No. 25 Ole Miss basketball rebounded in a big way following Saturday’s loss to No. 1 Auburn.
The Rebels (17-6, 6-4 SEC) hosted No. 14 Kentucky on Tuesday night and would go on to dominate the Wildcats 98-84 behind a crisp shooting night.
The Rebels never trailed, with their slimmest lead coming in the opening possession at two points. Ole Miss would pull away towards the end of the first half, taking a 54-31 lead into the intermission. The second half saw more of the same, with the Rebels leading by as much as 28 points. Despite a furious Wildcat rally, Ole Miss staved off the Wildcats, ultimately winning with a decisive final score.
As a team, the Rebels shot 54.7% from the floor, 43.3% from 3-point range, and 71.4% from the free throw line. Matthew Murrell led the team in scoring with a season-high 24 points, followed by Dre Davis with 17, Malik Dia with 16, Jaylen Murray with 15, and Jaemyn Brakefield with 10.
As a team, Kentucky shot 50% from the floor, 47.6% from three-point range, and 72.7% from the free-throw line. Otega Oweh led the Wildcats in scoring with 24 points, followed by Jaxson Robinson with 18 points, Amari Williams with 12 and Koby Brea with 10.
Despite the Rebels being out-rebounded 32-25, a key objective for Ole Miss, Ole Miss’ big shooting day never let the Wildcats into the game. The Rebels did out-assist Kentucky 24-20, showing a concentrated effort to move the ball around. And with five Rebels in double figures, that effort paid dividends. The Rebels also scored nine points off Kentucky’s eight turnovers, while Kentucky scored zero off the Rebels’ one.
This win serves as a major “get-back” game for the Rebels as they prepare for two straight road games, one with LSU in Baton Rouge this Saturday and South Carolina in Columbia next Wednesday.
The Rebels move to 6-4 in SEC play with the win Tuesday. A double-digit win over a top-15 team will also move the Rebels to 6-6 in Quad 1 play, as well as serve as a major resume booster come Selection Sunday.
Tip-off between Ole Miss and rival LSU is set for 7:30 p.m. CT and will be televised on the SEC Network.
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