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How to watch and follow the Kentucky play host to Travis Perry and Ole Miss for an 11:00 am tipoff.

After starting 0-2 in SEC play, the Kentucky Wildcats are winners of four straight, Mark Pope’s longest streak at Kentucky and the second-longest winning streak in the conference, only behind Florida. They’ll look to extend that streak to five on Saturday as they take on the Ole Miss Rebels in Rupp Arena.

Led by Chris Beard, in his third season, the Rebels are 11-7 overall and 3-3 in conference play, and it’s been a struggle for most of the season. Through the non-conference, Ole Miss was 0-5 against power conference or ranked opponents, but since entering SEC play, they challenged a top-15 Arkansas team and beat a ranked Georgia team on the road.

This is a game that Kentucky cannot afford to lose, and one that Ole Miss desperately needs to win to try and work itself into the NCAA Tournament conversation.

In addition, the state of Kentucky is in for a heavy winter storm this weekend, which has led to a time change for the Wildcats’ matchup with the Rebels.

In anticipation of inclement weather, UK has announced that Saturday’s game, originally scheduled for 12 PM ET, will now tip off at 11 AM ET. The game will still be broadcast on ESPN (go here for more info on the game via UK Athletics).

Now, let’s take a look at the matchup.

Take Care of the Ball

After starting 0-2 in SEC play, committing double-digit turnovers in each of those games, Kentucky has limited its turnovers to single-digits in four straight games, contributing to its four-game win streak.

This Ole Miss team doesn’t force a lot of turnovers, but they rank in the top 30 nationally in taking care of the ball. Given the slower pace that Ole Miss will want to play at, Kentucky cannot afford to turn the ball over and give up possessions.

Be Aggressive and Make Free Throws

Against Texas, Kentucky only made five 3-pointers, one of their lowest marks of the season, but they were relentless in attacking the basket. That aggressiveness led to a season-high of 30 made free throws on 35 attempts.

“The foul line deal is a big deal,” Mark Pope said after Kentucky’s win against Texas.

This will be the case against Ole Miss, who commit nearly 20 fouls per game, just below Texas.

Chris Beard is a defensive coach known for coaching one of the greatest defensive teams of all time, the 2019 Texas Tech runner-up squad. One of his biggest philosophies is using the baseline to shrink the court.

Fortunately, this Ole Miss team is not one of Beard’s best. Kentucky needs to focus on re-drives, screening help defenders, and taking advantage of the weakside corner to get to the rim. Once there, convert your free throws.

Travis Perry Returns to Rupp Arena

One of the biggest storylines in this game will be the return of Travis Perry, the all-time leader in career points scored in Kentucky high school basketball. The Eddyville native and Lyon County legend transferred to Ole Miss this offseason after a solid true freshman season with the Wildcats.

This year, Perry got off to a rough start to his season, hitting just seven of his first 36 3-point attempts (19.4%).

However, Perry has started to heat up in recent weeks, hitting 50% of his 3-point attempts in SEC play and is coming off a 5/9 performance in a loss to Auburn.

Perry is plenty used to lighting up the rims at Rupp Arena, where he won the 2024 Sweet 16 Championship. If the Wildcats don’t come prepared, Perry is fully capable of burning them to help his Rebels pull off a big upset.

Pace and Space

The story going into this game is the loss of Kam Williams, who suffered a broken foot against Texas. Williams, one of the Wildcats’ two two-way players in addition to Otega Oweh, will certainly be missed, mostly on offense.

While Mo Dioubate can fill some of Williams’ role defensively, offensively, Kentucky will need Andrija Jelavic and Trent Noah to step up and become respected enough to demand defensive attention and provide the spacing that the Wildcats have had of late.

Against Ole Miss, who plays at a slower pace, it is important for Kentucky, while under control, to push the pace off rebounds and generate turnovers.

Players to watch

G AJ Storr 6-5, 205 lbs

13.6 PPG
2.0 APG
36.9% 3P on 3.4 3PA

F Malik Dia 6-9, 250 lbs

13.6 PPG
6.8 RPG
1.1 BPG

G Ilias Kamardine

11.3 PPG
4.1 APG
1.2 SPG

Kentucky Basketball vs. Ole Miss Rebels

Time: 11:00 AM ET on January 24th (was originally a noon tipoff)
Location: Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center in Lexington, KY.
TV Channel: ESPN
Announcers: Wes Durham and Dennis Scott
Online Stream: WatchESPN and the ESPN app.
Radio: Tom Leach and Jack Givens will have the call on the UK Sports Radio Network.
Replay: WatchESPN and the ESPN network (check local listings)
Rosters: UK | MISS
Stats to Know:UK | MISS
KenPom: UK | MISS
Team Sheet: UK | MISS

Odds: FanDuel Sportsbook has yet to release the odds for this game, so please check back for those. As for the analytics, EvanMiya gives Kentucky an 83.8% chance to win, followed by ESPN at 82.5%, while BartTorvik and KenPom are at 81%.
Predictions: Haslametrics is picking Kentucky to win 79-65. EvanMiya is the other metric picking a double-digit win, 79-69. KenPom (78-69) and BartTorvik (77-68) are picking the Cats by 9. Losing Kam Williams significantly impacts the offense, and given Ole Miss’s pace, I expect this to be a low-scoring game and closer than the projections say. That said, Kentucky has more talent, and I believe they will find a way to win. I’m going with a 74-68 victory, Kentucky!