How to Watch Ole Miss Basketball vs. Kentucky Wildcats as Tipoff Time Sees Change

OXFORD, Miss. – The grueling SEC schedule continues for the Ole Miss men's basketball team, as they head to Lexington, Kentucky to take on the Wildcats in Rupp Arena on Saturday, January 24 at 10 a.m. CT on ESPN.

TEAM FACTS
Ole Miss Rebels (Record: 11-8, 3-3 SEC)
Head Coach: Chris Beard • 3rd Season at Ole Miss (55-32) • 292-130 career record (14th Season)

Kentucky Wildcats (Record: 13-6, 4-2 SEC)
Head Coach: Mark Pope • 2nd Season at Kentucky (37-18) • 224-126 career record (11th Season)

ON THE AIR
Television/Online: ESPN
Play-by-Play: Wes Durham
Analyst: Dennis Scott

OLE MISS RADIO
Radio: Ole Miss Radio Network
Play-by-Play: Gary Darby
Analyst: Murphy Holloway

SERIES HISTORY VS. KENTUCKY
A battle that has gone Kentucky's way for a majority of history, Ole Miss began the series winning two of the first three matchups from 1925 to 1928. The Wildcats lead 111-15 all time, and have won 59 of 61 games played in Lexington. Last season, the Rebels took down the ranked Wildcats in a statement win 98-84.

LAST MEETING: February 4, 2025 (W, 98-84, Oxford, Miss.)
• A ranked matchup in the SJB Pavilion, Ole Miss stormed out the gates and led by 23 at the half. The Rebels would finish with 24 assists and just one turnover, eventually tying their largest margin of victory over Kentucky during the SEC era.
• Matthew Murrell (Ole Miss): 24 points, six made 3PFG, five rebounds, three assists, one steal.
• Jaylen Murray (Ole Miss): 15 points, three rebounds, 10 assists.
• Otega Oweh (Kentucky): 24 points, six rebounds, one assist.

SCOUTING THE WILDCATS
Kentucky enters this game with a season record of 13-6, going 4-2 to begin SEC action. They picked up non-conference wins over Indiana and St. John's, and have recently won four games in a row over Mississippi State, LSU, Tennessee, and Texas. The Wildcats currently sit in fifth in the SEC standings, and are earning votes in both the AP and Coaches Poll. They rank 31st in the most recent NET Rankings and 25th in KenPom.

Returning guard Otega Oweh paces Kentucky offensively with a clip of 15.7 points per game, while Malachi Moreno leads them in rebounding with an average of 6.3 per game. On the defensive end, Moreno leads the charge down low with 1.6 blocks per game, as Oweh averages a team-high 2.0 steals per contest.

Notable NCAA Team Statistical Rankings:
- Fastbreak points: 18.3, 9th
- Assist-to-turnover ratio: 1.68, 20th
- Bench points per game: 31.8, 33rd
- Turnovers per game: 10.2, 39th
- Scoring margin: +12.4, 42nd
- Three-point defensive percentage: 30.1, 42nd

Mark Pope is in his second season at Kentucky and 11th overall as an NCAA head coach. He guided the Wildcats to 24 wins and a Sweet 16 run at the NCAA Tournament in his first season. At BYU, he won 20 or more games in four of his five seasons, including a 23-win campaign and NCAA Tournament birth in BYU's first year as a member of the Big 12 conference in 2024. Prior to his time with BYU, Pope was the head coach of Utah Valley for four seasons, guiding them to 23 and 25 wins in his last two seasons. Pope was a second-round draft pick out of Kentucky, playing for the Indiana Pacers, Milwaukee Bucks, and Denver Nuggets as a forward.

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