Feb. 13, 1998

#18 Ole Miss Rebels(16-5, 7-4)at#7 Kentucky Wildcats (22-3, 10-1)Rupp Arena  23,000Lexington, KentuckyValentine's Day, 199812:38 p.m. EST

Broadcasts

SEC TV Network — Coverage begins at 12:30 p.m. ET Tom Hammond, Larry Conley

UK Radio Network — 91 Stations; Coverage begins 11 a.m. ET Ralph Hacker, Sam Bowie, Dave Baker

Probable StartersOle Miss Rebels (16-5, 7-4)    No.   Name            Pos.     Ht.    Wt.    Cl     PPG     RPG     4    Jason Smith     F        6-6    200    Jr.    10.1    6.8     5    Ansu Sesay      F        6-9    200    Sr.    19.0    7.1    41    Anthony Boone   C        6-7    240    Sr.     6.2    4.5    22    Michael White   G        6-1    180    Jr.     5.0    2.1    33    Keith Carter    G        6-4    195    Jr.    14.0    6.4Kentucky Wildcats (22-3, 10-1)    34    Scott Padgett    F       6-9    229    Jr.    11.0    6.6     3    Allen Edwards    F       6-5    200    Sr.     9.0    3.2    13    Nazr Mohammed    C       6-10   240    Jr.    12.2    7.6    15    Jeff Sheppard    G       6-3    190    Sr.    11.8    3.7     5    Wayne Turner     G       6-2    187    Jr.     9.5   *4.0* Assists per game

The Ole Miss Series Since the start of the Kentucky-Ole Miss series 73 years ago, the Wildcats have won 83 of the 92 games. But last season, third-ranked UK rolled into Oxford, Miss., and was upset by the Rebels, 73-69, one of the nine Ole Miss victories in the series. Kentucky did gain revenge though, knocking the Rebs out of the SEC Tournament in the semifinal round, 88-70. In Lexington, Ole Miss has won only once in 44 tries. The lone victory came in the Rebels’ second visit to Lexington, a 37-27 win on Feb. 11, 1927. At Rupp Arena, Kentucky has won all 19 meetings. UK has won eight of the last nine meetings with Ole Miss.

Cat Tales

After suffering a defeat at home to Florida on Feb. 1, Kentucky has won three straight games. The seventh-ranked Cats have won 12 of their last 13 games.

The Wildcats have five regular-season games remaining, two at home, three on the road. The Cats’ last home game — Senior Day — will be against Georgia on Sunday, Feb. 22, at 1 p.m. Against SEC opponents, UK has won 53 of its last 59 games. UK remains the highest-ranked team in the SEC at No. 7. Kentucky leads No. 12 Arkansas, No. 15 South Carolina and No. 18 Ole Miss. The Wildcats own a 5-1 record vs. ranked opponents this season. The Cats lead the SEC’s Eastern Division by two games over South Carolina. UK leads Arkansas by one game in the race for the SEC title. The Cats defeated the Hogs on Jan. 17.

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