KSR Gameday: Kentucky hosts Ole Miss on a late night at Rupp

When you’re crafting the recipe for a bounce-back game, I’m not sure if a late tipoff and/or a team that’s coming off a week of rest are part of it. Alas, tonight at 9 p.m., your University of Kentucky Wildcats will attempt to get back on track vs. the Ole Miss Rebels in ESPN’s Super Tuesday spotlight — Super Fat Tuesday, that is. Happy Mardi Gras!

This is another must-win game for the Cats, who fell to 16-7 with the loss to Gonzaga on Saturday. A loss would not only be their fourth straight in Rupp Arena but it would also fall in Quad 2 on Kentucky’s team sheet, giving the Selection Committee more reason for pause. On the other side of things is an Ole Miss team that had Saturday off, providing invaluable time to rest and prepare for Chris Beard’s first trip to Rupp. The Rebels (18-5, 5-5 SEC) are currently on the right side of the NCAA Tournament bubble; a win tonight would certainly boost their chances of returning to the Big Dance for the first time since 2019.

We’ve got 12 hours to get ready for this one. Let’s start by running through what you need to know about the Cats vs. the Rebels.

Injury Updates, Tightened Rotation

What’s the latest on Tre Mitchell and DJ Wagner? On his radio show last night, John Calipari said both practiced on Monday, a sign tonight could be Kentucky’s first game of the season with a full roster of players available. Wagner (ankle) played 13 minutes vs. Gonzaga on Saturday, while Mitchell (back) missed the last two games.

The Cats clearly missed Mitchell vs. Gonzaga. His return is also significant because Calipari wants to tighten his rotation moving forward. Ten Wildcats played vs. Gonzaga but Calipari wants to whittle that down with a potential return to small ball. Last night, Cal said Tre Mitchell and Adou Thiero will be the go-to frontcourt, with the seven-footers rotating in as needed.

A new rotation is just one reason Calipari believes a breakthrough is still on the horizon for this team, which is “built for March.” He reiterated his desire for them to get at least 10% better on defense. On Monday, the Cats spent 50 of the 90 minutes of practice focusing on defense. Calipari didn’t rule out using a 2-3 zone tonight vs. Ole Miss, a good shooting team. Above all, he said this team needs to be tougher and more physical, going after 50-50 balls.

For more updates from Calipari’s show, I’ll direct you to Jack Pilgrim’s rundown last night.

Orlando Antigua previews Ole Miss

What do you need to know about the Rebels? Like Kentucky, they shoot well, connecting on 38.7% from long range, which ranks tenth nationally. Their defense isn’t great, ranking below Kentucky’s in KenPom’s efficiency ratings, so the Cats will be able to score — but can they defend? In previewing the game, Orlando Antigua said tonight will be another test for Kentucky’s perimeter defense.

“Ole Miss is like a lot of SEC teams,” Antigua said. “They’re experienced, they’re good. They like to get out in transition, they shoot the ball extremely well, they cause some matchup difficulties because they’ll play a smaller lineup at times. They got big wings, so it’s gonna be a good challenge for us.”

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How to Watch, Listen

ESPN’s A-Crew is back in Lexington, so prepare for Jay Bilas’ comments about the Rupp Arena ice cream.

• Time: 9 p.m. ET
• TV: ESPN (Karl Ravech, Jay Bilas, Marty Smith)
• Streaming: WatchESPN
• Home Radio: UK Sports Network – 630 WLAP, iHeart Radio (Tom Leach, Goose Givens)
• Online Radio: iHeart
• Satellite Radio: Sirius 161 or 190
• Live Stats: StatBroadcast

Latest Odds on FanDuel

BBN may be nervous, but Vegas still believes the Cats will win by a sizable margin tonight. Kentucky opened as an 8.5-point favorite on FanDuel, with the total set at 164.5 points. That’s down one point this morning, to 163.5.

When it comes to the computers, KenPom forecasts an 86-79 Kentucky victory, giving the Cats a 74% chance of victory. BartTorvik goes slightly higher at 88-80 Kentucky. ESPN’s BPI likes Kentucky by 11 points, with an 83.3% chance of winning.

Familiar names

Only a few players stuck around Oxford after the Rebels fired Kermit Davis. Chief among them is Matthew Murrell, Ole Miss’ leading scorer who dropped 25 points on Kentucky at Rupp Arena two years ago, including five threes. From there, Chris Beard brought in seven transfers, some of whom you may recognize.

After four seasons at Auburn, 6’6″ wing Allen Flanigan transferred to Ole Miss and is averaging 15.7 points and 6.7 rebounds per game. Seven-foot-five former Western Kentucky center Jamarion Sharp leads the SEC in blocks (57). Then there’s former Saint Peter’s guard Jaylen Murray, who scored eight points in the Peacocks’ upset of Kentucky in the 2022 NCAA Tournament. Now with the Rebels, Murray averages 14.3 points, 4 assists, and 2.5 rebounds per game.

SEC Standings

With eight SEC games remaining, Kentucky is tied with Florida and Texas A&M for fifth in the SEC standings. It’s looking more and more like the Cats will be playing on Thursday at the SEC Tournament. Needless to say, to avoid that, they can’t lose tonight.

Here are the league standings entering tonight’s games:

TEAM	CONF	GAMES BACK	OVERALL
South Carolina	9-2	–	21-3
Alabama	9-2	–	17-7
Auburn	8-3	1	19-5
Tennessee	7-3	1.5	17-6
Florida	6-4	2.5	16-7
Kentucky	6-4	2.5	16-7
Texas A&M	6-4	2.5	15-8
Ole Miss	5-5	3.5	18-5
Mississippi State	5-6	4	16-8
LSU	4-6	4.5	12-11
Georgia	4-7	5	14-10
Arkansas	3-7	5.5	12-11
Vanderbilt	1-9	7.5	6-17
Missouri	0-11	9	8-16

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College Basketball on TV

Monday night was another wild one in college basketball, as Texas Tech pummeled No. 6 Kansas 79-50, giving the Jayhawks their sixth loss of the season. Bill Self got so worked up that he was ejected for the first time as Kansas’ head coach.

Bill Self is ejected from Kansas' game at Texas Tech. pic.twitter.com/xrYZwb1Y8q

— The Comeback (@thecomeback) February 13, 2024

Tonight, there are three SEC vs. SEC games. At 7 p.m. ET, Vanderbilt hosts Texas A&M on ESPNU. An hour later, you can see LSU vs. Florida on the SEC Network.

• 6:30 PM (FS1): No. 4 Marquette (-3.5) vs. Butler
• 7:00 PM (ESPN): No. 7 North Carolina (-8.5) vs. Syracuse
• 7:00 PM (ESPN2): No. 10 Iowa State vs. Cincinnati (-1.5)
• 7:00 PM (Peacock): Michigan vs. No. 14 Illinois (-15.5)
• 7:00 PM (ESPN+): Duquesne vs. No. 16 Dayton (-8.5)
• 7:00 PM (ACCN): Pittsburgh vs. No. 21 Virginia (-5.5)
• 7:00 PM (ESPN+): Illinois State vs. No. 23 Indiana State (-17.5)
• 7:00 PM (ESPNU): Texas A&M (-8.5) vs. Vanderbilt
• 8:00 PM (SECN): LSU vs. Florida (-9.5)
• 8:30 PM (FS1): Georgetown vs. No. 17 Creighton (-18.5)
• 9:00 PM (ESPN): Ole Miss vs. No. 22 Kentucky (-8.5)
• 9:00 PM (ESPN2): No. 25 Oklahoma vs. No. 12 Baylor (-6.5)
• 9:00 PM (BIG12/ESPN+): UCF vs. No. 19 BYU (-11.5)
• 9:00 PM (Peacock): Ohio State vs. No. 20 Wisconsin (-8.5)

Tyrese Maxey going viral for all the right reasons

After scoring 22 points and dishing nine assists in a win over Cleveland, former Cat Tyrese Maxey made some young fans’ days on the way to the locker room:

WHO’S CUTTING ONIONS? 🥹 pic.twitter.com/1alrVzeS0H

— Philadelphia 76ers (@sixers) February 13, 2024

Maxey is one of seven former Cats named to the NBA All-Star Game, which takes place Sunday in Indianapolis. He’ll also participate in the Three-Point Shooting Contest on Saturday night.

Happy Mardi Gras!

It’s going to be a long day. Spend some of it watching the good times roll in the French Quarter in New Orleans.