Content by – GRAHAM SHEPHERD for
SPORTS VIEW AMERICA … Please check us out on X , INSTAGRAM, & FACEBOOK … Photo Galleries at Facebook.com/SportsViewAmerica & SVA PHOTOS (Photo by STUART SALYER 1-24-26)
The ‘Cats defeated the Ole Miss Rebels in a defensive battle by a score of 72-63 in Rupp Arena on Saturday morning. The tipoff time was moved up one hour to 11:00 a.m. EST and local time due to a much-anticipated winter storm in Kentucky. Another heavily discussed pre-game topic was the return of Lyon County native and former Kentucky point guard Travis Perry. Perry is the all-time leading high school scorer in the state of Kentucky. He averaged 2.5 PPG and shot 33.3% from 3PT last season for the ‘Cats and was thrust into action mostly due to injury. He transferred to Ole Miss this offseason to play for head coach Chris Beard, who recruited Perry out of high school. Perry has averaged 5.7 PPG and shot 36.1% from 3PT this season for the Rebels. For the ‘Cats, they were without Forward Kam Williams, who broke his foot during the mid-week game against Texas this past Wednesday. All of Lowe, Williams, and Quaintance are either out for the season or out indefinitely for the ‘Cats. As the ‘Cats rotation has been forced to tighten up due to injury, it seems as if there is more of a team flow on both ends of the floor for the time being. That continued during Saturdays game. It was a defensive battle for much of the afternoon, with the ‘Cats leading just 29-23 in the first half. Oweh came out of the half with enthusiasm, scoring 20 second half points and totaling 23 points in the game. Other notable offensive contributors for Kentucky included Chandler with 12 points and Johnson adding 11 points. The Rebels didn’t allow the ‘Cats to pull away in the second half, keeping the score within 6 points for much of the game. Chandler ultimately nailed a clutch deep three with under a minute to play to seal the 5th consecutive victory for the ‘Cats as they head into a tough upcoming week on the road in the SEC. Pope and the ‘Cats will look to continue their upward trending defense and Oweh led offense into the heart of their SEC schedule.
Pre-Game Overview:
The starting lineup for the ‘Cats featured Denzel Aberdeen, Collin Chandler, Otega Oweh, Andrija Jelavic, and Malachi Moreno
The spread for Saturday mornings game was -11.5 (Kentucky) and the Over/Under was set at 145.5.
Game Recap:
First Half
The first half scoring was led by Freshman guard Jasper Johnson for the ‘Cats, who picked up 8 points off the bench. Chandler added 6 points in the half as the ‘Cats shot just 32% from the field and 25% (4 of 16) from beyond the arc in the half. The ‘Cats did commit 8 first half turnovers but forced 5 steals on the defensive end. They assisted on 4 of 8 made field goals in the half. Rebels guard AJ Storr led all scorers in the half with 10 points. The Rebels were held to just 25% shooting from the field, connecting on just 7 made field goals in the half and 10% (1 of 10) from the three-point line. Overall, it was a defensive battle with a lack of offensive flow in the first half for both teams. The ‘Cats will look to string together consecutive scores and defensive stops and pull away in a “must-win” home conference game.
Halftime: Kentucky 29 – Mississippi 23
Second Half
The second half featured much improved offensive flow from each team. Oweh led all scorers with 20 second half points for the ‘Cats, while Storr added another 10 points for the Rebels. The story of the half was Kentucky driving lanes and making their way to the charity stripe for much of the second half. The ‘Cats went 19 of 26 from the free-throw line in the half. Kentucky big men were in foul trouble throughout the game, but Moreno contributed 5 points and 6 rebounds in the half for the ‘Cats as he continues to be featured for the ‘Cats. Chandler hit the biggest shot of the game as he nailed a deep three to put the ‘Cats up 6, 66-60 with 47-seconds to play. Kentucky went on to hit their free-throws down the stretch to pull out their 5th consecutive conference win.
Final: Kentucky 72 – Mississippi 63
Game Stats:
Mississippi FG %: 32% (33% 3PT – 7 of 21) (67% FT – 14 of 21)
Kentucky FG %: 36% (30% 3PT – 8 of 27) (74% FT – 28 of 38)
Rebounds: 45 – 43 Kentucky
Assist/Turnover Ratio: 12:12
Turnovers: UK (12), Mississippi (10)
Bench Points: 22 – 20 Mississippi
Points off Turnovers: 7 – 6 Kentucky
Fast Break Points: 13 – 5 Kentucky
Paint Points: 22 – 16 Mississippi
Player Stats:
Otega Oweh – [(23 points) (1 rebound)]
Collin Chandler – [(12 points) (7 rebounds) (1 assist) (1 steal)]
Jasper Johnson – [(11 points) (2 rebounds) (2 assists)]
Denzel Aberdeen – [(6 points) (3 rebound) (5 assists) (1 steal)]
Andrija Jelavic – [(6 points) (7 rebounds) (3 assists) (1 block) (1 steal)]
Mouhamed Dioubate – [(6 points) (3 rebounds) (2 blocks)]
Malachi Moreno – [(5 points) (9 rebounds) (1 assist) (2 blocks) (1 steal)]
Trent Noah – [(3 points) (2 rebounds) (1 block) (3 steals)]
Brandon Garrison – [(5 rebounds) (1 block)]
Jayden Quaintance – [DNP/OUT Right Knee Swelling]
Kam Williams – [(OUT Broken Foot)]
Jaland Lowe – [(OUT Right Shoulder Surgery)]
Next Game:
The Kentucky Wildcats (14-6, 5-2 SEC) will head to Nashville to take on the No. 15 Vanderbilt Commodores (17-3, 4-3 SEC) on Tuesday, January 27 at Memorial Gym. Tipoff is scheduled for 9:00 p.m. EST. The game will be televised on ESPN.
