The Cats will face Ole Miss tonight in Oxford for what is a crucial game for each team. The Rebels NCAA tournament hopes are in desperate need of a big win. They have a chance to get one against Kentucky tonight and another chance on Saturday when Florida comes to town. If they lose both of those games they will almost certainly have to win the SEC tournament to get in the tourney field. The Wildcats are safely in the tournament but their seed is very much up in the air. A win would keep the Cats in a spot to potentially improve their seed while a loss would push them down the line.
Perhaps more important than the seeding implications for UK is the effect that a loss would have on the teams mentality. After losing a tough game at home to Florida it could be very damaging to the teams’ confidence to drop the game tonight. A win would likely propel them to a five game winning streak as they head to Gainesville for the final game of the season.
The Cats handled Ole Miss well when they faced them in Rupp earlier this season and should know what to expect from them. The Rebels will be much more difficult to deal with on their home floor with a rowdy crowd behind them. Marshall Henderson and Jarvis Summers are responsible for the majority of the Rebels scoring. The backcourt duo are exceptional three point shooters and Summers is skilled at driving the lane. In the previous matchup the Cats completely dominated the paint and that will be important to do again tonight. There is no doubt that the Ole Miss frontcourt will come in to this game highly focused on rebounding the ball and protecting the paint.
A key for Kentucky is to simply play with the energy that they did against Florida. Attack the paint aggressively against the Ole Miss zone and do not fall into a shooting contest with Marshall Henderson. Willie Cauley-Stein had a huge game against them last time and there is no reason for him not to again. Julius Randle has not had a big scoring game in a while and tonight may be a chance for him to go off a bit.
The game will likely be a battle for most of the contest with the lead changing hands several times. My prediction is that the Cats will come ready to play and come away with a hard fought 75-72 win. The next five games will be a crucial time for the Cats to continue to grow before facing Florida again and heading into postseason play. Tonight can be a springboard that gets the Cats going and puts Big Blue Nation in their corner.
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