Kentucky basketball coach Mark Pope answers questions after UK’s dismal defensive showing in a road loss at Ole Miss.

Mark Pope's No. 14 Kentucky Wildcats fell behind big in the first half and never recovered against Ole Miss in an SEC showdown Tuesday night.

The No. 25 Ole Miss Rebels rode a strong offensive performance to a 98-84 win over the No. 14 Kentucky Wildcats on Tuesday night at the SJB Pavilion in Oxford. Ole Miss (17-6, 6-4 SEC) needed a bounce-back game after dropping a contest to No.

On down the road, Tennessee will come to Rupp seeking revenge on Feb. 11. The Cats must travel to Alabama on Feb. 22. No. 1 Auburn visits Rupp on March 1. And Kentucky finishes the regular season at surprising Missouri on March 8. And those are just games against the current top teams in the league.

The nationally ranked Ole Miss Rebels and Kentucky Wildcats Men’s Basketball teams prepare for an SEC showdown on Tuesday night. The No. 14 ranked Wildcats boast a 15-6 record. Four of the team’s losses are in conference, causing their standings to drop to ninth in the SEC.

On the season, Ole Miss has shot 72.83%, good for 147th in the nation. Kentucky is ranked 160th, shooting 72.47% from the free-throw line. As seen in the loss to then-No. 13 Texas A&M, free-throws can make or break a game. While roughly a percent may not seem like much on paper, in the context of a game, free-throws can make all the difference.

Tuesday’s SEC schedule includes the Ole Miss Rebels (16-6, 5-4 SEC) facing the Kentucky Wildcats (15-5, 4-3 SEC) at 7:00 PM ET on ESPN.Buy tickets for Ole Miss vs. KentuckyOle Miss vs.

The Kentucky Wildcats' back-to-back ugly losses have the vocal portion of the fanbase quickly turning on first-year head coach Mark Pope.