Kentucky vs Mississippi......A Preview

Lwcat
WT Administrator

Kentucky vs Mississippi 1/27/09
Tuesday at 7PM ( ESPN)

Mississippi

Location-Oxford, Miss.
Enrollment-17,325
Arena-8,910

Coach-Andy Kennedy
Career Record-66-37 in 3 seasons (64.1%)
At Mississippi-45-24 in 2 seasons (65.2%)

2007-08 Record-24-11
2007-08 SEC Record-7-9 (3rd-West)
2007-08 Postseason Record-3-1 (Lost in NIT semifinals)

2008-09 Record-10-9
2008-09 SEC Record-1-4

Ole Miss 65 Arkansas State 52
Ole Miss 89 South Alabama 71
Utah 83 Ole Miss 72
Ole Miss 82 Marshall 78
Ole Miss 78 UCF 46
Ole Miss 78 Morgan St. 70
West Virginia 80 Ole Miss 78
Ole Miss 78 New Orleans 65
New Mexico 103 Ole Miss 70
Ole Miss 85 Alabama State 81
Louisville 77 Ole Miss 68
Ole Miss 86 Florida A&M 63
Southern Miss 78 Ole Miss 59
Ole Miss 53 Nicholls State 41
Florida 78 Ole Miss 68
Ole Miss 74 Arkansas 65
Alabama 76 Ole Miss 73
South Carolina 82 Ole Miss 71

Ole Miss STATS

Scoring-72.5
FG%-43.2%
3 Pt FG%-34.4%
FT%-75.6%
Rebounds-35.8
Assists-12.0
TO’s-13.1
Steals-6.4
Blocks-3.3

UK STATS

Scoring-78.4
FG%-50.2%
3 Pt FG%-35.6%
FT%-79.0%
Rebounds-38.8
Assists-17.1
TO's-18.4
Steals-6.8
Blocks-7.5

Probable Starting Lineup

Murphy Holloway-F-6’7” Fr……PPG-8.8
DeAundre Cranston-F-6’9” Jr…..PPG-2.8
Zach Graham-G-6’5” Soph……..PPG-6.9
David Heurtas-G-6’5” Jr………..PPG-19.4
Terrico White-G-6’5” Fr………..PPG-9.1

Other Key Players

Malcom White-F-6’9” Soph…….PPG-5.6
Terrance Henry-F-6’9” Fr………PPG-4.9
Will Bogan-G-6’1” Fr…………..PPG-2.3

Certainly, this season has not gone the way Coach Kennedy has wanted for his Ole Miss Rebels or for himself. Ole Miss lost returning starter 6’5” Eniel Polynice to knee surgery after only a couple of games and then lost their top player and scorer….Chris Warren to a torn ACL after 11 games……he was averaging 19.6 PPG. The Rebels have only 9 scholarship players left for the season. Then on 12/18/08, coach Kennedy, while in Cincinnati, was charged with assaulting a cab driver….a charge Kennedy denies is true. Obviously, an event like that can potentially be a serious distraction to the coach and the team. Kennedy has been trying to plug the holes in his lineup and try different players, but replacing a Chris Warren is simply not possible. The result has been that a season once full of promise has become a nightmare season in which Kennedy tries to work his magic to salvage the season. Since losing Warren the Rebels are 3-6.and have dropped 4 of their first 5 SEC games.

Ole Miss has been competitive in all the SEC games with only a bad loss to LSU. The Rebels are led in scoring by David Huertas who is averaging 19.4 PPG. Huertas is shooting a solid 46% from the field and a very good 39.7% from 3 point range as he has hit 52-131. Terrico White is a decent 3 point shooter while averaging 9.1 PPG. Kennedy inserted DeAundre Cranston into the starting lineup recently and he has done a good job. Aside from Huertas, Ole Miss scoring will likely come from White, Holloway and Graham. While the Rebels are a wounded team, they still have some talent and will very likely be really charged up when UK arrives in Oxford. Kennedy is a good coach and it would be a huge mistake to take this Ole Miss team lightly!

UK comes off of a hard fought road win against Alabama. The Cats played great defense throughout most of the game and importantly, received some terrific defensive performances from subs….Miller and Liggins. Fortunately, it appears that Harris, who passed out at halftime of the Alabama game, will be OK…..although, there will be more tests run to ensure his health is OK. Unquestionably, Alabama really played some tough inspired defense on the Cats before a rare sellout crowd. UK struggled in the first half, but found their offense in the 2nd half for a nice win. Jodie Meeks continues to play at an incredible level and had another tremendous game…..both offensively and defensively. Perry Stevenson really picked up the slack on the frontline with Patterson in foul trouble…Stevenson played a great defensive game and led the Cats in rebounds while scoring in double figures. Perry Stevenson continues to play better and better as the season progresses. Importantly, UK continues to be a terrific free throw shooting team….one of the best in the nation. The one negative from the Alabama game was the 23 TO’s…mostly unforced….just poor decisions. I’m certain that reducing TO’s is a point of emphasis for coach Gillispie….and just when it appears the Cats are making progress in reducing TO’s……they backslide and throw the ball away again far too much. Importantly, Liggins, Miller, Harrellson and Galloway are playing much better defense and showing improvement as the season progresses. The Cats are still in need of more offense from players besides Meeks, Patterson and Stevenson, and I have a feeling that Miller, who appears to be gaining increased confidence, will soon start increasing his offensive production.

The Cats are 5-0 in the SEC and have won 11 of their past 12 games. Coach Gillispie has UK playing more consistent great defense and has increased his confidence in his bench…….and has indicated that Miller, Liggins, Harrellson and Galloway will likely be seeing more playing time.

If the Cats continue to play great defense and cut down on their TO’s, they should leave Oxford with a comfortable win against Ole Miss. GO CATS!