Big Blue Preview: Kentucky vs. Ole Miss
Kentucky has battled injuries all season long. It started with Jayden Quaintance trying to recover from offseason knee surgery. Then, Jaland Lowe was injured in the Blue-White game. Now, Kam Williams is out with a broken foot, an injury sustained in Wednesday’s win over Texas.
On Friday, freshman Malachi Moreno said that the players who remain on the floor are playing for each other, as well as their injured teammates.
“We just rally around each other,” Moreno said. “Injuries are unpredictable, anybody’s able to get injured at any time. So, I think the best thing is just to come together and just be like, we’re here for our teammates that are injured now. And we just have to pick up for what they gave us.”
Moreno noted the play of Otega Oweh at LSU. Oweh missed the team’s shootaround that day, but played in the game and scored 21 points despite being under the weather. Oweh’s effort in that game inspired his teammates, according to Moreno.
“I think what really shifted us was how he was able to play (37) minutes while being sick at LSU,” Moreno said. “I think that really set a standard of, even though he wasn’t feeling 100 percent, he was going to come give 100 percent. I think that kind of gave us a mentality shift of, if he’s willing to do that, then we need to be willing to give more.”
Another source of inspiration has been Lowe, who continues to lead from the sidelines, despite being out for the season with an injured shoulder.
“He’s a great resource. Not only is he a teammate, but he’s also a leader,” Moreno said. “The way he leads off the court, the way he leads on the court, I think that’s really changed our mentality as well, just because he sees things that other people really don’t see.”
Shorthanded Kentucky returns to action on Saturday, hosting Ole Miss at Rupp Arena (11 a.m., ESPN). The Cats hope to continue to rally around one another and to continue to play for each other, in addition to extending their winning streak to five games.
Know Your Opponent: Ole Miss
Kentucky hosts Ole Miss on Saturday, its second of two home games this week.
• Kentucky leads the all-time series, 111-15, and is 57-2 against the Rebels in Lexington
• Ole Miss earned a 98-84 win a season ago in Oxford. Otega Oweh had 24 points and Amari Williams generated just the fourth triple-double in school history with 12 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists in the loss
• Dan Issel owns the program scoring record in the series with 53 points on Feb. 7, 1970. Kentucky scored 121 points — the record in the series in a 121-86 win on Feb. 6, 1971
• The Rebels enter the matchup with an 11-8 overall record and a 3-3 mark against league foes. Ole Miss earned a 97-95 win over Georgia on Jan. 14
• Malik Dia and AJ Storr both average 13.6 points per game to lead the way on the scoreboard. Dia also paces the squad with 6.8 rebounds per game
• Former Wildcat and 2024 Kentucky Mr. Basketball, Travis Perry, returns to Rupp Arena as a member of the Rebels. He is logging 5.7 points, 1.2 rebounds, 0.9 assists and 0.8 steals per game. He’s knocked down 30 3-pointers, including four in the win over Georgia
Last Time Out
The Wildcats won their fourth straight SEC game with an 85-80 win over Texas on Wednesday.
• This is the first time Kentucky has won three consecutive SEC games by five points or less since February 1984
• Kentucky had season highs with 30 free throws out of 35 attempts. It’s the most free throws made since hitting 34 vs. Arkansas on March 2, 2024.
• Kentucky made 85.7 percent at the charity stripe, highest percentage (min. 30 attempts) since hitting 86.1 percent vs. Mississippi State on Feb. 4, 2020
• Kentucky limited Texas to 11.1 percent on 3-pointers (2 of 18), the lowest percentage by a UK opponent (min. 15 attempts) since Alabama shot 10 percent on Feb. 5, 2022 in Tuscaloosa. Kentucky is now 8-0 this season when keeping the opponent under 30 percent from long range
• With three players scoring at least 18 points, it’s the first time UK had three players score at least 18 against an SEC opponent since Feb. 24, 2024 vs. Alabama
