Ole Miss needs win over Wildcats

By By Joey Vaughan/special to The Star
February 8, 2003
OXFORD One of the nation's hottest teams visits the Tad Pad Saturday when No. 6 Kentucky comes to town to face a struggling Ole Miss squad.
The Wildcats, 17-3 overall and 7-0 in the Southeastern Conference, have won 11 straight games, including a 70-55 trouncing of No. 1 Florida Tuesday.
Ole Miss, meanwhile, has lost three straight after falling to Auburn 77-71 Wednesday.
The Rebels will need to find some of their old home court magic to overcome the Cats. Mississippi State snapped Ole Miss Tad Pad win streak over ranked teams, and the Rebs have lost twice at home already this year.
Keith Bogans scored 15 points against the Gators as the Cats snapped Florida's 14-game winning streak one day after it moved to the top of the poll for the first time in school history. Bogans is sixth in the league in scoring, averaging 16.6 points per game.
But it's the UK defense that has turned up the heat on opponents lately. The Cats have hunkered down on defense, turning a blind eye to past Kentucky teams that lived with flashy scorers.
This is Ole Miss lone home game in the middle of a five-game span that sees them on the road four times. The Rebs fell at Vandy and Auburn and travel to Florida and Mississippi State next week. At 12-7 overall and 3-5 in the SEC, Ole Miss would seem to be out of any title contention, but Barnes says not to count his team out yet.