Kentucky drops another road game to an SEC bottom-dweller tonight as the Cats fall 69-71 to Mississippi. Even in the first half, the Cats handled the ball like it was slathered in butter – dropping it, fumbling it, mishandling it for 10 turnovers in the first half. Jones ended the first half with 11 points to lead all scorers, Lamb had 7 and Knight had 5 (Knight had 5 of the turnovers as well).
In the second half, the Cats went from bad to worse, allowing the Rebels to go on a 12-0 run. Brandon Knight scored the next 8 unanswered, and the Cats eventually tied it back up. Kentucky was leading by one point and had the ball with less than a minute to go. Then the unthinkable happened. I was hoping for a 3-point attempt that, even if it missed and the Cats got a rebound, they could wait out the game. Instead, Kentucky didn’t pay attention to the shot clock and got a shot clock violation. No points… Ole Miss gets the ball… twelve seconds left. Ole Miss guard Chris Warren drained a three with 2.9 seconds left.
In the end, Terrence Jones finished with 22 points on 7 of 15 shooting, making 8 of 10 free throws. He also had 12 rebounds, 5 blocks, 3 assists and a steal. Knight finished with 15 points on 5 of 11 shooting (3 of 5 free throws), 7 rebounds and 3 assists. Lamb had 20 points on 8 of 13 from the field (2 of 5 from long range) and 2 of 2 free throws.
Blame it on poor 3-point shooting (33%). Blame it on lack of toughness (the Rebels manhandled the Cats). Blame it on the turnovers (20). But one thing is becoming painfully clear: Kentucky can’t seem to win on the road. And if you can’t beat bottom-dwellers like Georgia and Mississippi on the road, you’re not going to stand a chance against the likes of Florida, Tennessee and Vanderbilt.
[B]Chris Warren nails a 25-footer:[/B]
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