Mississippi Rebels vs. Kentucky Wildcats

The curse of the number one team in the nation persisted last week when the Kentucky Wildcats ascended to the spot and promptly lost their first game within that position. The loss was especially tough on superstar freshman John Wall and he let his frustration boil over. The Wildcats, who fell to fourth, will now try to get back on track while taking on the visiting 25th-ranked Mississippi Rebels on Tuesday night.

Wall, who could be the top draft pick in the NBA’s June draft if he chooses to forgoe his college career after one season, expressed his frustration and stated that he was not having fun the last couple of weeks.

Following the comments, Wall and coach John Calipari got together and put their differences behind them. It worked in the short term, at least, as the Wildcats defeated the 21st-ranked Vanderbilt Commodores on Saturday, 85-72. While Wall may have had a better attitude, it did not help his game as he hit on just 4 of 12 from the field, his worst shooting performance of the season and committed seven turnovers.

It came four days after the game which had frustrated Wall so much when they fell on the road to the South Carolina Gamecocks 68-62 to snap their 19-game winning streak.

While Wall had an off-game on Saturday, DeMarcus Cousins stepped up. Also a frosh, Cousins scored 21 points and grabbed 10 rebounds.

Kentucky will attempt to start another winning streak against a team they rarely lose to, especially in Lexington, where they have won 48 out of the 50 all-time games there. The Mississippi Rebels (16-5, 4-3) were able to break through in the series with a win in the last regular season matchup last year, 85-80 at home on January 27, 2009. It snapped the Wildcats nine-game overall winning streak in the series, but they were able to gain another win in the first round of the conference tournament, 71-58 on March 12.

Mississippi missed the presence of their big man Reginald Buckner, who was out with an ankle injury in their 80-73 home loss on Sunday. Buckner is questionable for Tuesday’s game and if he can not go, the Rebels will need someone else to step up on the glass, where Ole Miss was outrebounded 45-32 in their loss to the Razorbacks.

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