Kentucky defeated Ole Miss 72-63 on Saturday to improve to 14-6 overall and 5-2 in the Southeastern Conference.
The Wildcats are just 1 game out of first place in the SEC standings after starting league play 0-2.
Check out the postgame notes from yesterday’s win:
KENTUCKY MEN’S BASKETBALL POSTGAME NOTES
RUPP ARENA AT CENTRAL BANK CENTER | LEXINGTON, KY
JANUARY 24, 2026
ATTENDANCE: 19,831
Final Score: (RV) Kentucky 72, Ole Miss 63
Team Records and Series Notes
– Kentucky is 14-6 overall, 5-2 in the Southeastern Conference.
– Kentucky won its fifth in a row, UK’s longest streak since the Mark Pope era opened with seven straight victories in November 2024.
– It is Kentucky’s longest SEC win streak since winning the last five games of the 2024 regular season.
– Ole Miss is 11-9, 3-4 in the SEC.
– Kentucky leads the series, 112-15.
– Kentucky leads 58-2 in games played in Lexington and has won the last 15 in a row.
– Next for Kentucky: the Wildcats begin a two-game road swing Tuesday at Vanderbilt. Game time is 9 p.m. Eastern (8 p.m. Central in Nashville) and it will be televised on ESPN.
Team Notes
– Kentucky has won its last four games by single-digit margins, the first time UK has won four straight games by single digits since Feb. 2020.
– Kentucky is now 8-0 this season, 16-0 under Coach Mark Pope, when holding the opponent to 66 or fewer points.
– Kentucky limited Ole Miss to 32.3 percent from the field (21 of 65).
– Kentucky is now 8-0 this season when keeping the opponent under 40 percent from the field.
– It is the best field goal percentage defense against an SEC opponent in the Mark Pope era
– Kentucky won the rebounding, 45-43.
– Second-chance defense played a key role in the Wildcat win. Although Ole Miss had more offensive rebounds, 17-14, UK won second-chance points 19-14.
Player Notes
– Otega Oweh had a game-high 23 points, his seventh 20-point game of the season, all coming in the last 11 games. It was a season-high
He has tallied at least 20 in four of seven SEC games.
Oweh has the third most career 20-point games against an SEC opponent by a Kentucky player over the last 20 seasons (14) – Antonio Reeves (20), Jamal Murray (16)
He is the fifth Kentucky player over the last 20 seasons to have at least 20 career 20-point games at the school (Antonio Reeves, Patrick Patterson, Jodie Meeks, Oscar Tshiebwe)
He has scored in double figures in all 20 games this season. He has a total streak of 23 games dating back to last season.
He tied for the team lead in plus/minus with +11.
He did not have a steal, ending his streak of 14 games with at least one theft.
– Collin Chandler had 12 points, his third straight double-figure game.
For the second straight game, he tied his career highs for rebounds (seven) and free throws made and attempted (6 of 6).
– Jasper Johnson had 11 points, his fifth double-figure game of the season, including his second in the last three games.
– Denzel Aberdeen scored six points, had a game-high five assists, and tied for the team lead in plus/minus with a +11.
During UK’s five-game win streak, he is averaging 16 points per game.
– Malachi Moreno totaled five points, a team-high nine rebounds and blocked two shots – his third straight game with multiple swats.
– Trent Noah played 11 minutes, his most SEC action of the season, scored three points and had a career-best three steals.
– Kentucky is currently missing Jayden Quaintance, Kam Williams and Jaland Lowe because of injury. Lowe is out for the season.
In the First Half
– Kentucky started the combination of Denzel Aberdeen, Collin Chandler, Otega Oweh, Andrija Jelavic and Malachi Moreno for the first time. It is the ninth different starting combination.
– UK’s first substitutions were Mo Dioubate and Trent Noah at 15:46.
– Trailing 15-11 with nine minutes left in the half, Jasper Johnson warmed to the task with eight straight points – two of them 3-pointers – coaxing an Ole Miss timeout.
– Kentucky never trailed again.
– UK extended the run to 18-4, giving the Cats the largest lead of the game at 29-19.
– Ole Miss scored the last four points of the half and UK went to halftime ahead 29-23.
– Johnson led the Wildcats with eight points and Garrison followed with six.
– UK is now 9-0 this season when leading at halftime.
In the Second Half
– Kentucky opened with the starters.
– Ole Miss chipped away, tying the game at 39.
– The Rebels never regained the lead but stayed the game remained in doubt until the final minute.
– Ahead 62-60, UK closed the game on a 10-3 run.
– Key shot in the run was Chandler’s 3-pointer with 47 seconds left, giving Kentucky a 66-60 cushion, and the Wildcats kept the visitors at bay from there.
