Connect with us

Men's Basketball

Kentucky vs. Ole Miss: TV/Streaming Info and Keys to the Game

Published

on

© Jordan Prather-USA TODAY Sports

The Kentucky Wildcats started January in poor fashion. After narrowly defeating LSU at home, they suffered back-to-back embarrassing losses to Alabama and South Carolina. However, the team regrouped and started a four-game winning streak before losing to Kansas this past Saturday.

Given Kentucky’s impressive and quick turnaround, there is still one game remaining in the month as they will travel to Oxford, Mississippi to take on the Ole Miss Rebels on Tuesday.

The Rebels are currently below .500 with a 9-12 record overall and tied for the last in the SEC at 1-7. Their lone win came against South Carolina but battled Tennessee to the wire to open conference play, losing 63-59.

Advertisement

With Kentucky coming to town Ole Miss will put up their best effort and that starts with a good crowd as they will have a ‘powder blue out’. With that said, Kentucky is still on the NCAA Tournament bubble and cannot afford to drop a game against a lesser opponent.

Let’s take a closer look at what to watch for.

Offensive Rebounding

Kentucky has been one of the best rebounding teams in the country, specifically on the offensive boards and a large part of that is Oscar Tshiebwe. This has been key in Kentucky’s turnaround, as they averaged over 38 rebounds per game, outrebounding their opponent by 13.

Against Kansas, the undersized Jayhawks put two bodies on Tshiebwe and challenged the other four Wildcats to rebound and they failed to do that. Also undersized, Ole Miss will likely try to do the same.

Advertisement

While the Wildcats must grab offensive rebounds of their own, they must also limit the Rebels on the offensive boards. The Rebels don’t have a true big, but they do a good job at rebounding as a team, ranked 69th in the country (36.9 rpg). This means that each Wildcat will need to get back to boxing out and fighting for every rebound.

In Need of a CJ Fredrick Game

One asset of Kentucky’s new ‘Basketball Benny’ lineup that makes it effective is that CJ Fredrick and Antonio Reeves are on the floor together. When these two share the floor, it creates space for both of them to be more effective.

Reeves is taking full advantage of the open looks and is playing his best basketball of the season. However, Fredrick, while getting open looks, is struggling. In Kentucky’s last five games – the four-game winning streak + Kansas – Fredrick is shooting just 23.5 percent from three.

A career 47 percent three-point shooter prior to the season, Fredrick is in desperate need of a confidence-building game. At some point, you have to think the open looks will begin to fall, and Oxford would be as good a place as any. If the Wildcats want to make a deep run, Fredrick has to begin hitting his shots with more consistency.

Advertisement

Matthew Murrell

Ole Miss is not an efficient shooting team (42.8%), nor do they have a lot of scoring options. Junior guard, Matthew Murrell, is the only Rebel averaging double-digit points (14.9 ppg) and he has a history of playing well against Kentucky. Last season, Murrell went off for 25 points in a losing effort at Rupp Arena.

Murrell looks to get most of his points from three, but is shooting a career-low 29 percent on nearly seven attempts per game. Yet, he is athletic and strong enough to take it off the dribble. Cason Wallace, one of the best perimeter defenders in the SEC, will be tasked to guard Murrell.

It is important to note that Murrell did suffer a knee injury and has not played in the last two games, but he is listed day-to-day.

Kentucky Basketball (14-7) vs. Ole Miss Rebels (9-12)

Time/Date: 9:00 pm ET on Tuesday, January 31st, 2023
Location: The Sandy and John Black Pavilion in Oxford, MS
TV Channel: ESPN
Online Stream: WatchESPNESPN+, SEC Network+ or ESPN app
Radio: Tom Leach and Jack Givens have the UK radio network call on the UK Sports Radio Network.
Replay: WatchESPN and SEC Network (check local listings).
Rosters: UK | MISS
Team SheetsUK | MISS
Stats To Know: UK | MISS

Advertisement

Odds: The DraftKings Sportsbook now has yet to release the odds. ESPN’s matchup predictor gives Kentucky a good chance to win at 68.3 percent, but Bart Torvik has it close to a toss-up, giving the Cats a 53 percent chance.

PredictionsBart Torvik picks the Wildcats to lose in a nail-biter, 68-67.

Advertisement

Men's Basketball

CBS Sports: Kentucky Has “ended pursuits” in Transfer Portal Following Aberdeen Commitment

In the wake of yet another addition to Kentucky’s incoming roster, CBS Sports reports that Coach Pope and staff may have closed the portal.

Published

on

Mark Pope and staff may have everything they need from the transfer portal.
Chet White | UK Athletics

Following another flurry of transfer portal additions in his second year at the helm, it appears that Mark Pope and staff are satisfied with their sophomore haul. The portal in Lexington may be officially closed for the 2025-26′ season.

Right after Kentucky received the surprising commitment of Denzel Aberdeen, Matt Norlander, an analyst for CBS Sports, posted the following on X (Twitter):

“Barring any portal defections, Kentucky has ended its pursuits of all other portal targets, sources told CBS Sports. Getting Aberdeen today [April 21] meant they’ve moved off Andrej Stojakovic, Rylan Griffen, etc. Otega Oweh going through pre-draft process-but I expect him back in Lex”.

Advertisement

With the addition of Aberdeen, the Wildcats’ roster ballooned to near-max capacity for next season. Seeing two of the team’s walk-on players, Grant Darbyshire and Walker Horn, enter the transfer portal seemed to all but confirm this suspicion, too.

Losing One of Our Own

That is, until last night. With less than two hours remaining for players to do so, Travis Perry shocked much of the Big Blue Nation by throwing his name into the hat. This came just weeks after a string of comments from the Kentucky-native point guard seemed to confirm his return for a sophomore season.

Though all the same, given Kentucky’s bulk of back-court additions this offseason, his departure makes sense for the sake of playing time alone. The Lyon King will be sorely missed.

So while the Kentucky staff may still be very much content with their current roster, with hundreds of players remaining in the portal and an unexpected spot on the roster coming open, another grab is far from out of the question.

Advertisement

Who Coach Pope and company would go after is entirely unclear, as that potential player would likely have to accept a minimized role off the bench for a stretch of his time in Lexington. If anything, the logical replacement would be a direct fill-in at the PG2/PG3 spot in Perry’s absence.

Either way, the ‘Cats are set to come into next season as one of the most exciting teams in college basketball with a ceiling far out of view. Mark Pope continues to prove his prowess in the transfer market, too, easing the worries of Wildcats fans and closing the door on many supposed “insiders” who’ve spent the last month suggesting otherwise.

Advertisement
Continue Reading

Men's Basketball

REPORT: Travis Perry Enters Transfer Portal

Published

on

Kentucky basketball Travis Perry talks about growing more comfortable on the court.
Jordan Prather | IMAGN

The transfer portal has been kind to Kentucky in the Mark Pope era. Last season, the staff was able to build a Sweet Sixteen roster almost exclusively from the portal, and this offseason have put together a top-five portal class.

While the portal giveth, it also taketh. Just hours before the deadline to enter, Kentucky native and fan favorite Travis Perry has entered the transfer portal, per multiple reports.

Coming to Kentucky as the state’s all-time high-school scoring record holder, fans were excited to see how his career would unfold in Lexington.

Advertisement

Not expecting to play much freshman, he was called upon due to injuries and played some key minutes for the Wildcats into the postseason. He averaged 2.7 PPG and .6 APG on 32% shooting from three.

Looking at the depth chart, it was difficult to see where Perry would get much playing time next season, leading to his decision to enter the portal.

Perry has yet to release an official statement, but all the best to him in his future.

Advertisement
Continue Reading

Men's Basketball

Top Transfer Guard Denzel Aberdeen Commits to Kentucky

Former Florida guard Denzel Aberdeen commits to Kentucky, likely closing the transfer portal for next year’s roster.

Published

on

Denzel Aberdeen commits to Kentucky.
UF Athletics

Another day, another “boom.” Denzel Aberdeen has officially committed to Kentucky for the 2025-26’ season.

A soon-to-be senior guard fresh off his championship win with Florida, Aberdeen spent his first three years of eligibility in Gainesville. Now, following an apparent conflict in the Gators’ rotation, he’s swapped teams in the southeast.

At 6 ‘5”, 190, Aberdeen spent much of this past season beating defenders off the dribble and making them pay at the rim. His speed and size made him a nightmare off the bench for opposing teams, and for the short stretch of play that he started during the year, Florida didn’t miss a beat. 

Advertisement

In 19 minutes, Aberdeen averaged 8 points, two rebounds and one assist per game. His consistent contribution to the Gators’ title run made him one of the most coveted transfers in the cycle this season, and given his big blue commitment just days after entering the portal, Mark Pope clearly wasted no time in Kentucky’s pursuit.

Aberdeen slots in as yet another addition to what was already one of the strongest portal classes going into next season. His SEC experience and combo-guard intangibles make Aberdeen one of the most exciting portal players to come through Lexington in a long while, reinforcing Kentucky’s back court to what may be the final degree.

Whether or not Mark Pope is officially done for next season, nobody is sure, but this commitment only further cements the fact that he knows exactly what he’s doing. Just like the  fanbase behind him, Coach Pope seems to never sleep.

Advertisement
Continue Reading

Trending