Kentucky Wildcats 83, Ole Miss Rebels 61
By Terry Brown
The University of Kentucky Wildcats defeated the Ole Miss Rebels 83-61 to start the SEC portion of the 2015-16 season. Sophomore point guard Tyler Ulis lead the way for the Cats with 20 points, 10 assists and six steals. It was the first 20-10 game from a Wildcat since John Wall during the 2009-10 season. The Cats looked focused on the defensive end, especially in the first half, and led throughout after the Rebels jumped out to an early 4-2 lead. Kentucky used a 25-4 first half run to gain a lead of 46-22 into halftime.
Thoughts on the Wildcats’ first SEC win:
Tyler Ulis. Over the last two games, Ulis has proven that he may very well be the best point guard in America. When asked about Ulis’ play, Ole Miss head coach Andy Kennedy stated that he thought that Ulis indeed was the best point guard in the country. Tyler was the conductor at both ends of the court, putting up numbers (again) that show just how valuable he is to the team. With Ulis seemingly recovered from the hyperextended elbow he suffered against South Florida, his shooting percentage has improved and he’s not making as many mistakes with the basketball. He’s so strong with the ball, he’s hard to trap and on the other end, his on and off the ball defense is incredible. If Kentucky is going to go as far as Ulis takes them, it could be a return trip to the Final Four.
Jamal Murray. Freshman guard JamalMurray, after a disastrous, turnover-filled second half against Louisville that head coach John Calipari likened to an And1 mixtape, showed better restraint against Ole Miss and only had two turnovers. For the first time this season Murray and Ulis looked like a cohesive backcourt, particularly on the defensive end. In his postgame press conference, Calipari said he has been stressing to Murray that he just needs to make the right play, not the spectacular play. Calipari said “there aren’t extra points for a degree of difficulty, he needs to keep it simple.” Against the Rebels, Murray finished with 18 points, 6 rebounds
and three assists. Murray and Ulis could be on their way to becoming the best backcourt in the SEC.
Marcus Lee. Lee doesn’t have the low post moves of other big guy and he’s not necessarily able to score a lot off his own moves. But what Lee does better than just about every other post player in the country is run the floor, fill offensive gaps and move without the ball. Lee creates passing lanes so that Tyler Ulis and the other guards can give him the ball for easy dunks/layups. Marcus is the Cats best offensive rebounder, which gives Kentucky extra possessions andhe gets 2-3 baskets per game just by outhustling his man down the court. Lee finished with 13 points, 8 rebounds and 2 blocks in 28 minutes vs. Ole Miss.
And give Ole Miss’ Stefan Moody a ton of credit. After almost singlehandedly delivering a Rebels’ win in a two overtime thriller last year, Moody battled through great team defense on the part of the Wildcats to finish with a game high 23 points. Calipari said that the game plan for Kentucky was to make Moody work for every point. Moody finished 6-9 from the field and 9-9 from the FT line.
Kentucky dominated the rebounding battle 41-27 which led to a 16-9 advantage in second chance points for the Wildcats. Defensively, Kentucky forced 16 Rebel turnovers and held Ole Miss to 40% shooting from the field. The Wildcat lead got as big as 53-24 early in the second half and the Rebels got no closer than 20 points the rest of the way.
Postgame, Coach Calipari said that he’s seeing improvement with his team. He understands that they’re not where they need to be, but they’re moving in that direction. When asked about Skal Labissierre’s 9 point, 3 rebound performance, Calipari summed it up nicely: “It’s a good first step.” With a trip to Baton Rouge to take on the LSU Tigers looming, the Cats took a step toward being the team we thought they’d be at the beginning of the season. Having a point guard like Tyler Ulis makes those steps just a bit easier.