The Pinkie Previews: Ole Miss (16-5, 4-3) at Kentucky (20-1, 5-1)

The Wildcats are 20-1, #3 in the country and coming off of what could possibly be their best win of the season against Vanderbilt. Despite all of this, Big Blue Nation did not have time to rejoice. Instead there was cause for concern. John Wall was frustrated. John Wall was not supposed to get frustrated. John Wall was supposed to put up 23 and 12 every night and then emphasize that double-double with some above the rim antics.

But after the win against Vandy, Wall acknowledged that he was, in fact, frustrated. The frustration was a combination of DeMarcus Cousins’ emerging presence and John Calipari’s criticism of his play. Think about it, Wall has always been the best player on his team and very rarely has he had to sit through criticism. Now he was succumbing to both and all of this was coming off of his first loss as a collegiate athlete. Also, remember that despite the Bluegrass’ perception of Wall, he is just an 18 year old kid.

Then on Monday he got another opportunity to speak with the media and reverted back to his normal self, saying all the right things. He acknowledged that he did make mistakes. He acknowledged that he had room to improve. Most importantly he reaffirmed to all those concerned that this is a team effort.

So now that the so-called crisis has been averted the Wildcats can turn their attention to the Ole Miss Rebels.

Coming off an injury-riddled season the Rebels started off hot, winning 12 of their first 14 games, with their only losses coming at the hands of Villanova and West Virginia. Their good start even garnered them some national recognition as they rose to as high as No. 14 in the polls.

Despite this record there was cause for concern entering league play and that was their lack of quality wins. Through 14 games their lone victories over major conference foes were against Kansas State and Indiana.

This concern proved foreshadowing when they lost two of their first three games in conference play. But, they then won three strait before losing to Arkansas at home on Sunday night.

Ole Miss is in position to make their first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2002. If they can defeat Kentucky at Rupp Arena for the first time since 1998, which is also their only win there, they will make a statement that they are a tournament team.

The Rebels are a guard-dominated squad that relies on the three-point shot and a balanced scoring attack. They have a tendency to struggle on the glass and they lack depth.

They are led by a trio of guards in Chris Warren (5-10, junior), Terrico White (6-5, sophomore), and Eniel Polynice (6-5, junior). Warren is a nifty sharpshooter who can take you off the dribble if you play up on him. He is averaging a team-leading 16.7 points and has connected on 65 threes this season, while shooting an impressive 40-percent from deep.  He is also averaging 3.4 assists-per-game.

White is the athlete of the bunch and he is coming off of a freshman season where he shined following a multitude of team injuries. He has the ability to get to the rim and to shoot it from deep, but sometimes allows his shooting ability to prevent him from exercising his athleticism. He is averaging 15.0 points and 4.7 rebounds and is second to only Warren in three-pointers made with 39.

Still, sometimes White falls in love with the perimeter shot and it can hurt them as much as it helps them. In their loss against Arkansas on Sunday, he shot a deplorable 3-for-14. But, when he’s hot, he’s hot. Two games ago in a win against Auburn he led them to victory, shooting 8-for-12.

Polynice is the do-it-all guard who averages 10.6 points, 4.4 rebounds and 4.2 assists.

Rebounding has been a sore spot for the Rebels all season long. Despite their lackluster non-conference schedule they have only outrebounded their opponent 13 times. Prior to their loss to Arkansas they were 12-0 in games where they won the rebounding battle. They outrebounded the Hogs 40-31, but shot just 38-percent from the field and 27-percent from deep en route to the defeat.

They were able to beat Arkansas on the glass primarily because of the play of Murphy Holloway (6-7, sophomore), who came off of the bench to finish with 19 points and 17 rebounds. He also finished with eight offensive rebounds.

They need more consistency from Holloway. After scoring in double figures in eight of his first 11 games, he has only done so three times since.

For Ole Miss to have a chance against Kentucky’s dominant frontline they are going to have to receive contributions from Holloway and DeAundre Cranston (6-9, senior). That burden became even heavier when they lost freshman center Reginald Buckner to an ankle injury in the Auburn game.

Look for Cousins to bang underneath in an attempt to get the depleted Ole Miss bigs in foul trouble, much like he did against Vandy. The Rebels simply do not have the depth to overcome foul trouble.

Early in the season teams stayed in games with Kentucky by knocking down outside shots. But, after watching the Wildcat defense shut down Arkansas’ Rotnei Clarke a couple of weeks ago you have to wonder if that is a viable option.

Ole Miss relies on the 3-point shot more than any team in the SEC except for Mississippi State so expect them to look for shots from deep. When they fall, they are tough. When they don’t, they are not. Ole Miss finished 6-for-22 from deep and shot themselves out of the game against Arkansas and lost.

To beat Kentucky and to be a top team in the SEC they have to find another way to score the basketball. Their post play, which has been spotty at best this season, has to improve and they need Holloway to consistently be that guy.

I don’t see him having much success against the Kentucky bigs and they will not have an answer defensively either. Simply put, if they don’t knock down perimeter shots this game could get ugly.

Kentucky 82, Ole Miss 69