UK MEN’S BASKETBALL POSTGAME NOTES
OLE MISS at KENTUCKY
RUPP ARENA at CENTRAL BANK CENTER | LEXINGTON, KY
MARCH 1, 2022
ATTENDANCE: 20,322

Final Score: No. 7/6 Kentucky 83, Ole Miss 72
 
Team Records, Series Notes, Etc.

• Kentucky is 24-6 overall, 13-4 in the Southeastern Conference.
• Ole Miss is 13-17 overall, 4-13 in the SEC.

• UK leads the series, 109-14, and has won 12 of the last 13 vs. Ole Miss. 
  • The Wildcats lead 56-2 in games played in Lexington and have won the last 13 against the Rebels in Rupp Arena.
• Next for Kentucky: the Wildcats end the regular season Saturday at Florida. Game time is 2 p.m. and it will be televised by CBS.

 
Team Notes

• Kentucky finished 18-0 at home this season. It is the 14th undefeated home season in the 46-year history of Rupp Arena
  • It is the sixth spotless home record in Coach John Calipari’s 13 seasons at Kentucky, also 2009-10, 2010-11, 2011-12, 2015-15 and 2015-16.
  • UK finishes the season with an all-time Rupp Arena record of 633-77, a winning rate of 89.2 percent. Under Calipari, the Wildcats are 216-17 (92.7%) in their home lair.
• Kentucky won the rebounding 30-24. UK is 21-3 this season when leading the rebounding.
• Kentucky shot 60 percent from the field (33 of 55), the second-best shooting game of the season. UK is 13-1 this season when making at least 50 percent from the field.
• Ole Miss became the fourth team to shoot at least 50 percent from the field against the Wildcats. UK has managed to win two of those four games, tonight and at home vs. Tennessee.
• Kentucky led by as many as 14 points. UK is 309-13 (96.0%) under Calipari when leading by 10 or more points during the contest. 

 
Player Notes                                                                                                                         

• Oscar Tshiebwe totaled 18 points and 15 rebounds, adding an assist and two steals. 

  • It is his 12th-straight double-double, first Wildcat to do that since Dan Issel had 12 consecutive double-doubles in the 1969-70 season.
  • It is his 24th double-double of the season, ranking second in the nation in that category. He ties Julius Randle for second place on the UK single-season list.
  • He has scored in double figures in 12 straight games, best at UK since Immanuel Quickley had a 20-game stretch in the 2019-20 season.
  • The nation’s leading rebounder has 17 straight games with double-figure rebounds and has grabbed double-figure boards in all but two games this season.
    • It’s the longest streak of double-figure rebounding by a major-conference player since Wake Forest’s Tim Duncan also had 17 straight games during the 1996-97 season.
  • He now has 460 rebounds this season, moving past Bob Burrow (459 in in 1954-55) for third place on the UK single-season list.
• Sahvir Wheeler had one of his best shooting nights, making six of nine field goals, including two of three on 3-pointers, finishing with 16 points.     
  • It is his most points since tallying 17 at Auburn on Jan. 22.
    • It’s the 13th time he’s reached double-figure scoring this season.
  • Had a game-high seven assists, matching his season average that ranks third nationally.
• TyTy Washington Jr. had 14 points, all coming in two key stretches in the game – the first seven points of a 12-2 surge that gave UK its largest lead of the first half, plus seven points in the final five minutes that kept the rallying visitors at bay.
  • Also played a good floor game with four assists and three steals.
  • In UK’s 21 wins that he has played, he has averaged 14.1 points, 4.0 rebounds and 4.3 assists, as opposed to 6.3 points and 1.5 rebounds per game in UK’s six losses. 
• Keion Brooks Jr. had 10 points, five rebounds and two assists, his 16th double-figure game of the season.
• Kellan Grady and Davion Mintz were honored before the game in Senior Night ceremonies.       
  • Grady had nine points and one assist and Mintz scored eight points with two assists. 

 
Coach John Calipari

• Calipari is now 363-99 at UK.
  • UK is 296-56 vs. unranked competition under Calipari.
• Calipari has an 808-239 all-time on-court record. 
• Calipari has tallied a 380-120 all-time record within conference play as a head coach and owns a 172-54 record since joining the SEC.
• Calipari is 17-5 vs. Ole Miss.  

 
In the First Half

• The starting lineup was Sahvir Wheeler, Davion Mintz, Kellan Grady, Keion Brooks Jr. and Oscar Tshiebwe for the first time this season. 
• Jacob Toppin, Lance Ware and TyTy Washington Jr. were the first Kentucky substitutions at the 10:53 mark, the 15th time for Toppin to be first off the bench this season, third time for Ware and second time for Washington.
• Trailing 6-5, a 10-0 run put the Wildcats ahead 15-6 and UK led the rest of the way.
• Five Ole Miss offensive rebounds in the first 10 minutes led to 11 second-chance points to keep the Rebels close. 
• With UK ahead 30-27, seven straight points by Washington began a 12-2 run that gave the Wildcats their largest lead at 42-29. 
• Kentucky went to halftime ahead 44-35, shooting 58.6 percent from the field, including 6 of 11 (54.5%) from 3-point range.
• UK is now 22-2 this season when leading at intermission.

 
In the Second Half

• Kentucky began the second half with the starting lineup. 
• The teams played evenly for most of the half, with UK eventually earning 14-point leads at 64-50, 66-52 and 70-56 with six minutes left.
• A Rebel rally pulled within 74-68 at the 3:16 mark and 76-70 at 2:15, but seven straight points put the game away.
• Tshiebwe had 10 points and rebounds in the second half.