Three takeaways from Kentucky basketball’s win over the Ole Miss Rebels
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Game day: No. 22 Kentucky 75, Mississippi 63
Click below for more of the Herald-Leader’s and Kentucky.com’s coverage of Tuesday’s men’s basketball game between Kentucky and Mississippi in Rupp Arena.
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Three takeaways from Kentucky basketball’s 75-63 victory over Ole Miss on Tuesday night at Rupp Arena.
1. As Reed Sheppard said, ‘This was big’
It didn’t really matter who Kentucky was playing on Tuesday night, or whether the Cats played great or poorly dominated or didn’t dominate, or rolled or struggled. Kentucky just needed to win a basketball game. And after three straight losses at Rupp Arena, it needed to win at home.
It did just that, handing Chris Beard and the visiting Rebels a 12-point defeat. The victory improved John Calipari’s club to 17-7 on the season and 7-4 in the SEC. And, at least for a day or two, it stopped the bleeding.
“This was big,” UK freshman Reed Sheppard said afterward.
It was also big that the Cats played well defensively. Ole Miss shot just 37.5% from the floor. Beard’s club entered Rupp Arena ranked 10th nationally in 3-point percentage at 38.7%. The Rebels exited having made just five of 22 3-point attempts for 22.7%. In the end, Ole Miss averaged 0.868 points per possession, the third-lowest by a UK opponent this season.
“The big thing to me today was we guarded,” Calipari said. “We guarded.”
2. Group Ugonna Onyenso and David Robinson together
Afterward, UK center Ugonna Onyenso admitted he didn’t recognize the name David Robinson. That’s not too surprising considering Ugo is from Nigeria and relatively new to the game of basketball. What might be a bit surprising is that from now on the UK basketball record books will list their names side-by-side.
On Jan. 25, 1987, “The Admiral” blocked a Rupp Arena 10 shots in Navy’s 80-69 loss to the Eddie Sutton-coached Wildcats. “That was probably the best game I’ve seen David play,” Navy coach Pete Herrmann said after Robinson scored 45 points and pulled down 14 rebounds.
Tuesday night, Onyenso tied that Rupp Arena record. The sophomore center scored eight points and grabbed three rebounds, but blocked 10 shots. “Seemed like 100 (blocks) from where I was sitting,” Beard said afterward.
There is little doubt the 7-foot, 247-pound Onyenso has the physical tools to excel at this game. He is still learning, however, and has experienced ups and downs this season. The foot injury he suffered at the start of the team’s summer trip to Canada set his timeline back. He’s also been competing for playing time on a team for two other 7-footers.
Still, if the Wildcats are going to make the consistent defensive improvement needed to make a run in March, Onyenso has to play an important role in that improvement. He did just that Tuesday.
“Ugo was unbelievable,” Sheppard said. “David Robinson, right? That’s crazy.”
3. Kentucky has a huge game on Saturday
Forget the John Calipari vs. Bruce Pearl angle. That’s old news. Two of the game’s best coaches have been rivals back to their Memphis vs. Tennessee days. They’ve carried their battles to their current destinations, Cal at UK and Pearl at Auburn.
Saturday’s meeting at the “Loveliest Village On The Plains” has more to do the current playing status of the two teams than the current coaches.
No. 13 in the AP Top 25, Auburn has an important week. Fresh off an 81-65 loss at Florida, Pearl’s club plays host to South Carolina on Wednesday. The Gamecocks are 9-2 in SEC play. The Tigers are 8-3. Then Kentucky comes to town on Saturday for a 6 p.m. game on ESPN.
Having dropped to No. 22 in the AP Top 25, the Cats would relish a tough victory in hostile Neville Arena. Currently 2-4 in Quad 1 games, a victory over Auburn, at Auburn, would not just greatly improve the team’s NCAA Tournament resume but serve as a major confidence-booster, as well.
This story was originally published February 14, 2024 at 1:17 AM.
