No. 14 Kentucky 80, Mississippi 64: Willie Cauley-Stein came off the bench to tally 18 points, 11 rebounds and six blocks as the Wildcats pulled away from the Rebels for their 22nd consecutive home win.
Aaron Harrison scored 16 points and Julius Randle added 12 for Kentucky (17-5, 7-2 SEC), which has won 51 of the last 53 home games against Mississippi. Alex Poythress contributed 10 points and seven rebounds in a reserve role and James Young scored 10 points as the Wildcats won for the fifth time in six games and took over sole possession of second place in the SEC.
Marshall Henderson scored 16 points but was just 6-of-18 from the field for Ole Miss (15-7, 6-3), which lost for just the second time in seven games. Jarvis Summers and Ladarius White added 11 points apiece for the Rebels, who were 6-of-21 from 3-point range.
Neither team shot especially well in a tight first half in which each team's largest lead was five points. The Wildcats were aggressive enough to get to the foul line often, going 11-of-18 before the break and taking a 35-34 halftime lead on James Young's free throw with less than a minute left.
Kentucky heated up in the second half, hitting seven of its first 10 field goal attempts to open a double-digit lead and the Rebels never seriously threatened again. Henderson hit a 3-pointer to get Ole Miss within 62-54 with just over eight minutes left but Cauley-Stein converted a pair of three-point plays during a 16-5 spurt to put it away.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Kentucky improved to 81-2 at home under coach John Calipari. … Henderson was 4-for-12 from 3-point range and has made at least one 3-pointer in a school-record 55 consecutive games. … Young went 0-for-5 from 3-point range after hitting 16 3-pointers in the previous five games.
Mississippi | Kentucky | |
Marshall Henderson 16 | Scoring | Willie Cauley-Stein 18 |
Jarvis Summers 3 | Assists | Andrew Harrison 5 |
LaDarius White 5 | Rebounds | Willie Cauley-Stein 11 |
LaDarius White 3 | Free Throws Made | Julius Randle 8 |
Aaron Jones 1 | Steals | Willie Cauley-Stein 1 |
Aaron Jones 2 | Blocks | Willie Cauley-Stein 6 |
Team | Points | FG% | 3PM-3PA | FTM-FTA | Assists | Rebounds | Blocks | Steals | Turnovers |
Mississippi | 64 | 38.5 | 6-21 | 8-10 | 9 | 22 | 5 | 2 | 8 |
Kentucky | 80 | 51.0 | 2-13 | 26-36 | 10 | 36 | 12 | 3 | 10 |