PREVIEW: Kentucky WBB looks for third consecutive Quad 1 win against Ole Miss

Kentucky has done well against some of the better teams in the SEC — namely against No. 23 Alabama and No. 15 Oklahoma in the last two games — and they’ll have another top team to face when the Cats head to Oxford to take on Ole Miss.

Get to know the Rebels before the game begins.

Bio Blast

Ole Miss sits at 15-7 overall and 6-4 in the SEC after losing to Oklahoma 66-56 at home in their last game. Preseason expectations were high for the Rebels coming into the season, with the media picking them to finish 5th in the conference this season.

Coach Yo’s squad may have a deceiving record, meaning that they’re better than their record shows. Ole Miss opened the year against No. 7 USC in France, losing by just two points in that contest. The rest of their losses come to No. 5 UConn, No. 14 NC State, Alabama, No. 4 Texas, Oklahoma and — just like Kentucky — Texas A&M on the road.

Fifth-year senior guard Madison Scott was picked as Preseason Second Team All-SEC as well.

Scouting Report

What do you want first, the good news or the bad news? Bad news? Okay.

Ole Miss is the best defensive team in the SEC if you go by their opponents’ average points per game. The Rebels hold teams to just 54.5 points per game. Part of the reason for that is that they love to slow things down and play a physical game in the half court.

Now, the good news is that Ole Miss is the second-worst three-point shooting team in the SEC, making just 29.9% of their attempts from beyond the arc. It’s even better that there is no better team at contesting the three than Kentucky, holding opponents to just 27.2% from deep on average. Unless they’re uncharacteristically hot, Ole Miss isn’t beating Kentucky with the three ball.

Madison Scott is Ole Miss’ leading scorer, averaging 12.4 points per game. She also records 4.9 rebounds and 3.8 assists per game. Freshman guard Sira Thienou isn’t too far behind, averaging 12.1 points and 4.5 rebounds per game. Starr Jacobs (11.7 PPG) and Kennedy Todd-Williams (11.6 PPG) are the only other Rebels to average double-digit points per game.

Projected Kentucky Starters

#3 – Georgia Amoore

5-FOOT-6 – GUARD – GRADUATE STUDENT

19.4 PPG – 7.5 APG – 2.4 RPG

#7 – Teonni Key

6-FOOT-4 – FORWARD – JUNIOR

11.4 PPG – 8.3 RPG – 1.8 BPG

#10 – Dazia Lawrence

5-FOOT-8 – GUARD – REDSHIRT SENIOR

13.2 PPG – 2.3 APG – 2.1 RPG

#13 – Clara Strack

6-FOOT-5 – CENTER – SOPHOMORE

15.5 PPG – 9.6 RPG – 2.9 APG

#32 – Amelia Hassett

6-FOOT-3 – FORWARD – JUNIOR

10.4 PPG – 8.8 RPG – 2.0 APG

Initial Availability Report

Starting this season in conference play, SEC teams are required to release an availability report, listing players and their injury statuses for their upcoming game.

Here is the initial report for Kentucky-Ole Miss:

The final availability report will be available closer to game time.

**Note: Kentucky’s Dominika Paurová is not listed as “Out” because she is completely exempt from the season due to an ACL tear she suffered in the offseason. Jordan Obi, who also suffered a lower leg injury in the summer, may return to the hardwood this season, hence why her name appears on the availability report.**

How to Watch/Listen

Place	Tipoff	TV	Radio	Live Stats
The Pavilion at Ole Miss (Oxford, MS)	7 p.m. ET	ESPN 2 (Eric Frede and Christy Thomaskutty)	630 WLAP, 790 WKRD (Darren Headrick)	StatBroadcast

Follow Along with KSR’s LIVE BLOG

Unable to watch the game? Don’t worry — we’ll be providing real-time updates throughout to keep you informed on the action. Follow along with KSR’s LIVE BLOG, which will get rolling on the website an hour before the game starts.

Join The Discussion on KSBoard

Want to interact with the KSR crew during tonight’s game? Consider joining the conversation on KSBoard, where we’ll be sharing live updates while also answering questions and providing real-time analysis (and probably complaining about the officiating).