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 SMoli-M090116.jpg Much was made of UK coach John Calipari and freshman guard John Wall's mini-riff following the Vanderbilt win Saturday. Wall claimed he wasn't having fun. He was all smiles Tuesday night. Wall scored 17 points and dished out seven assists to complement DeMarcus Cousins' fifth straight double-double (18 points, 13 rebounds, four blocks) as the Wildcats (21-1, 6-1 SEC) outran Ole Miss 85-75 Tuesday night at Rupp Arena. "John Wall ran our team as well as he has all season," Calipari said. "He got us intoour offense and pulled the ball out when we needed to and he talked to his teammates for 40 minutes." "I believe that," Wall said of Calipari's comments. "I was just trying to play my game and that's what I did." With 21 NBA scouts in attendance to see Wall and Eric Bledsoe match up with Ole Miss guards, UK's freshman guards didn't disappoint. Bledsoe recorded a career-high eight assists to go along with eight points and four steals. But it wasn't just UK's perimeter players doing all the damage. Cousins turned in another man-sized performance against Ole Miss's undersize and undermanned front line. Calipari called Cousins the best big man he's ever coached, college or NBA.  SMoli-MG-6097.jpg "He's playing as well as any post player in the country," Ole Miss coach Andy Kennedy said. "I don't think there is any doubt about that. He has the whole package. He has the size, the strength, speed, a great touch and a good feel. He's a handful." The teams traded punches in the first half. The Cats shot out to a 12-2 lead in the game's first 4:17, only to see the Rebels run off seven straight points of their own. Leading 12-9, UK then answered with a 15-0 scoring binge to push the lead to 27-9. But Ole Miss had another counter. Instead of wilting, the Rebels responded with an 11-2 run of their own to pull within 29-20. Finally, the Cats scored the last six points of the half to take a 46-37 lead into the intermission. The Rebels wouldn't go quietly. Terrico White, who scored a team-high x points for the Rebels, scored on back-to-back baskets to pull Ole Miss to within three at 60-57 with 14:04 left in the game. But as it has done so many times this season, the Cats were clutch down the stretch. Patrick Patterson scored six of his 12 points to set off an 11-2 UK run to seize a 71-59 lead to take control of the game and push the Rebels to the mat for good. Owning Ole Miss With it's win over Ole Miss Tuesday, the Wildcats now own a 97-12 all-time record versus the Rebels.The .889 win percentage is the highest of any SEC foe. The Cats are 49-2 in games played in Lexington. High Five DeMarcus Cousins recorded his fifth straight double-double with 18 points and 13 rebounds. That is the most consecutive double-doubles since Jim Andrews notched six straight during the 1973 season. For Starters Darnell Dodson started his second consecutive game and in the two games, Dodson is averaging 15 points and has made 8 of 13 three-point tries. "(Starting) isn't that big of a deal, but I definitely feel a lot of confidence in my shot," Dodson said. Comments (0)
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