Effort struggles by Kentucky leads to blowout loss to Ole Miss

Kentucky dug themselves a huge hole in Oxford.

Feb 4, 2025; Oxford, Mississippi, USA; Kentucky Wildcats head coach Mark Pope reacts during the second half against the Mississippi Rebels at The Sandy and John Black Pavilion at Ole Miss. Mandatory Credit: Petre Thomas-Imagn Images | Petre Thomas-Imagn Images

Kentucky was looking for a bounce back win on the road in Oxford against Ole Miss after dropping an upset loss to John Calipari and Arkansas on Saturday, but that did not go as planned, falling 98-84. Entering the game, much of the talk with #25 Ole Miss was about their impressive ability to create turnovers. While that was a major factor in the game, Kentucky's poor defense was even more of a factor.

Despite a triple-double from Amari Williams, 24 points from Otega Oweh, and 18 points from Jaxson Robinson on 5 threes, it wasn't enough, as the defensive struggles were there all game. At the first media timeout, Kentucky was down 12-4, and from there, the Rebels got anything they wanted for the rest of the half. By the end of the first half, Kentucky's effort was non-existent, leading to bad close-outs on shots, as well as poor 1-on-1 isolation defense. The Rebels were getting anything and everything offensively, while the hole grew bigger and bigger, giving Kentucky a 24-point halftime deficit, its largest against the Rebels ever, and their most of any time since 2012-13.

The fight was there in the second half, as Kentucky turned what was at most a 27-point Ole Miss lead down to as much as 11, but the hole was too big to climb out of, and the Rebels responded with some tough shots, too, leading to a 98-84 victory. Ole Miss finished with an absolute outstanding assist-to-turnover ratio of 24-1, shooting 55% overall, 43% from three. Kentucky shot 50% overall and 48% from three thanks to a better second half effort helping that.

Now, Kentucky needs a lot of questions answered defensively, especially with as a big of a hole as they ended up in. It's hard to win games when a team gets easy shots. Although that effort was better in the second half, the first half efforts couldn't be overcome, and Ole Miss handed Kentucky their fourth loss in five games.