 boards gave him 460 rebounds for the season and moved him past Bob Burrow (459) for the third-highest, single-season rebounding total in UK history.
Cliff Hagan (528 rebounds in 1951-52) is 68 boards ahead of Tshiebwe in second place on the all-time Kentucky single-season list. Bill Spivey, 567 rebounds in 1950-51, is first.
3. A new worry emerging for UK? If you have been paying attention to Kentucky’s advanced defensive metrics in recent weeks, you are aware they have been declining.
Some of the reasons why were on display Tuesday evening in Rupp.
One game after Arkansas star JD Notae lit up the Cats for 30 points (with eight assists) in the Razorbacks’ 75-73 victory over the Wildcats last Saturday, another perimeter player had his way with UK.
Ole Miss guard Matthew Murrell hit nine of 16 shots, five of eight three-pointers, and finished with 25 points.
Also worrisome was the fact that Kentucky had difficulties throughout parts of the game staying in front of Mississippi drivers.
4. Cats perfect in Rupp. Kentucky’s victory means the Wildcats will finish 2021-22 with an 18-0 record in games played in Rupp Arena.
It is the sixth time in the John Calipari coaching era — but the first time since 2015-16 — that UK has had an unblemished home record.
From 2009-10 through 2015-16, Kentucky lost only four home games total.
Since 2016-17, UK has lost 13 times in Rupp Arena.
5. UK coaches on Senior Night. Kentucky snapped a two-game losing skid in senior send-off games by vanquishing Ole Miss.
The Wildcats lost on Senior Night/Day to Tennessee, 81-73, in 2019-20. Last year, the Cats fell to Florida 71-67 (UK honored its seniors last season vs. the Gators even though the Wildcats subsequently played South Carolina in a home game).
Since moving into Rupp Arena for the 1976-77 season, Kentucky is now 41-5 in games in which it celebrates its seniors.
The record on Senior Day/Night of each UK head man in the Rupp Arena era:
Joe B. Hall 9-0 (not counting Memorial Coliseum seasons); Eddie Sutton 4-0; Tubby Smith 9-1; Rick Pitino 7-1; Billy Gillispie 1-1; John Calipari 11-2.
This story was originally published March 1, 2022 at 9:10 PM.
