Kentucky
Ole Miss basketball vs Kentucky: Prediction, picks, injury updates and odds
OXFORD — Ole Miss basketball will try to slow down another elite offense.
No. 23 Ole Miss hosts No. 12 Kentucky on Tuesday at the Sandy and John Black Pavilion (6 p.m. CT, ESPN).
The Rebels (16-6, 5-4 SEC) have an impressive road victory against No. 4 Alabama. Kentucky (15-6, 4-4) profiles similarly. The Wildcats have the No. 2 scoring offense (87.2 points a game) in the SEC, behind Alabama. Even if starting point guard Lamont Butler, who has been dealing with a shoulder injury, can’t play, Kentucky still has five players averaging at least 10 points.
Here are three things to look for during the game:
Amari Williams brings a Johni Broome-like presence for Kentucky
The Rebels struggled to stop No. 1 Auburn’s star center, Johni Broome, in their most recent game. Kentucky center Amari Williams brings a similar presence.
Williams, a 7-foot senior transfer from Drexel, averages 9.0 rebounds per game, second in the SEC to Broome. He is a big reason why the Wildcats are No. 4 in the SEC in rebounding as a team.
The Rebels allowed Broome to score 20 points and get 12 rebounds. Although Williams (10.3 points per game) is not the elite scorer Broome is, they must box him out consistently. Ole Miss is No. 15 in the SEC in rebounding; that is a weak point Williams could exploit.
Ole Miss must stick tight to Koby Brea on defense
Senior Kentucky guard Koby Brea can hurt defenses in an instant.
Brea has started just three games this season, but when he comes off the bench, teams must be aware of his location at all times. He is shooting 46% (56 made) on 3-pointers, second-best in the SEC.
The senior transfer from Dayton has made at least one 3-pointer in each game this season.
Missouri sharpshooter Caleb Grill, the only player in the SEC who shoots 3-pointers at a higher percentage, hurt Ole Miss this season. He scored 22 points and made five 3-pointers against the Rebels.
Will Sean Pedulla stay on fire shooting the basketball?
Part of the reason Ole Miss was able to keep the score close against Auburn was because of senior point guard Sean Pedulla. He scored a season-high 29 points on 10-for-16 shooting, and as usual, he was a marksman from the 3-point line. He shot 3-for-6 from deep while also creating midrange looks and getting out in transition for layups.
Pedulla has scored at least 15 points in each of the Rebels’ past five games.
Ole Miss vs Kentucky prediction, picks
Ole Miss 76, Kentucky 78: Ole Miss is coming off a close loss against No. 1 Auburn. Kentucky is coming off an emotional home loss to John Calipari and Arkansas. The Rebels’ elite defense should keep Kentucky’s offense below its scoring average, so this will be all about Ole Miss’ offense doing enough to have a chance late.
Ole Miss vs Kentucky odds
Lines from BetMGM. have not been posted yet
Ole Miss vs Kentucky injury updates
Ole Miss should be at full strength. Senior guard Matthew Murrell has been banged-up all season but played through nagging injuries against Auburn.
Kentucky point guard Lamont Butler’s status is important to monitor. Butler, who has a shoulder injury, did not play Saturday against Arkansas, and his status is in doubt for the game against Ole Miss.
How to watch Ole Miss vs Kentucky: Time, TV channel, live stream
Ole Miss and Kentucky tip off at 6 p.m. CT on Tuesday, Feb. 4. ESPN will broadcast the game. Streaming is available via Fubo, which offers a free trial to new subscribers.
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Sam Hutchens covers Ole Miss for the Clarion Ledger. Email him at Shutchens@gannett.com or reach him on X at @Sam_Hutchens_
The Brooklyn Nets have developed their teams through a number of strategies over the decades, and their front office has put together considerable success through the NBA draft. Many of the franchise’s best players have joined the Nets either by being selected directly in the annual draft or through trades made on that day.
Moreover, it is not only the star players who have been acquired by the Nets through the draft. Several prominent alumni have been selected by the team each offseason during this annual event, with certain colleges being more prominently represented than others. An analysis of the players from different schools reveals that both prestigious programs and smaller institutions have contributed top talent to the Nets’ roster over the years.
So without further ado, let’s take a look at every player who has been drafted by the Nets out of Kentucky State University.
Gerald Cunningham – forward
Draft year and position: fifth round (first pick, 89th overall), 1977 NBA Draft
Seasons at Kentucky State University:
Seasons played with Nets: did not make the team
All stats and data courtesy of Basketball Reference.
The best shooter in college basketball will, in fact, stay in college basketball — and Kentucky is ready to make its final push.
Iowa State star Milan Momcilovic has withdrawn from the 2026 NBA Draft and will play somewhere at his current level in 2026-27. That’s not expected to be back in Ames, as Cyclone coach T.J. Otzelberger made clear, saying that if the 6-8 forward doesn’t make the jump to the pros, “it’s important that he’s able to find a landing spot at a college that fits what he’s looking for.”
Could Lexington be that final destination? The perimeter sniper already said he’s got respect for the Wildcats and Mark Pope, watching his programs closely since his time at BYU when they competed against each other in the Big 12.
In his eyes, he could be the piece Kentucky was missing this past season in the program’s Round of 32 exit, led by Momcilovic’s 20 points and five rebounds in the Cyclones’ 82-63 victory in St. Louis.
“I think Kentucky would be a good fit,” Momcilovic told the Herald-Leader’s Ben Roberts last week at the NBA Draft Combine. “I obviously went against Pope at BYU his first year (in the Big 12), and I loved how his team played. I think we went 1-1 against them, but they killed us at their place, because they fly the ball up the court and shoot 3s. I really like the way they play.
“And obviously, Kentucky last year, he didn’t have enough shooters around him to really coach, I feel like, the way he wanted. But I think — if I were to choose Kentucky — that would be a good fit for me. I feel like I’d be a great player for him, and he’d be a good coach for me.”
Momcilovic averaged a career-high 16.9 points, 3.1 rebounds and 1.0 assists in 30.5 minutes per game while shooting 50.6 percent from the field, 48.7 percent from three and 87.8 percent at the line. He knocked down 260 3-pointers, good for 3.7 makes on 7.5 attempts per contest.
The former four-star recruit has been Kentucky’s dream portal target all offseason. Now, he’s officially a free agent, pulling out of the draft ahead of the withdrawal deadline.
On Tuesday, head coach Mark Pope revealed that there will likely be no summer trip for the 2026-27 Wildcats.
“We’re probably a lean towards not going right now,” Pope told Darrell Bird of Cats Pause.
The NCAA recently adopted a proposal that will allow schools to take summer tours every year after the rules previously limited schools to one trip every four years. Even if it ended up being somewhere close by, this would’ve been a great experience for the Cats to get some exhibition games in, especially with the roster overhaul they’re going through.
Oh well. The good news is UK will still have plenty of summer practices to develop and build chemistry.
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