Kentucky Gets by Ole Miss at Home, 2 February, 2010

Ole Miss came into Kentucky ranked just outside the top 25 at number 26.  The Kentucky Wildcats looked to get their streak of consecutive wins back going for their 2nd win in a row.  The first half belonged to Kentucky early, but Mississippi was able to pull within 9 at half-time after Kentucky pushed the lead out to 18.  DeMarcus Cousins continued his consecutive double-double streak, now 8 in a row, after almost getting a double-double in the first half (11 points, 8 rebounds).  The score at half-time was 46-37 in favor of UK.

The Ole Miss Rebels made a few more runs in the second half, but was unable to pull within more than three points.  The Cats kept answering their run and were never really threatened throughout the basketball game.  DeMarcus Cousins, John Wall, Darnell Dodson, and Patrick Patterson led the way for the Wildcats, all scoring in double-figures for the game.  The final score of the game was 85-75 in favor of the Kentucky Wildcats.

Top Performers for Kentucky were:
DeMarcus Cousins - 18 points, 13 rebounds, 4 blocks
John Wall - 17 points, 7 assists, 2 rebounds, 1 steal, 1 block (4 turnovers)
Darnell Dodson - 14 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assist
Patrick Patterson - 12 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 blocks
Eric Bledsoe - 8 points, 8 assists, 4 steals, 3 rebounds (7 turnovers)
DeAndre Liggins - 5 points, 5 rebounds
Darius Miller - 5 points, 1 rebound, 1 assist
Daniel Orton - 4 points, 5 rebounds

Kentucky was able to break this game open early, but let Ole Miss hang around for the whole game, just winning by 10 points.  Kentucky had 21 assists on 31 field goals made, shooting 50% for the game.  The Cats also had 8 blocks and 6 steals, but finished the game with 17 turnovers (11 of them coming from Wall and Bledsoe).  This was a good win, but the Wildcats are still not where they want to be on the offensive and defensive end.  Look for them to pick it up as March rolls around.  Kentucky’s next basketball game is on Saturday, 6 February, 2010 at 4:00 p.m. (EST) at the LSU Tigers.