KSR Gameday: Kentucky looks to bounce back at Ole Miss

A week ago, Kentucky bounced back from a disappointing loss with a big road win at Tennessee. Tonight, the No. 14 Cats will look to do it again vs. No. 25 Ole Miss in Oxford (7 p.m. ET, ESPN).

I think everyone is eager to get the taste of the Arkansas loss out of their mouths. The loss was Kentucky’s third in the last four games. Ole Miss is on a similar slide, losing four of its last five, the only win coming vs. Texas. All four of those losses came to ranked teams (at No. 15 Mississippi State, vs. No. 13 Texas A&M, at No. 22 Missouri, vs. No. 1 Auburn) and on the heels of Ole Miss’ big win at Alabama on Jan. 14. It’s not just Kentucky that’s been on a roller coaster this season.

Chris Beard’s Rebels are now 16-6 and 5-4 in SEC play. They’re led by senior guard Sean Pedulla, a transfer from Virginia Tech who averages 15.2 points per game. Pedulla may be a new name to you, but you’ll know the other three Rebels averaging in double figures: Matthew Murrell (11.2 PPG), Jaylen Murray (10.9 PPG), and Jaemyn Brakefield (10.8 PPG). Pedulla and Murray are their best shooters, averaging 40% on over 100 three-point attempts each. Ole Miss ranks in the top ten nationally in assist-to-turnover ratio (No. 9, 1.66), turnover margin (No. 3, +6.5), and turnovers per game (No. 4, 9.3).

Kentucky will once again be without Lamont Butler, who continues to rehab from a shoulder injury. Butler was listed as “out” on last night’s availability report alongside Kerr Kriisa. Andrew Carr was not on the report, a good sign as his back continues to improve. Ole Miss guard Matthew Murrell was listed as “questionable,” although he has been on the report for the past three games and ultimately played.

It remains to be seen how much longer Kerr Kriisa will be out as he works his way back from foot surgery, but it was good to see him getting some shots up at The Pavilion:

Kerr Kriisa is now shooting some during Kentucky’s shootaround at Ole Miss tonight 👀 pic.twitter.com/zy2f88oerg

— Kentucky Hoops (@kentuckyhoopsig) February 4, 2025

How to Watch, Listen

• Time: 7:00 p.m. ET
• Television: ESPN (Karl Ravech, Jimmy Dykes, Molly McGrath)
• Home Radio: UK Sports Network – 630 WLAP, iHeart Radio (Tom Leach, Goose Givens)
• Online Radio: iHeart
• Satellite Radio: Sirius 132 or 190
• Live Stats: StatBroadcast

You can also follow the game via our new LIVE BLOG on the website, which will begin an hour before tip-off, or join the conversation on KSBoard. The KSR Pregame Show will start at 4:30 p.m. ET on 630 AM locally, affiliates across the state, or iHeart Radio.

Odds

Kentucky opened as a 2.5-point underdog on Monday. The Cats are 4-0 as an underdog away from Rupp Arena, covering the spread at Tennessee (+11.5), Mississippi State (+4.5), vs. Gonzaga in Seattle (+6.5), and vs. Duke in Atlanta (+6.5). The line is now Ole Miss -4.5 on FanDuel, with the total set at 156.5 points.

KenPom projects an 80-77 Ole Miss win, giving Kentucky a 39% chance of victory. BartTorvik also likes the Rebels by three, 81-78. ESPN’s BPI favors Ole Miss by two.

Andrew Carr, Otega Oweh preview Ole Miss

Due to the team’s travel to Mississippi, there was no Mark Pope call-in show last night, but we got the next best thing. Andrew Carr — who is basically Mark Pope at this point — and Otega Oweh sat down with reporters to preview the game in Oxford. Both were impressed by what they’d seen on tape of the Rebels so far.

“They’re a super, super talented team,” Carr said. “Their defense is a little unorthodox to switch everything, they’re super aggressive to the basketball, a little unpredictable sending two to the ball sometimes. We’re ready to go against something new…We haven’t really faced a full five interchange switching team so far, so we’re excited to be able to attack that in a lot of different ways that we have talked about.”

“Ole Miss, they’re another good team; they’re physical and athletic,” Oweh said. “They like to do iso ball a lot, so they’re going to test us. We just preach that whenever a team does that, it has to be one on five instead of one on one. We’ve watched a lot of film on them and saw what they do, so we just have to take a stand defensively.”

Carr also gave a positive update on his back, which has been bothering him for over a month. Injuries have been killing this team this season, but it’s nice to hear he’s trending in the right direction.

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The Pavilion is sold out

To no surprise, The SJB Pavilion, Ole Miss’ arena, is sold out for tonight’s game. Also not a surprise: the Rebels are calling for a red-out, with red t-shirts and red pom poms available in the student section.

🗣 WEAR RED 🔴🔴🔴
🆚 Kentucky
⏰ 6 p.m.
🚪Doors open 4 p.m. for students, 4:30 for general admission#HottyToddy x #Culture pic.twitter.com/JMZTrsiygL

— Ole Miss Men’s Basketball (@OleMissMBB) February 4, 2025

If you’ve never been to the Pavilion before, you’re in for a treat. Opened in 2016, it’s one of the nicest arenas in the SEC. With a capacity of just 9,500, it’s not big, but the layout is great, and it gets really loud. With false spring in full force, it should be a beautiful evening to have a drink in the Square (grab a balcony seat at Boure) and make your way to campus for the game. Jealous of my friends making the trip.

SEC Standings – Feb. 4

Kentucky starts the week tied with Vanderbilt for eighth in the SEC standings. If the tournament started today, the ‘Dores would have the tiebreaker due to the win in Nashville, but the two teams meet again in Lexington two weeks from tomorrow. Ole Miss is tied with Tennessee ahead of the ‘Cats and the ‘Dores at 5-4.

Team	CONFERENCE	GAMES BACK	OVERALL
Auburn	8-0	–	20-1
Alabama	8-1	0.5	19-3
Missouri	6-2	2	17-4
Texas A&M	6-3	2.5	17-5
Florida	5-3	3	18-3
Tennessee	5-4	3.5	18-4
Ole Miss	5-4	3.5	16-6
Vanderbilt	4-4	4	16-5
Kentucky	4-4	4	15-6
Mississippi State	4-5	4.5	16-6
Texas	4-5	4.5	15-7
Oklahoma	3-5	5	16-5
Georgia	3-6	5.5	15-7
Arkansas	2-6	6	13-8
LSU	1-7	7	12-9
South Carolina	0-9	8.5	10-12

College Basketball on TV Today

Kentucky is one of eleven ranked teams in action today. Plenty of good hoops to be had, starting with the only other ranked-vs.-ranked matchup, No. 11 Marquette vs. No. 12 St. John’s.

• 6:30 PM (FS1): No. 11 Marquette vs. No. 12 St. John’s
• 7:00 PM (ESPN): No. 14 Kentucky vs. No. 25 Ole Miss
• 7:00 PM (SECN): Vanderbilt vs. No. 6 Florida
• 7:00 PM (Peacock): No. 7 Purdue vs. Iowa
• 7:00 PM (ACCN): Notre Dame vs. Florida State
• 8:00 PM (ESPN+): Oklahoma State vs. No. 5 Houston
• 9:00 PM (SECN): Oklahoma vs. No. 1 Auburn
• 9:00 PM (Peacock): Indiana vs. No. 21 Wisconsin
• 9:00 PM (ESPN2): Baylor vs. No. 13 Texas Tech
• 9:00 PM (ACCN): Georgia Tech vs. Clemson
• 10:00 PM (Peacock): No. 9 Michigan State vs. UCLA

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