Wow. I didn’t think I was going to be writing this article, but here we are. Kentucky looked to be coasting, although this was their first SEC game of the year, and was looking to continue their dominating undefeated season.
Ole Miss Just Misses Upsetting Kentucky
Seemingly out of nowhere, Ole Miss happened. The Rebels came into the game at 9-4 including an early season loss to Charleston Southern. That didn’t matter on Tuesday, as the Rebels rolled into Rupp Arena to give the #1 Kentucky Wildcats a huge scare. Although the Rebels lost 86-89, they showed the nation, and the specifically the SEC, that this team can be beaten.
What went wrong for Kentucky? The thing is, nothing in the box score can determine that. They shot the ball well, didn’t turn it over often, and outrebounded the Rebels. To their credit, Ole Miss just found a way to hang around. Of course, shooting 9-17 from three and making 19 of 22 free throws will do a team wonders. The bad news for Ole Miss: those three misses all came in overtime.
Kentucky Head Coach John Calipari said it best, “I’ll say this. Mississippi did everything they had to do… That’s a good club.”
Ole Miss led by two points at halftime, but it still felt like Kentucky would flip a switch at the beginning of the second half. That didn’t exactly happen, Ole Miss played well to their credit, and we got one hell of a game out of it.
I feel everyone can agree that this game was good for Kentucky. They hadn’t been challenged to this extent this season, but they still toughed out a win. In fact, this is the first game that Kentucky has given up more than 70 points. This is still a young team, and getting this type of experience AND winning the ball game will do wonders for their focus and composure come March.
It would be wrong to not mention the names Aaron Harrison, Jarvis Summers, and Stefan Moody after their great performances.
Harrison, Kentucky’s lead guard, had 26 points, easily the team high.
Moody had 25 points, despite missing key minutes due to cramps. Summers had 23 points, most in which kept Ole Miss in the game.
Most of us didn’t see it coming, but Ole Miss had a legitimate chance to hand Kentucky its first loss of the year. I think we, and the young Wildcats, learned that conference play won’t be a walk-through for Kentucky.
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