Kentucky Looks to Go Undefeated at Home

The No. 6 Kentucky Wildcats will host a struggling Ole Miss team in their final home game of the season. With a victory over the Rebels tonight, the Wildcats will finish the 2021-22 season undefeated at home.

Ole Miss on the road

Ole Miss heads into this matchup 13-16 overall and 4-12 in Southeastern Conference play. They are tied with Missouri for 12th place in the conference. Ole Miss has not been successful on the road this season as they are 2-6 in true road games. However, their two road wins did come in the month of February as they defeated LSU and Georgia.

Ole Miss is lead by Jarkel Joiner who averages 14.1 points per game and Matthew Murrell who averages 11.4 points per game. Both guards can get hot if you let them, which is what Ole Miss will be hoping for. The team ranks third-best in the conference in 3-point shooting percentage knocking down 32.8% of their shots from beyond the arc. However, the team averages just 68.5 points per game with Kentucky averaging 80.3 points per game.

As long as Kentucky can contain Joiner and Murrell, they should be able to hold Ole Miss at or below their scoring average.

Oxford's own @JarkelJoiner is up for the state's highest award 🏆👏

📰 https://t.co/7bvQR07qJf pic.twitter.com/O7T0wyeB5T

— Ole Miss Men’s Basketball (@OleMissMBB) February 24, 2022

Kentucky Looks to Continue Their Success

Kentucky has been successful all season, but the month of February was a challenge for them. They battled unexpected injuries and a taxing schedule that included tough road games. However, they finished out the month going 6-2. Their two losses came against Tennessee and Arkansas on the road, which is not something to be ashamed of.

With the Wildcats looking to continue on without Sahvir Wheeler and TyTy Washington who are out with injury, there is one thing they can count on. And, that is the dominance of one Oscar Tshiebwe. Although the Wildcats lost a close one to Arkansas on Saturday, Tshiebwe put up an impressive 30 points and 18 rebounds.

With a strong performance from Tshiebwe tonight, the team should be able to maintain their perfect record in Rupp Arena this season.

Oscar Tshiebwe in today’s loss

30 points
13-21 FG
18 rebounds
2 assists
3 blocks
1 steal

Ridiculous. pic.twitter.com/z40031NqLP

— Cats Coverage (@Cats_Coverage) February 26, 2022

Kentucky is used to seeing weaker opponents play at their best in Rupp Arena, so they know not to overlook this Ole Miss team. However, in the all-time series against Ole Miss, Kentucky leads 108-14, and under John Calipari the team has a 12-2 record versus the Rebels. Game time is set for 7 p.m.