Three takeaways from Kentucky basketball’s win over the Ole Miss Rebels
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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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Three takeaways from Kentucky basketball’s 83-72 victory over the Ole Miss Rebels at Rupp Arena on Tuesday night:
1. Kentucky took a step backward defensively
Ole Miss dropped to 13-17 overall and 4-13 on the season but it wasn’t because of shooting. A 43.4 percent shooting team from the field, the Rebels shot 50 percent on the night. And it wasn’t like Kermit Davis’ team got hot for a half. The visitors were 15 of 30 for 50 percent in the first half, 14 of 28 for 50 percent in the second half.
Ole Miss guard Matthew Murrell was the game’s leading scorer with 25 points. The 6-foot-4 sophomore was 9-for-16 from the floor, including 5-for-8 from three-point range. A 32.8-percent team from three on the season, the Rebels were 7-for-18 for 38.9 percent on the night.
“They beat us on the dribble and they spread us out all over the place,” UK head coach John Calipari, who credited Rebels coach Kermit Davis for keeping Ole Miss competitive despite losing a couple of key players to injury.
Still, Kentucky will need to tighten up some things on the defensive end of the floor heading into the season finale Saturday at Florida, then the two tournaments — SEC and NCAA.
2. TyTy Washington looked more like himself
The freshman guard finished with 14 points, four assists and three steals. He was five of 10 from the floor. He made one of four three-point shots and went 2-for-2 from the foul line. With senior Davion Mintz in the starting lineup, Washington came off the bench and played a reasonable 23 minutes.
Those were almost TyTy-like numbers. And Tuesday was his second game back after punching the seat of his chair at Tennessee after aggravating a previous ankle injury. A two-game absence ensued. Washington didn’t look like himself in his return at Arkansas on Saturday.
Tuesday night, we saw flashes of the pre-injury TyTy, especially during a stretch in the first half when the rookie scored seven straight points.
“I was just happy to see the ball go through the hole,” he said afterward, adding that the stretch gave “my confidence a boost.”
Then when Ole Miss cut UK’s lead to 70-61 with 5:18 left, Calipari called a timeout. Coming out of the break, he ran a play for Washington, who scored from the right wing. Next possession, he scored again on a drive to make it 74-64.
“The injury got him a little off kilter,” Calipari said. “Same with Sahvir (Wheeler). Now we’re healthy.”
Health is wealth, after all. So is TyTy fully back?
“Coming back from a nagging injury, it always takes time,” he said. “I feel good.”
3. The Cats should benefit from extra practice time
Now 24-6 overall and 13-4 in the SEC, Kentucky finishes the regular season at Florida in a 2 p.m. game on CBS. After that, the Cats won’t play again until Friday, March 11, in the quarterfinals of the SEC Tournament. That will give Calipari plenty of practice time for the pre-Madness tweaks, polish and shoring up of weak spots.
Not that there are a lot of weak spots. Despite being “bullied,” according to Calipari, Oscar Tshiebwe finished with yet another double-double with 18 points and 15 rebounds. Sahvir Wheeler added 16 points and seven assists. He made two of his three attempts from three-point range.
In fact, what this team might need most of all is some down time. It has been a tough stretch of late — a loss at Tennessee; two games without Washington and Wheeler, followed by the two-point loss at Arkansas. After the Saturday trip to Gainesville, Calipari’s club may need only to catch their breath before the final push.
Said Wheeler, “We know we can take this team pretty far.”
This story was originally published March 1, 2022 at 10:12 PM.
