Ole Miss gets Kentucky team reeling from being upset by Arkansas

Ole Miss Rebels coach Chris Beard reacts toward forward Jaemyn Brakefield (4) during a time out during the second half against the Auburn Tigers at The Sandy and John Black Pavilion at Ole Miss. | Petre Thomas-Imagn Images

OXFORD, Miss. — No. 25 Ole Miss coach Chris Beard is probably going to need to dial up one of his special defensive plans for Tuesday night’s game with No. 14 Kentucky.

The Wildcats are dealing with some backlash from fans after a loss to Arkansas on Saturday night. It wasn’t because their offense wasn’t able to put up points. They put up 79 points and still managed to get beaten by 10 against the Razorbacks.

The game at the SJB Pavilion tips off at 6 p.m. tonight and will be televised on ESPN. Fans statewide can listen to the game on the Ole Miss Radio Network.

ON THE AIR
Television/Online: ESPN (Karl Ravech and Jimmy Dykes with Molly McGrath on interviews)
Radio: Ole Miss Radio Network (David Kellum and Marc Dukes)

SERIES HISTORY VS. KENTUCKY
A battle that has gone Kentucky’s way for a majority of history, Ole Miss began the series winning two of the first three matchups from 1925 to 1928. The Wildcats lead 111-14 all time, and have won 31 of 42 games played in Oxford. The Rebels’ last win over Kentucky came in 2021 with a 70-62 victory in the SJB Pavilion.

LAST MEETING: February 13, 2024 (L, 63-75, Lexington, Ky.)
• Ole Miss held a lead over No. 20 Kentucky in their own gym until just under six minutes left in the first half, before eventually falling by 12 in Rupp Arena.
• Matthew Murrell (Ole Miss): 16 points, six rebounds, one assist, one steal, one block.
• Antonio Reeves (Kentucky): 15 points, seven rebounds.

Kentucky Wildcats guard Otega Oweh (00) dunks the ball during the second half against the Arkansas Razorbacks at Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center. | Jordan Prather-Imagn Images

SCOUTING THE WILDCATS
The Wildcats bring an overall record of 15-6 and SEC record of 4-4 to Oxford on Tuesday. During their non-conference action, Kentucky picked up key victories over No. 6 Duke, No. 7 Gonzaga, and Louisville. Their four wins during conference play have come over No. 6 Florida, No. 14 Mississippi State, No. 11 Texas A&M, and No. 8 Tennessee. They have fallen to Georgia, No. 4 Alabama, Vanderbilt, and Arkansas. Kentucky currently sits at No. 14 in both the latest national polls, and owns a current NET Ranking of No. 19.

Six different players average double-figure scoring on the season for Kentucky, led by Otega Oweh at 15.6. He is joined by Jaxson Robinson at 13.4 points per game, Lamont Butler at 13.2, Koby Brea at 10.9, Amari Williams at 10.3, and Andrew Carr at 10.0. Williams paces the Wildcats on the boards with an average of 9.0 rebounds per game, the second-best clip in the SEC.

Kentucky owns one of the nation’s most productive offenses, averaging 87.2 points per game, the third-most in all of college basketball. The Wildcats connect on 10.2 three-pointers per game, the 19th-highest clip in the nation, while shooting 37.7 percent from beyond the arc.

Their offensive scheme and balance leads to an average of 17.7 assists per game, best in the SEC and 11th in the nation, and they own an assist-to-turnover ratio of 1.66, seventh-best in the nation.

Hired in April of 2024 as the newest leader of Kentucky, Mark Pope is in his 10th year overall as an NCAA head coach, coming to Lexington after five seasons at BYU. He won 20 or more games in four of his five seasons with the Cougars, including a 23-win campaign and NCAA Tournament birth last year in BYU’s first year as a member of the Big 12 conference.

Prior to his time with BYU, Pope was the head coach of Utah Valley for four seasons, guiding them to 23 and 25 wins in his last two seasons. He got his coaching start as an assistant at BYU from 2011 to 2015, Wake Forest in 2010 to 2011, and Georgia in 2009 to 2010. Pope was a second-round draft pick out of Kentucky, playing for the Indiana Pacers, Milwaukee Bucks, and Denver Nuggets as a forward.

AP FLOUR, SUGAR, SALT, BUTTER, AND WATER
Ole Miss has dominated the turnover battle this year, ranking third in the nation with a turnover margin of +6.5 while ranking fourth in turnovers per game at 9.3. The Rebels are forcing an average of 15.7 turnovers per contest which ranks 17th in the NCAA. Ole Miss’ assist-to-turnover ratio of 1.66 also ranks among the nation’s best at seventh, led by Jaylen Murray with a season ratio of 2.83. They’ve been a force on the defensive end with an average of 9.8 steals per game (ninth in NCAA), paced by Sean Pedulla, who ranks 20th in steals nationally with 50.

Auburn Tigers guard Tahaad Pettiford (0) dribbles as Ole Miss Rebels guard Matthew Murrell (11) defends during the second half at The Sandy and John Black Pavilion at Ole Miss. | Petre Thomas-Imagn Images

LET’S PLAY DEFENSE
A staple of success for head coach Chris Beard has always been his team’s defensive play, and it’s been evident on this year’s Ole Miss roster to start the season. With a turnover margin of +6.5, the Rebels own the third-best average in all of college basketball, forcing 15.7 per game (No. 17 in the NCAA) while committing just 9.3 to rank fourth in the NCAA.

They have held opponents to 60 points or less five times this season, allowing an average of just 67.5 per contest, the 64th-fewest in the NCAA. Their field goal percentage defense of 40.9 ranks 55th in the country this season, and Ole Miss holds a record of 15-2 in two years under Beard when holding the opposition to under 40 percent from the field. Their defensive efforts at the three-point line has led to an opponent shooting percentage of just 30.8 on the season, the 59th-lowest mark in the country.

Ole Miss ranks among the top teams in the nation in steals per game at 9.8, the ninth-best clip in college basketball, and blocks per game at 4.6 to rank 47th.

“POLL” POSITION
In the latest top-25 polls released this past Monday, Ole Miss ranks No. 25 in the AP Poll. Ranked No. 15 in the Coaches Poll on December 9, it was the highest ranking in a national poll since the Rebels were No. 14 in the AP Poll on January 4, 2010, and the highest position in the Coaches Poll since they sat in 15th on January 21 in 2008. Their current run of 11 straight weeks in the AP Top 25 is the longest streak since the 2000-01 season.

Ole Miss Rebels guard Matthew Murrell (11) and Auburn Tigers center Dylan Cardwell (44) battle for a rebound during the first half at The Sandy and John Black Pavilion at Ole Miss. | Petre Thomas-Imagn Images

BATTLE TESTED
The schedule for Ole Miss has been, and continues to be, one of the most difficult in the nation. As of February 3, they own the nation’s fifth-toughest remaining strength of schedule according to ESPN’s Basketball Power Index. Their pas opposition win percentage of 65.5 ranks ninth-highest in the nation, while their remaining opponent’s win percentage of 73.5 is the seventh highest in all of college basketball. Their cumulative strength-of-schedule win percentage of 67.8 is the fifth highest in the country.

SPECIAL WEAPON OFF THE BENCH
A consistent starter over the past three seasons at Ole Miss, Jaemyn Brakefield has embraced a role off the bench this season and still been one of the best players on the court. With a season average of 10.8 points per game, Brakefield ranks second in the conference with 14 double-digit point games when coming off the bench.

Ole Miss Rebels guard Matthew Murrell (11) drives to the basket during the second half against the Auburn Tigers at The Sandy and John Black Pavilion at Ole Miss. | Petre Thomas-Imagn Images

LUNARDI SAYS “DANCE”
Updated each Tuesday and Friday, the latest bracketology from ESPN’s Joe Lunardi has Ole Miss as a six seed in the Midwest Region. They are projected by Lunardi to face 11-seed UC Irvine in Milwaukee, Wis., paired with three-seeded Purdue and 14th-seeded Cleveland State. The highest seed for the Ole Miss program came in the 2001 tournament, when they were set as a three seed and reached the Sweet 16. Lunardi’s latest projections has 13 teams from the SEC earning a ticket to the 2025 NCAA Tournament, a number that would be the most for a single conference all time.

NETWORKING
The 2024-25 NET Rankings made their debut on Monday, December 2 and Ole Miss has since climbed their way to No. 23 in the nation. Since the ranking’s first iteration at the conclusion of the 2018-19 season, their ranking of 13th on January 20 is the highest-ever NET Ranking for the Ole Miss program.

As of February 3, the entire SEC is ranked among the top 100, with 14 of the 16 programs sitting inside the top 50, nine in the top 25, and four in the top 10.

Ole Miss Rebels guard Jaylen Murray (5) reacts with guard Matthew Murrell (11) during the second half against the Oral Roberts Golden Eagles at The Sandy and John Black Pavilion at Ole Miss. / Petre Thomas-Imagn Images

RECORD BOOK WRECKER
Senior guard Matthew Murrell enters his fifth season with Ole Miss and continues to put his name up and down the program record book. The Memphis native currently ranks ninth in school history in career points with 1,645, fifth in three-point shots made (243), and fourth in three-point attempts (693). He also ranks ninth in most field goal attempts at 1,352, and is tied for sixth in career steals with 159.

I AM IRON MAN
A consistent member of the lineup for each of the past five seasons, Matthew Murrell ranks among the top five in both career minutes and games played at Ole Miss. The guard recently broke the program record for total games played in an Ole Miss uniform, surpassing Zach Graham with 135, now at 139. Murrell has played in the fourth-most minutes for the program at 4,024, just behind Carlos Clark with 4,028.

Information from Ole Miss Sports is included in this story.