UK faces its second nationally-ranked program in a row as Andy Kennedy brings his Ole Miss rebels to Rupp Arena for tonight's 7 p.m. tip-off.

The Rebels come to Lexington with a sour taste in their mouths after an 80-73 loss to Arkansas in Oxford despite a 19 point, 17 rebound performance from Murphy Holloway.

Chris Warren leads the Rebels in scoring (16.7), while Holloway leads the Ole Miss in rebounding (7.0) and Eniel Polynice is tops in assists (4.2).

Ole Miss is 0-3 against ranked opponents this season (lost to No. 5 Villanova, neutral site, and at No. 6 West Virginia and No. 9 Tennessee).

The place to keep your eyes peeled tonight is in the backcourt where some of the nation's best guards will go head to head (thus the large group of scouts and GMs who will be in attendance tonight).

• No one hit the end-of-shootaround half court shot today. It is just the second time no one has made one this season. The other came on the road if we recall correctly, but was a win for the Cats anyway!

• All players sported black headbands during shootaround - not sure if it was just a shootaround thing or they will wear them for the game as well.

Kentucky Men’s Basketball Post-Game Notes

Ole Miss at Kentucky

February 3, 2010, Rupp Arena, Lexington, Ky.

FINAL SCORE: Kentucky 85, Ole Miss 75

Team Records and Series Notes

• Kentucky is 21-1, 6-1 in the Southeastern Conference while Ole Miss is 16-6 overall, 4-4 in league action.
• Kentucky leads the series, 97-12, including 49-2 in Lexington.
• Kentucky returns to action on Saturday at LSU at 4 p.m. EST.  The game will be televised on the SEC Network.

First-Half Notes

• Kentucky used the starting lineup of John Wall, Eric Bledsoe, Darnell Dodson, Patrick Patterson and DeMarcus Cousins for the first time this season. 
• UK jumped out to a 7-0 lead, including Darnell Dodson’s three-point shot that extended the Wildcats’ streak of 733 consecutive games with at least one three-pointer.
• After Ole Miss closed within 12-9, UK reeled off 15 straight points for a 27-11 lead, the Cats’ largest advantage of the half.
• Capitalizing on UK turnovers, the Rebels rallied to within 46-37 at halftime.
• Cousins notched 11 points and eight rebounds in the first half, the fourth-straight game he has hit double-figure scoring in the opening frame.

Second-Half Notes

• Kentucky had another strong start, scoring 12 points in the first three minutes of the half for a 58-43 lead.
• Unfazed, Ole Miss stormed back with a 14-2 run over the next three minutes, cutting the margin to 60-57 with 13:57 remaining.
• UK responded with its own 8-0 run, including threes by Darius Miller and Patterson, for a little breathing room at 68-57.
• Ahead 73-63, the Wildcats put the game away with a 7-0 spurt for an 80-63 advantage with 4:05 to play.

Team Notes

• Kentucky shot 50 percent from the field, the 12^th time this season the Wildcats have made at least half their shots.
• Kentucky dominated points in the paint, 44-30.
• Kentucky drew six charges tonight on defense.

(over)

Individual Notes

• DeMarcus Cousins had 18 points and 13 rebounds.
  • It’s his 13^th double-double of the season.
  • Cousins has five-straight double-doubles.  The last Cat to achieve the feat was Jim Andrews, who had six straight in 1973.
• Patrick Patterson had 12 points.
  • Patterson moved past Frank Ramsey for 26^th place on the UK career scoring list.  Patterson now has 1,352 points as a Wildcat.
• John Wall had 17 points, his eighth-straight game in double figures.  He also had seven assists.
• Darnell Dodson had 14 points tonight.  In his last two games as a starter, he has tallied 16 and 14 points.
• DeAndre Liggins turned in five points and a season-best five rebounds.
• Eric Bledsoe had a career-high eight assists to go along with eight points.